Contribution of domestic natural resources extraction to security of supply and Germany's role in the international natural resources market

Latest Update: February 2024

Natural resource requirements

As an industrial and technology location, Germany is dependent on a secure supply of energy and non-energy (mineral) natural resources. In the future, even more mineral resources will be needed than before for important technologies of the future such as renewable energies (RE) and technologies relevant for digitalisation and electromobility. In addition to high-tech metals, Germany needs selected industrial minerals. The specific natural resources requirements for renewable energy systems needed for the overall energy supply and for electromobility can be found in Effects of the energy transition and structural change.

Regarding the security of supply for natural resource requirements in Germany, three pillars must be considered: domestic primary resources, secondary resources, and imports of natural resources 1. The Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) reports annually on how the situation evolved in the field of natural resources in Germany in the previous year. Data on natural resources production, German foreign trade, the use of secondary resources from recycling, the development of prices and consumption of natural resources are presented in the context of Germany’s supply situation with mineral and energy resources.2

Domestic primary natural resources

Contrary to popular opinion, Germany is certainly rich in natural resources (see figure 8). The demand for quarried natural resources (especially for the building materials, glass, and ceramics industries), potash products (for agriculture), rock salt (especially for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries and as de-icing salt) and some industrial minerals can be met entirely from domestic sources. Some energy resources such as lignite, natural gas and crude oil are also extracted in Germany close to consumers3 and contribute to the security of supply of natural resources. At the same time, high environmental and social standards are maintained by international comparison. The energy use of domestic lignite covered about 9% of primary energy consumption in Germany in 2021 and about 10% in 2022, with production volumes of 126.3 million tonnes and 130.8 million tonnes respectively.4 5 6 Domestic production of oil and natural gas covered 2% and about 5% of consumption in Germany in 2020 to 2022.7 However, metallic resources are almost no longer mined in Germany and must be obtained from recycling or imported.

Raw material production in Germany in 20228

Fig. 1: Raw material production in Germany in 2022

Secondary resources from recycling

Metallic resources are often not only used once but several times due to their good recyclability. They can be returned to a product cycle after reprocessing. Many products made from non-metallic resources, on the other hand, are often chemically modified (e.g. cement, concrete) and can therefore not be fed back directly into the product cycle. However, they can be reintroduced into the economic cycle as substitutes for primary resources, e.g. building materials may be replaced with recycling materials.9 Secondary resources contribute to the domestic supply of resources and reduce dependence on imports. Individual data on recycling and use rates from 2021 can be found in the chapter on “Circular economy, especially recycling”.
By expanding the circular economy and improving the quality and quantity of recycling, a rising share of the German demand for natural resources can be covered in the future.10 The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) calls for an increase in processing and recycling capacities in the EU to strengthen the supply of the EU with domestic natural resources. The DERA Recycling Atlas for metal production shows that Germany already has an efficient recycling industry for base metals such as copper, aluminium, and iron/steel.11 In the field of rare earths or other special metals, however, circular economy approaches, or recycling processes have so far hardly progressed beyond the state of research and developments.12 The necessary further development of the circular economy must aim to cover a larger share of Germany’s need for natural resources through secondary materials and make the greatest possible contribution to greenhouse gas reduction. To this end, it is necessary to establish and expand appropriate recycling channels, to reduce the necessary imports. Nevertheless, the supply of recycled material is not sufficient to fully compensate for the increasing demand for resources for the transformation of the energy supply and for other future technologies. Therefore, additional specific natural resources will have to be extracted and/or procured in the future.

Imports of natural resources

In the case of metals, individual industrial minerals, and energy resources (except for lignite), the industry is heavily dependent on non-European imports (see metal imports in chart 10) and thus heavily dependent on availability on the international raw materials markets. At 342.5 million tonnes, Germany imported almost 14 % less natural resources in 2022 than in the previous year. Imports of energy resources (-16.1%), non-metals (-9.0%) and metals (-8.3%) fell significantly. In 2022, energy resources, metals, and non-metals (of which around 57% were industrial minerals) worth €311 billion were imported into Germany.13 Further information on import volumes in the German raw materials extraction sectors can be found in the chapter on the extractive industry in Germany.
In 2023, the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA), a department of the BGR, published another monitoring report on the global supply concentration of important mineral resources and intermediate products.

Origin of German imports of important industrial metals in 202214

Fig. 2: Fig.2: Major countries of origin for German imports of important industrial metals (ores and concentrates, refined metals) and various metal alloys (value 2022). Highlighted in blue: Supplier countries with import shares > 10 % of the respective primary product (ore and concentrate), refined metal or the various ferroalloys or recycling raw materials; in red: ores and concentrates; in green: refined metals; in yellow: ferroalloys; in blue: recycling raw materials. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
The so-called “DERA Resources List 2023” lists a total of 36 metals, 27 industrial minerals, plus coking coal and 221 commercial products.15 The survey concludes that 46% of all mining, refining, and trading products surveyed are subject to increased supply risks. The European Commission has also published a list of 34 critical raw materials16, which are of high economic importance and for which there are also high supply risks for the EU and thus also for Germany. China dominates the international market as the most important supplier of a wide range of natural resources17 and is currently the most important country for the extraction and processing of critical raw materials. For example, around 90% of the rare earths mined are processed there, which are gaining in economic importance due to their wide range of applications for the energy transition and other key technologies.
2022 was of crucial importance for the German and European gas supply. Russian natural gas imports were cancelled and had to be replaced by other import sources at short notice. Norway became the largest exporter of gas to Germany, followed by the Netherlands and Belgium (both mainly via their own infrastructure for the import of liquefied natural gas). Following the development of LNG infrastructure in Germany, Germany has now been able to land liquefied natural gas directly since December 2022. Germany imports LNG mainly from the USA.

