SGU supports accessibility to knowledge of Critical Metals and Minerals

Critical raw materials are materials with important applications in industry that are facing supply risks within the EU. This is mainly due to EU’s extreme dependence on imports of these materials from a few producing non-EU countries. To reduce the criticality associated with these materials for European producers, building knowledge around the modes of natural occurrence of critical raw materials is crucial. Erik Jonsson, representing SGU as one of the guest editors, was involved already during the European Mineralogical Conference in Rimini, Italy, 2016, when the idea for the special issue on critical raw materials was born. The idea was to ​​use the presented material as a basis for a thematic volume, to increase the spreading of knowledge further in the scientific community and society. The result of the work is the dedicated special issue entitled "Critical Metal Mineralogy & Ore Genesis", released this week by the international scientific journal Mineralogical Magazine (Cambridge University Press). The 320-page special issue focuses on the critical metals and minerals, their natural occurrences and modes of formation in Europe, and includes articles about e.g., indium, germanium, rare earth elements and platinum group metals, including indium in Finland and rare earth elements in Bergslagen (Sweden).  

To ensure the most possible spreading of information, the editors decided that issue should be “Open Access”, i.e. digitally accessible for free to everyone. This means that even those who lack a subscription can read this special issue, something that is increasingly sought after, not least from a research policy perspective. SGU is one of several sponsors who contributed with financial support, making the open access publication possible.

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