Overview
- The European Commission selected 46 new projects on Friday, October 9, 2026, expanding its Critical Raw Materials programme to 16 member states and formally including two Spanish initiatives.
- Spain’s additions are ABT Abenójar Tungsten, a wolframium processing plant tied to the El Moto mine with first production targeted in early 2029 and an exclusive commercial deal reported with Traxys Europe, and Cobre San Rafael, a proposed copper extraction project in Touro–O Pino that still needs an environmental impact decision and faces local opposition.
- Designation gives projects practical benefits such as a single national contact point, faster permit timetables (example limits cited for extraction and processing), and help accessing finance and buyer networks, while not replacing required national authorizations or environmental clearances.
- Brussels says the 46 projects will need about €21.1 billion of investment while it has mobilized just over €2 billion so far, and Commission officials warn projects risk failing without committed buyers or off‑take contracts.
- The selections aim to meet the CRMA’s 2030 targets for domestic extraction, processing and recycling and reduce dependence on concentrated suppliers like China; the next milestones to watch are environmental approvals, financing rounds and signed purchase agreements that would make the projects commercially viable.