Challenges and goals

At the 28th World Climate Conference (2023), the participating governments decided that the capacity of renewable energies should be tripled by 2030.18 The substitution of fossil fuels with renewable energies and the transformation of industries towards the use of greenhouse gas-neutral technologies is leading to an increased demand for mineral resources, including metals.19 At the same time, the phasing out of fossil fuels causes a strong reduction in the consumption of energy resources.
The Federal Government aims to make full use of the economic and ecological potential of recycling to reduce overall resource consumption.20 Tasks to strengthen the circular economy are of a regulatory, organisational, and technological nature, such as the introduction of digital product passports (data transparency) or the recovery of low-concentration rare precious and special metals from disused ICT devices. The aim is to secure high-quality secondary resources from recycled materials for the economic cycle to achieve an increased use of secondary resources compared to primary natural resources. This requires the maintenance and, if necessary, the expansion of processing capacities for metal resources in Germany and Europe. In this respect, a decline in processing capacity in Germany, e.g. in the aluminium industry, which is important for lightweight construction, also comes with the risk of new import dependencies. From the perspective of civil society, the overall consumption of natural resources should be lowered, and resource-related dependencies reduced through a limited use of primary resources, ecological product design, product durability and reparability, sharing models, recycling, urban mining and many more.
The transformation of the industry is associated with considerable challenges because the German economy is heavily dependent on the import of natural resources. International competition for natural resources, including the “critical raw materials” mentioned above, is subject to increasing market restrictions. This is due to governmental control measures in those countries that extract natural resources and the partly high concentration of companies on the supply side, both in mining and in the processing of resources. Therefore, the export controls introduced by China in 2023 for the critical raw materials gallium, germanium and their compounds are a risk factor for a free resources market, as the country has a production share of primary gallium and germanium of 90% and 80% respectively.21
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a decline in the extraction of natural resources and global supply shortages in 2020. In addition, there are increased tendencies of geopolitical escalation including high dependencies. The Russian war against Ukraine and the associated restrictions have further increased the risks for raw material procurement due to shortages, price increases and disruptions in the supply chain. In addition to natural gas, crude oil and hard coal, a number of metals such as nickel, titanium, palladium, and copper were imported from Russia. Also, metals such as copper, iron and ferroalloys came from Ukraine. The economy is making great efforts to ensure security of supply and at the same time reduce dependence on fossil and mineral resources from Russia as quickly as possible.
In view of the global situation, the German government wants to support the efforts of German companies in the procurement of natural resources. At the same time, the German government is pursuing the goal of ensuring compliance with the highest human rights and environmental standards along the supply chain of primary natural resources and thus contribute to achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.22 Companies in the extractive sector have a responsibility to comply with any regulations that apply to them.23
Another challenge for companies is to react in time to rapid developments in the transformation process and the international commodity market. Changes in the plant park or in the business model often require considerable investments, complex in-house planning processes and construction phases with simultaneous shortages in natural resources, price fluctuations (in addition to high energy costs) and a shortage of skilled workers. In addition, the private sector complains about the complexity and high time requirements of approval procedures. Besides, exploration and extraction of natural resources in Germany is made difficult by the fact that the population often does not accept these activities.24 To present the ambivalent character of natural resources production25, it is crucial from the perspective of civil society to show not only the economic gains but also the social and ecological impacts of extraction of primary resources in Germany and abroad.

