The European Union (EU) is funding critical raw material projects in Namibia that could open a path for critical mineral processing in Europe. Historically, the lithium used in batteries has been produced from a mineral called spodumene. “At the moment, petalite is not considered a lithium mineral for batteries, because currently it may not be economic,” Marais said. It contains several minerals which are currently being discarded by their operations and simply being put back into the ground. Mining Finland chief executive Aleksi Salo says Finland, which is a partner of the project, is looking at reducing waste from mining.