Analiza możliwości pozyskiwania krytycznych surowców mineralnych

In 2008 Committee on Critical Mineral Impacts of the U.S. Economy, presented a definition of critical raw materials, which was also adopted by the countries of the European Union. According to this definition the critical raw materials are “minerals / materials exposed to the risk of disrupting or interruption of the supply, for which this deficit can have serious economic consequences for the entire economy”. The most critical to the economy of the European Union were considered 14 raw materials of significant economic importance, (i.e.: antimony, beryllium, cobalt, fluorspar, gallium, germanium, graphite, indium, magnesium metal, niobium, platinum group metals, rare earths, tantalum and tungsten) characterized primarily by a high risk of shortage or lack of supply, which result from a limited number of sources of their acquisition. Most materials belonging to this group are essential for the development of new technologies. The above list of 14 critical raw materials is a proposal that can be modified as a result of the reduction of critical raw materials resources in European countries. As a result of the literature analysis of identified technology it was found that the most recognizable way to enrich the individual raw materials is processing their ores, which are the carriers of many metals. The ore is processed in order to improve the chemical composition, standardization of the ore in terms of chemical and physico-chemical properties, providing adequate size pieces of the ore. Since the mined ore is usually not suitable for direct processing, multi-stage process of the ore enrichment is important. The enrichment of metal ores can be divided into: mechanical and chemical enrichment. The process of ore processing was applied to the following materials: beryllium, cobalt, tungsten and fluorite. A comprehensive assessment of mineral potential of the European Union countries and the identification of the so-called critical raw materials necessary for its harmonious and sustainable economic development and technological progress, is one of the priorities of the EU's raw materials policy.