Measures to ensure and increase resilience 26

Securing the supply of natural resources in Germany is primarily the responsibility of the companies. The task of the public natural resources policy is to support companies with suitable and reliable framework conditions in creating a secure social, economic, and ecological basis for the procurement of the natural resources they need. This is particularly necessary when fair competitive conditions in the international market of natural resources are affected.
As part of its strategy for the procurement of natural resources, the German government has already made necessary adjustments in 2020.27 With a total of 17 measures, the German government has replaced the first natural resources strategy from 2010. The strategy identifies the three main pillars Germany relies on in the procurement of natural resources: domestic primary resources, secondary resources from recycling and imported resources. Each of these pillars is of utmost importance to ensure a secure supply of natural resources in the long term.
The “Strategy Paper of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK): Ways to a Sustainable and Resilient Supply of Natural Resources” published in January 2023 supplements the existing strategy for the procurement of natural resources with current focal points of the realigned natural resources policy. These include a close integration of the circular economy and the natural resources strategy, the diversification of the supply chains used to procure natural resources, and the safeguarding of a fair market framework by means of high ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) standards28 and international cooperation.29
There are established structures of cooperation for the extraction of domestic natural resources and the safeguarding of geological data referring to natural resources in Germany. The State Geological Services (SGD) of the Federal States collect the geological and economic data required to secure natural resources, create geological maps for identifying resources and sectoral planning and prepare or contribute to monitoring reports, strategies, or concepts to secure natural resources.30 The SGD and BGR are in close contact. Furthermore, the BGR participates in various European projects and committees (e. g. GSEU31) and cooperates with European geological services. In this way, the authorities as a whole make an important contribution to securing the supply of natural resources in Germany.
Domestic extraction of natural resources continues to need a reliable legal framework. The German government intends to modernise the existing one. To this end, the Federal Mining Act is to be amended in this legislative period. The German government wishes to make the extraction of natural resources more ecological while facilitating the extraction of domestic natural resources.32
Compliance with the highest environmental and social standards can contribute to the acceptance of extraction. Appropriate and constructive stakeholder participation33 is particularly important in the extractive sector, as its activities are associated with significant impacts on society, the economy, and the environment. Therefore, from the perspective of the German government the constant, constructive dialogue with the population is essential. As part of its natural resources strategy, the German government is working to increase awareness and social understanding of the importance of the extraction of domestic resources. The implementation of EITI in Germany shares this goal. The domestic extractive industry is already implementing numerous measures to promote an informed, critical discussion, i.a. through the teaching of knowledge in schools34, active, early communication and public participation in new projects, and voluntary commitments to transparent disclosure of data along the entire value chain.35 Offering extracurricular learning sites for environmental education, e.g. in certified geoparks and geotopes36, can also contribute to the understanding of domestic natural resources extraction.
Furthermore, the implementation of largely closed natural resources cycles and thus the increased use of secondary resources from recycling can increase the resilience of the supply in resources. To promote the circular economy, existing barriers must be identified and removed.
Specific options for action to improve the recycling of specific mineral resources were developed in a two-year dialogue process and presented in the final report of the Dialogue Platform for Recycled Resources launched by the German Mineral Resources Agency DERA in 2023.37 This dialogue process has promoted the transformation of the procurement of natural resources towards a circular economy that reduces the need for primary resources. With its Circular Economy Action Plan, the EU Commission is pursuing the goal of doubling the use of recycled materials by 2030.38 Together with the shift to less material-intensive manufacturing processes and products, this can achieve greater resilience in the natural resources sector.
In view of geopolitical developments and the aforementioned challenges in the import of natural resources, the German government also sees the need to work with companies in the medium and long-term to increase diversification in the supply chains of critical and strategic raw materials.39 The diversification of the supply chains used for the procurement of natural resources is particularly necessary if there are only very few suppliers or if there is no market on the supply side (see section II). This applies both to the mining and extraction of natural resources and to the further processing of natural resources.
To better assess potential risks in connection with the prices of natural resources and supply chains, it is necessary to create a sound and up-to-date knowledge base on how the demand for natural resources might or will probably evolve to cover the needs of new technologies that heavily rely on critical natural resources. DERA continuously carries out analyses and evaluations of the international markets for mineral, fossil energy, and recycled resources, so that it can offer a comprehensive range of information and advice for the companies, policymakers and society as a whole. The DERA resources list 202340 , a study of developments on international commodity markets, analyses the supply concentration and country risk of the production of numerous mineral resources and their intermediate products. This report is updated every two years. Part of the DERA monitoring is the project “Natural Resources for Future Technologies” including the report bearing the same title, which is regularly updated every five years. The report “Natural Resources for Future Technologies 2021”, prepared by the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI and the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration (IZM) on behalf of DERA, estimates the needs for natural resources for 33 future technologies for the year 2040. Drivers for the selected technologies are megatrends such as decarbonisation and digitalisation.41 DERA’s Price Monitor informs the public monthly about current price developments.42
In addition, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) is working to expand cooperation with international partners in the natural resources sector. This cooperation is intended to promote the diversification of international sources of natural resources and expand cooperation with those countries and regions that share the same values as the German government.43 This involves both bilateral cooperation in the field of natural resources (e. g. with Chile, Australia and Canada, for example) and multilateral formats such as the Minerals Security Partnership (with the US, Japan, Canada, Australia, Korea, France, Norway, Finland, Sweden and the European Commission).

The diversification of procurement contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals and should be achieved in compliance with high sustainability standards. The German Government expects all German companies with international operations, regardless of their size, to fulfil their responsibility to respect human rights along their value chains in the field of procurement of natural resources.44 The benchmarks for this corporate due diligence requirement are the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights45, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises46 and the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises.47 There are also OECD guidelines48 with specific recommendations in the area of human rights due diligence that have been drafted specifically for minerals from conflict and high-risk areas as well as for the participation of stakeholders (see Employment and social affairs).

The obligations under the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains (LkSG), which have been in force since 1 January 2023, are in principle also applicable to the import of natural resources. This also applies to German subsidiaries of foreign companies (see Employment and Social Affairs). The implementation of the Act is controlled by the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA).49
In a total of eight countries or regions (Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, Western Africa, Canada, Peru, Southern Africa), competence centres for mining and natural resources have been set up at the respective chambers of commerce abroad. They advise companies and conduct local dialogues with government agencies and multipliers in the respective mining and natural resources sector to raise awareness of the requirements for sustainability standards along the entire supply chain.

