Mineral Raw Materials’ Resource Efficiency in Selected ESEE Countries: Strengths and Challenges

The mineral raw materials’ resource efficiency is currently recognized in Europe as the way for the future development of the European mining economies. With this aim, a West Balkan Mineral Register was created in the EIT Raw Materials RESEERVE Project, including Primary and Secondary Raw Materials of six Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (ESEE) countries, i.e., Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. Within the Project, a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) and Gap Analysis was also performed for the development of the raw material sector in the region. This paper summarizes the main strengths to be exploited, i.e., the significant geological potential, the presence of critical raw materials (e.g., Sb, Co, REEs) in primary and secondary raw materials, and the challenges to address, i.e., compliance of resources/reserves classification with international standards, integration of state’s mineral policy with spatial planning strategies, improvement of the business environment, capacity building of the raw materials workforce and enhancement of the public acceptance of the sector, in order to achieve the sustainable development of the mineral resources of the six ESEE countries. These opportunities comply with the objectives of the EU Raw Materials Initiative and are expected to contribute in the further enhancement of those economies in transition for the upcoming years.