Yazari Agudelo and Miguel Saldarriaga
Abstract
The European Union's transition toward clean energy has intensified demand for critical raw materials, among them, lithium, exposing structural dependencies on external suppliers. This paper compares the economic and environmental implications of two primary lithium extraction routes relevant to Europe's Critical Raw Materials Act: brine-based extraction in Chile and prospective hard-rock extraction (spodumene) in Spain. Using secondary data and a simplified life-cycle approach, the study estimates extraction costs and associated CO2e emissions under alternative energy-transition scenarios. Results show that domestic extraction remains substantially more expensive than Chilean imports, although the cost gap narrows when renewable electricity and carbon pricing are internalized. Environmentally, hard-rock extraction exhibits higher baseline emissions but greater potential for decarbonization through renewable integration. Beyond these quantitative differences, the paper argues that Europe's pursuit of “green mining” raises broader governance and ethical questions: whether strategic autonomy justifies higher economic and environmental costs, or if cooperation with established producers could deliver more sustainable outcomes globally. The findings contribute to the growing debate on how to reconcile industrial sovereignty, environmental integrity, and social legitimacy in the European management of critical raw materials.