Versorgungssicherheit Erdgas und temporäre Eingriffe des Staates im Zuge der Energiekrise 2022

On 30 March 2022, the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) initially declared the early warning level and on 23 June 2022 the alert level in accordance with the national emergency plan due to expectations regarding the natural gas supply situation. Due to the extension of Regulation (EU) 2022/1369 on coordinated measures to reduce the demand for gas until 31 March 2024 and the fundamental change in the supply situation compared to previous years, it is necessary to maintain the necessary measures and regulations at federal level. The applicability of the legal consequences of the regulations is linked to the maintenance of crisis levels. This enables an adequate response to the supply situation, even at short notice, and supports or guarantees the refilling of natural gas storage facilities, particularly with a view to the supply requirements during the winter of 2023/24.
The German government implemented several measures to specifically prevent a gas shortage. These included the Ordinance on Securing the Energy Supply through Measures Effective in the Short Term (EnSikuMaV), limited until April 2023, and the Ordinance on Securing the Energy Supply through Measures Effective in the Medium Term (EnSimiMaV), limited until autumn 2024, to reduce natural gas consumption in industry and households to a level appropriate to manage the crisis. This was combined with the public campaign to save energy (“80 million people for energy change”): between July 2022 and July 2023, 6 to 31 per cent of natural gas was saved each month. The amendments to the Energy Industry Act (EnWG) made to introduce fill level requirements for German natural gas storage facilities, the amendments to the Energy Security Act (EnSiG) to improve the control and potential takeover of critical energy infrastructure companies, the introduction of the Act to Accelerate the Use of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNGG) and the subsequent construction of LNG infrastructure and direct import of the first LNG volumes on the German North Sea and Baltic coasts in December 2022/ January 2023 stabilised Germany’s natural gas supply. In addition, imports of natural gas from Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway were increased to further stabilise the German natural gas supply and the requirement to deodorise natural gas from France for feeding into the German natural gas grid was lifted. Further measures to adequately prevent a severe gas shortage included
  • Purchase of liquefied natural gas: As early as in March 2022, the BMWK procured natural gas via the market area manager for gas, Trading Hub Europe GmbH (THE). The immediate purchase of additional natural gas to maintain security of supply was an urgent requirement at the time when an interruption in Russian natural gas supplies to Germany could no longer be ruled out following the Russian attack on Ukraine. The immediate purchase of natural gas was also a necessary precautionary measure to secure the gas supply in winter 2021/2022 because of the low levels in German natural gas storage facilities.
  • Securing the liquidity of those responsible for the procurement of gas on the market: to ensure the functioning of the energy market and secure the energy supply and the necessary liquidity for companies particularly affected by the sharp rise in natural gas prices, the German government provided support in the form of loans by the German development bank KfW. 
    In addition, the German government created a new hedging instrument as part of the protective shield for companies affected by the war in Ukraine. This relates to companies that trade electricity, natural gas and emission certificates on futures exchanges. They have to finance security deposits (known as margins), which are higher the more prices rise. To ensure that energy traders have sufficient liquidity, the German government provides financial resources in the form of credit lines from KfW and secures them with a government guarantee.
  • Takeover of Uniper SE and securing supply security: Before the Russian war of aggression, the energy supply company Uniper SE purchased around 2/3 of its gas from OOO Gazprom Export, which belongs to the Russian Gazprom Group. After the start of the Russian war of aggression, gas deliveries were initially reduced and then stopped altogether. To fulfil its firm supply obligations to customers, Uniper had to procure gas at considerable replacement costs. This led to considerable losses from replacement purchases and the resulting threat of insolvency. As Uniper was responsible for around 40% of the German gas supply (as of July 2022) and its customer base for gas supply included around 360 municipal utilities, insolvency would have had serious implications for the gas supply in Germany and the EU. To ensure continued security of supply in Germany, 99% of the shares in Uniper SE were taken over by the German government. Following the European Commission’s approval of the Uniper stabilisation measure under state aid law, the German government is obliged to reduce its stake in Uniper to a maximum of 25% plus one share by 2028. An appropriate exit strategy will be submitted by the German government to the European Commission at the end of 2023.
  • Filling of the largest gas storage facility in Rehden and other gas storage facilities in accordance with the Ordinance on the Adjustment of Filling Level Specifications for Gas Storage Facilities (GasSpFüllstV). To ensure sufficient filling levels of gas storage facilities in Germany, the Ordinance on the Adjustment of Filling Level Specifications for Gas Storage Facilities was issued on 1 June 2022. It came into force on 2 June 2022 and is currently (as of 25 August 2023) limited until 31 March 2025, with the option of extension. This ordinance enables natural gas storage facilities with particularly low levels to be topped up in good time. It also enabled Germany’s largest gas storage facility in Rehden, which previously had historically low levels, to be filled. Filling of gas storage facilities is carried out by the market area manager Gas Trading Hub Europe GmbH (THE), which received credit lines for this purpose. The gas storage facility in Rehden was owned by Gazprom Germania GmbH. This company was placed under trusteeship by the German government in the course of 2022 and ultimately taken over by the German government; it has been renamed Securing Energy for Europe GmbH (SEFE). Unlike the storage facilities of other owners, the storage facility in Rehden was only filled to a minor extent in 2021/2022. The levels only rose again as a result of THE’s procurement activities.
  • Stabilisation and nationalisation of Gazprom Germania GmbH (now Securing Energy for Europe GmbH, SEFE): To ensure security of supply in Germany, the German government ordered the Federal Network Agency to place SEFE under trusteeship in April 2022 to prevent it from being wound up by the Russian shareholders at the time. When SEFE subsequently faltered due to sanctions imposed by Russia, it was initially saved from insolvency by a loan from KfW and then nationalised in November 2022. With this approach, the German government has retained influence over this part of the critical energy infrastructure and has prevented energy security from being jeopardised. SEFE makes an important contribution to security of supply by procuring natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas on the global market. SEFE is also working on a strategy to ensure that renewable and decarbonised gases can replace fossil fuels in the future.
To manage the critical supply situation in 2022 and with a view to the winters of 2022/23 and 2023/24, which are considered critical, the measures implemented in Germany were supplemented at European level with the adoption of several emergency gas regulations by the Member States and the EU Commission. These mainly included Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1369 of 5 August 2022 on coordinated measures to reduce gas demand (Gas Reduction Regulation), which expires on 31 March 2024; Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2576 of 19 December 2022 on greater solidarity through better coordination of gas procurement, reliable price benchmarks and cross-border exchanges of gas (Gas Emergency Regulation), limited until 18 December 2023; and the adaptation of Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 with regard to mandatory filling level targets for natural gas storage facilities.
Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 is a fundamental document of German and European security of supply with natural gas and provides for a comprehensive set of instruments to strengthen the EU internal market for natural gas and to achieve adequate filling levels in the event of a supply crisis. On the one hand, the course of the energy and natural gas crisis in 2022 demonstrated the Federal Republic of Germany’s acute ability to overcome the crisis by adapting relevant crisis-mitigating German and European laws and regulations. On the other hand, the cooperation between federal authorities, Federal States, the Federal Network Agency and market players such as transmission system operators and the German market area manager for gas, Trading Hub Europe GmbH (THE), significantly strengthened the resilience of the German gas supply. The management of this supply crisis showed in very practical terms that the secure supply of natural gas in the EU is the joint responsibility of the Member States, their competent authorities and gas supply companies and the European Commission, that the German natural gas market can only be considered as part of an infrastructure network with neighbouring EU states and beyond, and that a supply crisis can only be resolved jointly.

