INTERVIEW: Boliden CEO Staffas says metal mining must be central to green EU future

Metal mining might not be the first thing that comes to mind when people think of green economics but Boliden chief executive officer Mikael Staffas thinks European lawmakers should pay heed to the industry while they begin to stake out policies designed to reduce carbon emissions on the continent.

"Everybody wants to do something with the climate and drive an electric car, but no one wants to have a mine anywhere close to where they are. This is a big problem," Staffas said in a telephone interview with Fastmarkets.
Although Europe is a net exporter of refined metal, it mines half the zinc it consumes in slab form and less for copper at 45%, with imports shipped from as far as Peru and Australia.
"At the moment, Europe is exporting its problems by importing these metals," Staffas said. "In terms of CO2, it's an order of magnitude better to source from European mines as opposed to the outside."

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