EU plans strategic critical minerals reserve in Rotterdam and Italian ports (xataka.com)

• EU selects tungsten, rare earths, gallium for initial strategic reserve; magnesium, germanium, graphite may follow.
• China supplies 97% of EU's magnesium, refines over 80% of global rare earths, controls 98% of gallium refining.
• New Chinese Mineral Resources Law effective June 15, 2026 empowers Beijing to set production caps and review foreign investments.
• Rotterdam, Porto Marghera, and Trieste are candidate storage locations; funding mechanism yet to be defined.
• EU's Critical Raw Materials Act targets of 10% extraction and 40% processing by 2030 are far from being met.

"The EU is finalizing plans for a strategic reserve of critical minerals including tungsten, rare earths, and gallium, with Rotterdam as a primary storage hub. The move is driven by China's dominance in processing (over 80% of rare earths, 98% of gallium) and a new Chinese law effective June 2026 giving Beijing control over production and foreign investment. Funding and technical storage challenges remain unresolved, and the reserve is seen as a stopgap while EU lacks processing infrastructure."