Germany's role in the international natural resources market

Within the framework of the natural resources strategy, the German government supports initiatives of the European Commission aimed at reviving the primary extraction of metallic resources required for electromobility and the energy transition in EU member states.50

Initiatives such as the European Battery Alliance have already triggered substantial public and private investments that strengthen technologies, skills and competences in refining and metallurgy as a crucial part of the value chain. The German government participated actively and constructively in the drafting of the EU Regulation (2017/821) on so-called conflict minerals, thereby establishing rules for corporate responsibility (see Employment and social affairs “Corporate Responsibility”). The European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA)51 supports projects that serve the European supply of critical and strategic resources.

Access to resources is of strategic importance to Europe’s goal of achieving the Green Deal and ensuring sustainability in resource extraction. The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) aims to increase the EU’s security of supply of critical raw materials and to strengthen all stages of the European value chains for critical raw materials. The multilateral initiative Mineral Security Partnership (MSP)52 initiative, which is also supported by the German government, also serves to strengthen supply chains for critical raw materials. The CRMA and MSP initiative aim at ensuring that critical minerals (natural resources) are extracted, processed, and recycled in a way that helps countries realise the full economic development potential of their mineral resources.
The German government supports the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which aims to increase transparency in the extractive sector so that revenues in the extractive sector flow into the national budgets of the respective countries.53 Even though China and other EITI non-implementing countries produce most critical resources, the Mission critical54 EITI report from 2022 lists global producers and potential producers of “critical commodities” that are already implementing the EITI Standard. An overview of the production of key resources required for the implementation of greenhouse gas neutral technologies (lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper and rare earths) in countries implementing the EITI is provided in the Strengthening governance of critical minerals55 EITI report of 2022.
The gaps in the EU’s capacities for extraction, refining, processing, recycling (e.g. for lithium or rare earths) and in the circular economy clearly show the high (including the sometimes critical) dependencies in the supply of natural resources. The goal must be to reduce the critical dependencies. This requires rethinking the industrial and innovation policies at the various international levels as well as in Germany. In particular, it encompasses the targeted promotion of material-efficient approaches for the reduction of the absolute amounts of natural resources used in industrial production (e.g. lightweight construction considering recyclability), eco-design approaches (e.g. improving the durability, reusability, and reparability of products) and approaches for the substitution of non-renewable, scarce or critical raw materials. Where recycling cannot increase security of supply, at least in the short to medium term, imports need to be diversified and domestic production strengthened. It will be necessary to set effective economic and ecological incentives so that the country can control its procurement of natural resources responsibly and securely in the future.

1 See the Natural Resources Strategy of the German government: Securing a Sustainable Supply of Germany with Non-energy Mineral Resources (2020). URL (as of: August 2022): https://www.bmwk.de/Redaktion/DE/Artikel/Industrie/rohstoffstrategie-bundesregierung.html (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

2 Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (2023): Germany – Raw materials situation 2022 – 210 p.; Hanover. URL: https://www.bgr.bund.de/DE/Themen/Min_rohstoffe/Downloads/rohsit-2022.html (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

3 Cf. the chapter on the extractive industry in Germany

4 Ibid.

5 Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (2023): Germany – Raw Material Situation in 2022 – 210 p.; Hanover (p.402). URL: https://www.bgr.bund.de/rohstoffsituationsbericht-2022 (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

6 Statistics of the coal industry e.V. (2023): Lignite at a glance. URL: https://kohlenstatistik.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Braunkohle-im-Ueberblick.xlsx (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

7 State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology (2023): Crude oil and natural gas in the Federal Republic of Germany 2022 56 p.; Hanover (p. 19). URL: https://nibis.lbeg.de/DOI/dateien/GB_49_2023_Text_7_web.pdf (Accessed on 1 February 2024); AG Energiebilanzen e.V. (2024). URL: https://ag-energiebilanzen.de/ (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

8 BGR – Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (2023): Germany – Raw materials situation 2022. – 2010 p.; Hanover, p. 10, Fig. 1.2: Raw material production in Germany in 2022; URL: https://www.bgr.bund.de/DE/Themen/Min_rohstoffe/Downloads/rohsit-2022.pdf (Accessed on 19 January 2024).

