Lanthanum , Cerium , Praseodymium , Samarium and Neodymium . These are some of the so-called rare earths identified among the waste from the granite mine in Buddusò . A treasure hidden among the blocks of stone which could soon make Sardinia the " Eldorado " of Italy, after Minister Urso's declarations on the new developments arriving for mining concessions . In mid-April, as the head of the Dicastery of Business and Made in Italy explained today during the question time in the Chamber, an ad hoc decree will arrive «to ensure a safe and rapidly implemented supply chain of critical raw materials and to promote recycling" .
The minister, during his speech, recalled that in Italy there are 16 of the 34 critical or rare raw materials, those used mainly in the energy transition. «Today, new technologies make it possible to reactivate mines closed over 30 years ago», underlined Urso, also mentioning Sardinia together with Lazio and Piedmont. Among the possibilities suggested to reduce dependence on non-EU countries for the supply of these raw materials , there is also the exploitation of "the mining waste accumulated in past decades which amounts to 70 million cubic metres". The same ones that have been lying in the quarry in the province of Sassari for some time and discovered by some researchers from the University of Ferrara.
From the first analyzes of the project, carried out two years ago, it emerged that the Buddusò landfills could allow Italy and Europe to overcome the difficulties in implementing the European Green Deal, caused by difficulties in obtaining metals. The "hunger" for rare earths, however, contrary to what one might think, does not depend on their scarce presence on our planet but on the difficulty in identifying their deposits and in the extraction and processing of metals.
(Unioneonline/vf)