Istalia

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The development of the national mining industry begins

The Government presents the framework law and the financial measures for the sector while the first mines are beginning the production

The newly inaugurated bauxite mine of Pieve Castagnana (Region of Cisavugli)

July 5647

Moretti Government has taken a decisive step towards one of the key points of its mandate: the launch and development of the new national mining and refining industry. The Framework Law for the Regulation of the Mining and Refining Sector has been officially presented, a measure that has been awaited for years and which lays the regulatory, industrial and environmental foundations for the creation of an entire new strategic supply chain.

The Law defines a clear and stable system of mining concessions, with particular attention to the transparency of public tenders, the valorization of internal resources, environmental sustainability and the promotion of public-private partnerships. Multi-year tax incentives, facilitations for access to credit and the creation of an industrial sovereign fund to co-finance private projects deemed strategic are planned.

In detail, the Framework Law establishes an organic system for the regulation and promotion of mining and industrial activity, with the aim of:

• Ensuring transparent and competitive access to mining concessions, with digitalized procedures and integrated assessments of economic feasibility and environmental impact.
  

• Obligating the local processing of a significant portion of the extracted material (from 30% to 60%, depending on the mineral), avoiding simple raw exportation.
  

• Introducing an incentive tax regime, with exemptions of up to 10 years for companies located in Strategic Industrial Zones (ZIS), and accelerated depreciation for industrial investments.
  

• Strengthening environmental controls, with stringent constraints on the protection of water resources and ecosystems, and rewards (in the form of tax credits) for companies that adopt low-impact extraction and refining technologies.
  

• Create a national portal for the traceability of critical materials, integrated with the provvided requirements on supply chains.
  

The announced Strategic Industrial Zones (ZIS) will be hubs dedicated to the transformation of raw materials, equipped with modern infrastructure, administrative simplifications and priority access to energy and transport. The first four ZIS identified are:

• Monte Leone di Pontelasa (Cisavugli Region), a crucial junction between the regional capital Pontelasa and the route towards Catambert.
  

• Troban (Nicoma Region), an industrial city in the province of Sàxera on the border with the province of Ìxoła d'Arestano.
  

• Nocciano-Scoppito (Region of Fidelia), municipalities in the far north of the Fidelia Region, therefore south-east of Castiell 'e Sciorenza and close to the Pheykran Basin, which will be one of the main mining areas of the country.
  

• Gelamia-Sabignona (northwest of Region of Ferrano), destined to become a nerve centre for titanium processing.
  

About the mining activities, instead, one of the most significant operations is taking place in Gelamia: the birth of Gelamet, a joint venture between Hasan-Mariani Group, a historic national industrial holding, and GFCAB, the Crown's financial group. Gelamet has already completed a detailed industrial and environmental plan for the extraction and processing of titanium from Ilmenite and Rutile deposits, estimated to be the richest on the continent. The concession, currently being assigned, could be awarded to the company in the coming months.

Meanwhile, SNPE, the state-owned company active in the prospection and extraction sector, has announced the beginning of operations of the new bauxite mine in the Silician Plateau, in the Cisavugli Region, specifically in the municipality of Pieve Castagnana. The site, operational since this week, will represent one of the main sources of aluminum in the country.

Another important announcement concerns SMGI - Società Mineraria Generale Istaliana, a company born within the IMERIN conglomerate in joint venture with GFCAB again, which confirmed the start of operations for November at the monazite deposit in the Pheykran basin, on the edge of the suggestive "Piana del sale riarso", the large salt pan in the lowest point of the depression (258 meters below sea level). The mine will be dedicated to the extraction of rare earths, in particular Yttrium and Dysprosium, fundamental elements for advanced technologies, from electric motors to military and aerospace components and so on.

The Ministry of Finance has also anticipated that the Budget Law, scheduled for October, will contain a specific chapter on the development of the mining and refining sector, including direct public investments, a package of economic stimulus measures and allocations for technical and professional training.

In detail, for the sector the Budget Law will provide:

• Creation of the "Strategic Industry Fund (FIS)", created and managed by Deposits and Consignement Fund and also initially financed by the Istalian Strategic Investment Fund, intended to co-finance extraction, refining and industrialization projects through minority public equity or subsidized credit instruments.
  

• The aforementioned Strategic Industrial Zones (ZIS) and related measures: ten-year tax relief, reduction of bureaucracy in licenses, priority access to logistics infrastructures and shared services (energy, water, laboratories, industrial customs). Each ZIS will be managed by an autonomous Industrial Development Authority.
  

• Public guarantees for access to industrial credit, in particular for local companies or territorial consortia that start processing and manufacturing activities related to the extracted materials.
  

• Fund for Research and Technological Transition to finance: public-private competence centers in the metallurgical and advanced materials sectors; high-tech startups in the treatment of critical minerals; pilot projects for the recycling of mining waste and industrial by-products.
  

• Professional and university training programs to expande the pool of specialized technicians and engineers, in collaboration with the Regions and the ZIS.
  

In connection with the mining plan, the Budget Law allocates also funds dedicated to the implementation of the "Program Sea" for the island of Alaria, which aims to expand the infrastructure of industrial ports and the connection infrastructure with the rest of the island, and in particular the ports of Pontelasa and Całeon will be expanded and modernized, destined to become the main logistics hubs for the transport of refined metals and components and technical ports for distribution in the domestic market. These two logistics hubs will become essential hubs for connecting the country's industrial areas but will also be expanded to become important for the export of refined and semi-finished products.