9 Ebd. (S.20).

10 Cf. Circular economy, in particular recycling

11 DERA – German Mineral Resources Agency (2024): Recycling atlas. URL: https://www.deutsche-rohstoffagentur.de/DERA/DE/Laufende-Projekte/Recyclingrohstoffe/Recyclingatlas%20f%C3%BCr%20die%20Metallerzeugung/recyclingsituation_node.html (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

12 BMWK (2023): Strategy Paper of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK): Ways to a Sustainable and Resilient Supply of Natural Resources – 11 p.; Berlin (p. 7)); URL: https://www.bmwk.de/Redaktion/DE/Downloads/E/eckpunktepapier-nachhaltige-und-resiliente-rohstoffversorgung.html (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

13 Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (2023): Germany – Raw materials situation 2022. – 210 p; Hanover, p. 19, fig.: 1.9; URL: https://www.bgr.bund.de/rohstoffsituationsbericht-2022 (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

14 Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (2023): Germany – Raw materials situation 2022. -210 p.; p. 19, fig. 1.9. URL: https://www.bgr.bund.de/rohstoffsituationsbericht-2022 (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

15 DERA – German Mineral Resources Agency (2023): DERA Resources List 2023. – DERA Information on Natural Resources 56: 122 p., Berlin; URL: https://www.bgr.bund.de/DE/Gemeinsames/Produkte/Downloads/DERA_Rohstoffinformationen/rohstoffinformationen-56.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=4 (Accessed on 1 February 2024)

16 European Commission (2023), Establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials and amending Regulations (EU) 168/2013, (EU) 2018/858, 2018/1724 and (EU) 2019/1020; URL: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:903d35cc-c4a2-11ed-a05c-01aa75ed71a1.0001.02/DOC_2&format=PDF (Accessed in February 2024). (Accessed on 19 April 2023).

17 DERA – German Mineral Resources Agency (2023): DERA Resources List 2023. – DERA Information on Natural Resources 56: 122 p., Berlin; URL: https://www.bgr.bund.de/DE/Gemeinsames/Produkte/Downloads/DERA_Rohstoffinformationen/rohstoffinformationen-56.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=4 (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

18 The Federal Government (2023): Historic decision at the 28th World Climate Conference – beginning of the end of the fossil age; URL: https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/cop-28-2246298 (Accessed 1 February 2024).

19 BMWK (2023): Strategy Paper of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK): Ways to a Sustainable and Resilient Supply of Natural Resources – 11 pages; Berlin (p. 1); URL: BMWK – Eckpunktepapier: Wege zu einer nachhaltigen und resilienten Rohstoffversorgung (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

20 Coalition agreement between SPD, BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN AND FDP (2021–2025): Dare more progress Alliance for freedom, justice, and sustainability (p. 34, 42).

21 DERA – German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA), a department of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (2023): DERA Resources List 2023. – DERA Information on Natural Resources 56: 122 pages., Berlin; https://www.bgr.bund.de/DE/Gemeinsames/Produkte/Downloads/DERA_Rohstoffinformationen/rohstoffinformationen-56.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=4 (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

22 BMWK – Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (2023): A 180 degree turn in industrial policy – securing Germany’s position as a highly industrialised country, renewing prosperity, strengthening economic security; URL: https://www.bmwk.de/Redaktion/DE/Publikationen/Industrie/industriepolitik-in-der-zeitenwende.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=12 (Accessed on 1 February).

23 Cf. further explanations: Employment and social affairs “Corporate responsibility”. https://rohstofftransparenz.de/rohstoffgewinnung/beschaeftigung-u-soziales/

24 Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (2022): Germany – Raw materials situation 2021. – 162 pages.; (p.70).

25 Mancini L., Vidal Legaz B., Vizzarri M., Wittmer D., Grassi G., Pennington D. Mapping the Role of Raw Materials in Sustainable Development Goals. A preliminary analysis of links, monitoring indicators, and related policy initiatives. EUR 29595 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2019. ISBN 978-92-76-08385-6, doi:10.2760/026725, JRC112892 (p. 60).

26 Resilience is the ability to maintain the functionality of a system (here the industry processing natural resources) in the event of disruptions (e.g. of supply chains).

