Critical raw materials (CRMs) such as copper, manganese, cobalt, rare earth elements, lithium, graphite, platinum group metals, and others are crucial for the energy transition and digital transformation. While the global demand for these materials is expected to increase, their supply is at risk due to the current geopolitical landscape. The Swiss industry is heavily reliant on imports of semi-finished products and components containing CRMs, such as magnets, batteries, and computer chips.
Switzerland currently has no domestic mining or processing industry for metallic ores or CRMs. According to the current geological knowledge, Switzerland has no significant CRM deposits that might be economically relevant in the near future. Some CRM-bearing, mostly smaller-sized metallic deposits were mined until the 1960s. Regional-scale geological investigations have localised and assessed occurrences in some regions, but the current understanding is limited by the fact that no country-wide exploration programmes have been carried out in the past in a coordinated way. A dedicated prospection programme for CRMs is currently not on the national agenda.
In collaboration with the Swiss Geological Survey (swisstopo), we have reviewed the most important datasets and literature regarding primary and secondary CRM occurrences in Switzerland. Our review summarises the exploration and mining history and provides an overview of the current geological knowledge regarding natural CRM-bearing occurrences in Switzerland (see for example Fig. 1). The potential to recover CRMs from secondary sources is also evaluated. A geospatial analysis and geological interpretation of hundreds of primary CRM-bearing occurrences based on the Resource Information System (RIS) database highlights potentially favourable geological settings (Fig. 2). These settings represent the most promising targets for further investigations or new discoveries.
The corresponding report “Critical Raw Materials in Switzerland – A review” can be downloaded here.
