No mine has been opened in mainland France for almost half a century. In the midst of the race for the energy transition, and before the ban on the sale of new thermal cars in Europe from 2035, the French government wants to simplify the opening of new mines, in particular lithium mines, a metal used in electric batteries . Measures in this direction will be presented to the Council of Ministers on April 24, an obligatory step before an examination in Parliament. Like other European countries, France is seeking to be more independent in this area and to free itself from rivalries between China and the United States, for example.
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We do not find all the metals necessary for the energy transition in Europe, but we do find some. By 2030, theEuropean Union wants to be able to extract 10% of the strategic minerals it will consume on its soil. An objective defended again, around ten days ago, by the French Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire: “ Regarding lithium alone, this resource is present in our subsoil, with extraction projects under development which could satisfy up to two thirds of our needs. France must exploit them. »
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What about the environmental impact?
It takes approximately two years to obtain a mining research permit today, and the government would like to shorten this process by six months. If the text were adopted, the deadlines would then be closer to those of Germany.
A step forward, according to Moez Ajmi, partner at EY and advisor to mining companies. But according to him, France can do better. “ We are very far away, compared, for example, to mining countries like Canada where we are talking about 30 to 50 days, or like Australia, which has a mining tradition, where we are talking about one month to twelve months. “, he explains.
However, shortening the deadlines for granting mining permits should not be to the detriment of environmental impact studies, believes the consulting firm. To avoid, he said, that the projects arouse too much opposition from citizens.
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