27 Natural Resources Strategy of the German government: Securing a Sustainable Supply of Germany with Non-energy Mineral Resources (2020). URL (as of: August 2022): https://www.bmwk.de/Redaktion/DE/Artikel/Industrie/rohstoffstrategie-bundesregierung.html (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

28 ESG stands for Environment, Social and Governance.

29 BMWK (2023): Strategy Paper of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK): Ways to a Sustainable and Resilient Supply of Natural Resources – 11 pages; Berlin (p. 10 et seq.); https://www.bmwk.de/Redaktion/DE/Downloads/E/eckpunktepapier-nachhaltige-und-resiliente-rohstoffversorgung.html (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

30 The Saxon State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport, the Hessian State Office for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology and the Saxony-Anhalt State Office for Geology and Mining, for example, publish information on this on their respective websites: https://publikationen.sachsen.de/bdb/artikel/41292, https://www.hlnug.de/themen/geologie/rohstoffe/rohstoffsicherung, https://izg.sachsen-anhalt.de/fileadmin/Bibliothek/LaGB/rohstoffe/doc/RohstoffberichtSachsen-Anhalt2022.pdf (Accessed on 1 February 2024)

31 GSEU – Geological Service for Europe. URL: https://www.geologicalservice.eu/ (Accessed on 19 January 2024)

32 See footnote no. 27 BMWK (2023; p. 8).

33 OECD (2017), OECD Due Diligence Guide for Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement in the Extractive Sector, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264285026-de (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

34 Examples include open house days, sponsorship of sports clubs among others, public participation in the expansion of extraction sites, local citizen dialogues, and educational materials such as books for children on natural stone and sand/gravel or exhibitions on biodiversity and the extraction of natural resources.

35 See also German Association for natural gas, petroleum and geothermal energy (BVEG) (2021). URL: https://www.bveg.de/umwelt-sicherheit/gutes-foerdern/transparenz- foerdern/ bzw. https://www.bveg.de/der-verband/organisation/selbstverpflichtung/ (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

36 Working Group of German Geoparks (AdG) (2024): Geoparks in Germany. URL: https://www.geoparks-in-deutschland.de/(Accessed on 1 February 2024).

37 BMWK (2024): Publications made on the Dialogue Platform for Recycled Resources; URL: https://www.recyclingrohstoffe-dialog.de/Recyclingrohstoffe/DE/Publikationen/publikationen_node.html (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

38 European Commission (2020): A new Circular Economy Action Plan for a clean and competitive Europe; URL: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:9903b325-6388-11ea-b735-01aa75ed71a1.0016.02/DOC_1&format=PDF (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

39 BMWK (2023): Strategy Paper of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK): Ways to a Sustainable and Resilient Supply of Natural Resources – 11 pages; Berlin (p. 7); URL: https://www.bmwk.de/Redaktion/DE/Downloads/E/eckpunktepapier-nachhaltige-und-resiliente-rohstoffversorgung.html (Accessed on 1 February 2024); BMWK (2023): Industrial policy at the turn of the century – securing industrial locations, renewing prosperity, strengthening economic security; URL https://www.bmwk.de/Redaktion/DE/Publikationen/Industrie/industriepolitik-in-der-zeitenwende.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=16 (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

40 DERA – German Mineral Resources Agency (2023): DERA Resources List 2023. – DERA Information on Natural Resources 56: 122 pages, Berlin; URL: https://www.bgr.bund.de/DE/Gemeinsames/Produkte/Downloads/DERA_Rohstoffinformationen/rohstoffinformationen-56.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=4 (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

41 Marscheider-Weidemann, F.; Langkau, S.; Baur, S.-J.; Billaud, M.; Deubzer, O.; Eberling, E.; Erdmann, L.; Haendel, M.; Krail, M.; Loibl, A.; Maisel, F.; Marwede, M.; Neef, C.; Neuwirth, M.; Rostek, L.; Rückschloss, J.; Shirinzadeh, S.; Stijepic, D.; Tercero Espinoza, L.; Tippner, M. (2021): Natural Resources for future Technologies 2021. – DERA Information on Natural Resources 50: 366 pages, Berlin. URL: https://www.deutsche-rohstoffagentur.de/DERA/ DE/ongoing-projects/raw-materials-economy/future-technologies/lp-future-technologies_node.html (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

42 DERA – German Mineral Resources Agency: https://www.deutsche-rohstoffagentur.de/DERA/DE/ Products/Commodity prices/Preismonitor/preismonitor_node.html (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

43 BMWK (2023): Strategy Paper of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK): Ways to a Sustainable and Resilient Supply of Natural Resources – 11 pages; Berlin (p. 9); URL: https://www.bmwk.de/Redaktion/DE/Downloads/E/eckpunktepapier-nachhaltige-und-resiliente-rohstoffversorgung.html (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

44 Cf. further explanations: Employment and social affairs “Corporate responsibility”. https://rohstofftransparenz.de/rohstoffgewinnung/beschaeftigung-u-soziales/

45 UN (United Nations) (2020). URL: https://www.globalcompact.de/migrated_files/wAssets/docs/Menschenrechte/Publikationen/leitprinzipien_fuer_wirt- society_and_human_rights.pdf (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

46 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; 2011) URL: http://mneguidelines.oecd.org/48808708.pdf (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

47 ILO – International Labour Organization (2022): Tripartite Declaration of Principles on Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy. URL: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_emp/—emp_ent/documents/publi- cation/wcms_579897.pdf  (Accessed on 01 February 2024).

