Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – It was concluded at an international roundtable in Brussels that the coming period will be marked by intensified cooperation between the European Union and the Western Balkan countries on projects linking sustainable mining and critical raw materials, creating additional opportunities for Montenegro.

Marko Vucinic, Director General of the Directorate for Geology and Mining at Montenegro’s Ministry of Energy and Mining, took part in the roundtable “From Waste to Resource – Raw Material Recovery from Mine Tailings in the Western Balkans,” organized in Brussels on Wednesday by the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and Open Society Foundations Western Balkans.

Vucinic said that Montenegro is closely monitoring European trends in the field of critical raw materials and sustainable mining management.

The roundtable brought together representatives of the European Commission, regional governments, international financial institutions, industry stakeholders, and experts to examine opportunities for recovering critical raw materials from mining tailings.

“The discussions focused on new European policies aimed at ensuring a secure supply of critical raw materials needed for the energy transition, the digital economy, and the development of modern industries. Special attention was given to the possibility of utilizing existing mining tailings as secondary sources of critical raw materials, which could simultaneously address long-standing environmental problems and create new development opportunities for countries in the region,” the Ministry of Energy and Mining said in a press release.

During the event, three pilot sites in Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia were presented, where significant critical raw material potential has been identified in historical mining tailings.

Participants discussed the steps required for such sites to be nominated as European Union Strategic Projects under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), as well as financing opportunities through EU instruments, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF).

The roundtable concluded that the Western Balkans could become an important partner of the European Union in securing critical raw materials, particularly through projects that combine environmental protection, mine and tailings remediation and reclamation, and the development of new capacities.