AGEMERA partner discusses Bulgaria's potential for critical raw materials in local interview
Irena Peytcheva talks about the current state of affairs in the Bulgarian raw materials sector and draws attention to the challenges that need to be overcome to assess critical raw material potential in the area
Is Bulgaria aware of its potential for strategic raw materials? Well, not really, according to an interview given by our colleague Irena Peytcheva of the Geological Institute "Strashimir Dimitrov" at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences to the Bulgarian National Radio Station Horizon.
As made evident by the recently launched Critical Raw Materials Act, there is a urgent need for discovering and
ensuring a secure domestic supply of critical raw materials in Europe, as we are currently relying on imports from
countries who are not reliable partners to the EU, for various geopolitical reasons. At the moment, only 2%
of all exploration investment worldwide is happening on our continent.
Prof. Dr. Irena Petytcheva, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, "Strashimir Dimitrov" Institute for Geology, and Dr. Petko Petrov from the Earth and Man National Museum
Indeed, Bulgaria has a significant potential for extraction, processing and recycling of critical raw materials and minerals. Where is the issue, then? The lack of targeted research in the area might be the answer. The country doesn't know what raw materials it has, as active research has been discontinued 20 years ago. They know the available deposits - they just need to evaluate them for such elements. For example, as stated in the interview, Bulgaria is one of the few countries in the world that doesn't have a geological survey - quite surprisingly given the fact that it has more than 10 types of deposits where critical raw materials could be found.
However, there is hope for change, as new mining technologies, such as the ones we use in AGEMERA, are environmentally friendly and non-invasive, which could perhaps in turn lead to the increase in public support of such operations. One thing is clear: the time to act is now.
Thank you to Irena for providing such an insightful overview of the current situation in one of our focus countries! For the full interview, go here.
Keep following our work to see what we're doing to assess the critical raw material potential at home, in Europe.