48 OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains for Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (2019), available at https://doi.org/10.1787/3d21faa0-de; OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement in the Extractive Sector (2017), available at https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264285026-de (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

49 German Agency for Economic Affairs and Export Control (2024). URL: https://www.bafa.de/DE/Lieferketten/Ueberblick/ueberblick_node.html (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

50 Natural Resources Strategy of the German government: Securing a Sustainable Supply of Germany with Non-energy Mineral Resources (2020). URL (as of: August 2022): https://www.bmwk.de/Redaktion/DE/Artikel/Industrie/rohstoffstrategie-bundesregierung.html (p. 16) (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

51 European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA). URL: https://erma.eu/ (Accessed on 1 February 2024). https://erma.eu/

52 Minerals Security Partnership (MSP). URL: https://www.state.gov/minerals-security-partnership/ (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

53 Natural Resources Strategy of the German government: Securing a Sustainable Supply of Germany with Non-energy Mineral Resources (2020). URL (as of: August 2022): https://www.bmwk.de/Redaktion/DE/Artikel/Industrie/rohstoffstrategie-bundesregierung.html (p. 23) (Accessed on 1 February 2024).

54 Kathryn Sturman, Julia Loginova, Sandy Worden, Joshua Matanzima and Andrea Arratia-Solar (2022): Mission critical Strengthening governance of mineral value chains for the energy transition.

55 EITI (2022), Making the grade: Strengthening the governance of critical minerals. URL: https://eiti.org/documents/strengthening-governance-critical- minerals (Accessed on 1 February 2024)

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Glossar

In Federal States in which legislation does not include an excavation law and the State-level Nature Conservation Law does not apply to the extraction of non-energetic, ground-based natural resources in the context of dry excavations, this type of natural resource extraction falls within the scope of the relevant state building regulations.

Legal limitations also exist: State building regulations apply to the excavation of solid rock (limestone, basalt, etc.), for example, in quarries with an area of up to 10 hectares (ha) in which no blasting is carried out. In the event that this area is exceeded, or if water bodies are formed after completion of the extraction operations, the German Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) and/or Water Resources Act (WHG) are applicable.
In Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia, the above-ground excavation of non-energetic, ground-based natural resources in the context of dry excavations is determined at state level by the existing excavation laws (AbgrG). For the excavation of solid rock (limestone, basalt, etc.) in quarries where blasting does not occur, the AbgrG applies to sites with an area of up to 10 ha. In the event that this area is exceeded, or if water bodies are formed after completion of the extraction operations, the German Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) and/or Water Resources Act (WHG) are applicable. In the other Federal States, this type of natural resources extraction is regulated by the respective state building regulations or by the state-level nature conservation laws.

In general, the AbgrG applies to those raw materials the excavation of which is not directly subject to mining law or the mining authorities. These raw materials include (in particular) gravel, sand, clay, loam, limestone, dolomite and other rocks, bog mud and clays. However, the jurisdiction between AbgrG and mining law can vary from case to case in the case of certain raw materials, such as quartz gravels. The requested authority must always verify its own jurisdiction in each case. The AbgrG also encompasses surface area usage and the subsequent rehabilitation of the area.
The German Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) is the most important and practice-relevant law in the field of environmental law. It constitutes the basis for the approval of industrial and commercial installations. In the natural resources extraction industry, quarrying companies must have approval to extract stones and earth. Every quarrying area of 10 hectares or more must undergo a full approval procedure, including public participation and UVP (environmental impact assessment). A more simplified approval procedure is used for quarrying areas of less than 10 hectares.

The sphere of responsibility for the legal immission control approval procedure is fully specified in the Immission Control Acts of the Federal States. The Federal States are tasked with the administrative enforcement of the approval procedure. Each individual state’s Environment Ministry – the highest local immission protection authority – usually bears the responsibility for this procedure. Subordinate authorities include regional councils, district authorities and lower-level administrative authorities. Administrative jurisdiction generally lies with the lower-level administrative authorities.
The GDP measures the value of goods and services produced domestically (creation of value) within a given period (quarter, year). The Federal Office of Statistics calculates the GDP as follows: production value minus intermediate consumption = the gross value added; plus taxes on products and minus subsidies = GDP
The gross value added is calculated by deducting intermediate consumption from the production values, so it only includes the value added created during the production process. The gross value added is valued at manufacturing prices, i.e. without the taxes due (product taxes), but including the product subsidies received.

During the transition from gross value added (at manufacturing prices) to GDP, the net taxes (product taxes less product subsidies) are added globally to arrive at an assessment of the GDP at market prices’. Source: Destatis
The planning approval procedure under mining law is used for the approval procedure of a general operating plan for projects which require an environmental impact assessment (§§ 52(2a), in conjunction with 57 a of the BBergG).
There are different definitions and methodological approaches at the international as well as at the national level as to what subsidies are and how they are calculated. According to the definition of the German government’s subsidy report, this report considers federal subsidies for private companies and economic sectors (ie grants as cash payments and tax breaks as special tax exemptions) which are relevant to the budget. Subsidies at the federal level can be viewed via the subsidy reports of the federal states (see Appendix 5 of the German government subsidy report).
In compliance with § 68(1), Water Resources Act (WHG), the excavation of landowners’ natural resources such as gravel, sand, marl, clay, loam, peat and stone in wet extraction operations requires a planning approval procedure. The reason for this is that groundwater is exposed in wet extraction, resulting in above-ground water. The planning approval procedure is implemented by lower-level water authorities.

The procedural steps of the planning approval procedure are governed by the general provisions of §§ 72 to 78 of the Administrative Procedures Act (VerwVfG). Within the meaning of § 68(3), nos. 1 and 2 of the WHG, the plan may only be established or approved if an impairment of the common good is not to be expected and other requirements of the WHG as well as other public-law provisions are fulfilled.