Rare earths and lithium, the hunt begins in Lombardy: is it the dawn of a new mining era? Here are the areas involved

Milan – Italy has given the green light to the National General Mineral Exploration Program , an ambitious €3.5 million plan that will involve over 400 specialists in the search for critical raw materials (such as lithium and rare earths) throughout the country. Among the 14 main sites identified, Lombardy emerges as one of the leading regions of this new frontier of European strategic independence , with four research projects that will involve different areas of the region.

Critical raw materials are essential elements for modern industry, from the energy transition to advanced defense systems . These materials include lithium, rare earths, fluorite, barite, copper, tungsten and many others that, despite being fundamental to strategic sectors such as energy, industry, defense and trade , are characterized by a high concentration of global production in a few countries, sometimes politically unstable.

Their importance has grown exponentially with new geopolitical tensions . Dependence on external suppliers (such as China , Russia and the United States ) exposes Europe to possible supply disruptions for various reasons: from protectionist policies to conflicts, from natural events to technological accidents. In this scenario, the search for domestic deposits has become an absolute priority for national and European Union security.

In Lombardy there are two areas of interest, marked by two numbers (purple asterisks). The 5 represents possible deposits of non-conventional Lithium, while the 1 of Fluorite, Barite and rare earths

The program includes, at least in the first phase, exclusively non-invasive investigations . Specialists will use cutting-edge technologies: remote sensing images, geological, geochemical and geophysical surveys with advanced tools and artificial intelligence software for data analysis. Only at a later stage, if necessary, will direct surveys be carried out by excavations carried out by mining companies .

This non-invasive methodology includes geological surveys to map the characteristics of the territory, geophysical investigations also through sensors carried by airplanes and helicopters , remote sensing techniques through satellites and drones , and even innovative techniques such as the detection of cosmic particles . The extensive use of artificial intelligence will allow the analysis of both historical data and newly acquired data, including three-dimensional modeling.

The first and most important project concerns the fluorite, barite and rare earth mineralizations in the central-eastern Southern Alps . This area, which extends between Lombardy and Trentino-Alto Adige , is historically known for the presence of important fluorite deposits that were exploited until the 80s-90s of the last century.

The areas of greatest interest are concentrated in the provinces of Brescia and Bergamo , where the historic mines of Torgola , Presolana and Paglio Pignolino are located, as well as the Varese area with the sites of Brusimpiano , Valvassera-Valganna and Porto Ceresio . The historic production of this area amounted to 4.25 million tons of fluorite until the early 1970s.

The Gorno mining district, located between Val Seriana , Val di Riso and Val Brembana in the province of Bergamo , represents one of the most promising projects for the recovery of raw materials from mining waste . This area, characterized by deposits of zinc, lead and silver associated with fluorite and barite, preserves in its historical landfills an estimated potential of about 25,000 tons of zinc and 4.5 tons of gallium.

The project includes a detailed mapping of the landfills present in the district, both for waste material and processing waste, with sampling and characterization to evaluate the contents present in the different sites and estimate the available volumes.

In the province of Sondrio , Valmalenco offers a unique opportunity for nickel recovery from awaruite , a natural iron-nickel alloy present in serpentine mining and processing waste. This natural alloy has a high magnetic susceptibility that makes it easily separable and optimal for subsequent nickel extraction processes.

The project will evaluate the quantities and types of waste produced, from segmentation to sawing residues, and the distribution of awaruite in the various extraction sites to optimize the recovery processes.

Lombardy is also part of the national project for the search for unconventional lithium resources, a crucial element for batteries in the energy transition and detectable, for example, in clays, sedimentary rocks, or geothermal waters.

In Lombardy, the research will focus on the Permian volcano-sedimentary areas of the provinces of Bergamo and Brescia . This study covers the potential of the Alps-Apennines orogenic system and involves the understanding of the geochemical cycle of lithium from the post-collisional Variscan phase to the current thermal and geothermal systems.

The national mineral exploration program represents a crucial bet to reduce Italy's and Europe's dependence on imports of critical raw materials. Lombardy, with its rich mining history and geological potential, is a candidate to become a fundamental piece of this independence strategy. The success of these projects could not only guarantee secure supplies of strategic materials , but also relaunch a sector that has deep historical roots in the region , this time with modern technologies and a sustainable approach.