Critical Minerals, Critical mistakes: The Nyrstar report Europe Can't Ignore

In recent posts, I warned about Europe’s eroding grip on critical industrial capabilities. Now, new evidence from Australia confirms just how costly the transfer of Nyrstar’s assets to Trafigura has become for Europe’s geopolitical standing.

A report produced by economics research and advisory firm Mandala reveals the strategic value of Nyrstar’s Australian operations (https://lnkd.in/e-F6WuMG). These are described as “strategic national assets” vital to Australia’s clean energy, defence, and high-tech future. The irony? This report was commissioned and is being promoted by none other than Nyrstar itself. That requires admitting just how valuable these assets truly are.

Nyrstar’s Australian facilities in Port Pirie and Hobart processed 400,000 tonnes of zinc and 160,000 tonnes of lead in 2023, enabling the production of five critical minerals: antimony, bismuth, tellurium, germanium, and indium. These metals are central to energy transition technologies, defence systems, and advanced manufacturing.

Australia holds the world’s largest reserves of lead and zinc, generating $1.7 billion in value last year and supporting 6,600 jobs. This is done through the same assets that once belonged to a publicly listed Belgian company, at the heart of Europe—before they were quietly handed over to private global trader Trafigura. The loss was initially estimated at €2 billion, a figure that vastly underestimated the long-term strategic value of Nyrstar’s global asset base, which includes operations in the U.S., Greenland, and beyond.

Now, as the world pivots to critical minerals, the Nyrstar mines and smelters that were once deemed strategically irrelevant are emerging as global kingmakers. Australia might start fighting to protect what Europe let go. It’s time to ask: when will we learn?