Bucharest, March 25, 2025 – RBJ – The European Commission will finance with 615 million euros three strategic projects for the future of the economy, in Gorj, Hunedoara and Bihor, announced the Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu. Minerals that all the world’s major economic powers are competing for: graphite, magnesium and copper
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced on Tuesday the decision of the European Commission to finance with 615 million euros three strategic projects for the future of the economy, in Gorj, Hunedoara and Bihor, concerning the exploitation of minerals that all the world’s major economic powers are competing for: graphite, magnesium and copper, which are used first and foremost in energy, aviation and the defense industry.
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced, in a video statement, alongside the Minister of Economy, that he comes with extremely good news.
“The European Commission will finance with 615 million euros three strategic projects for the future of the Romanian economy, in Gorj, Hunedoara and Bihor. These are three investments that will exploit minerals that all the major economic powers of the world are fighting over. And we are talking here about graphite, magnesium and copper. These essential and critical raw materials, at the same time, are used first and foremost in energy, aviation and the defense industry”, specified Ciolacu.
The Head of the Executive also said that at the last meeting with the Vice-President of the European Commission, they discussed all 3 projects.
“We had 7 projects submitted, among which these 3 were selected. They will automatically lead to thousands of jobs, but also to a horizontal development of the entire industry”, added the Prime Minister.
The Minister of Economy, Bogdan Ivan, said in turn that we are talking about a 100% Romanian project when we refer to the 200 million euro project of SalRom, a company in the portfolio of the Ministry of Economy and Digitalization, which will ensure the exploitation of 15,000 tons per year of graphite.
The minister showed that graphite can be used in everything that the automotive industry, the defense industry, means for energy storage.
“It is a project that comes in a context in which Europe has an increasing need for this resource and this resource is still found in Romania and in another country in the European Union. Also, when we talk about green magnesium, we are talking about an investment of 115 million euros, we are talking about a critical material that is used in the aeronautical industry and which can also be used in the pharmaceutical industry”, mentioned Minister Ivan.
He also said that “Romania is the only country in the Union that will exploit this extremely important resource”.
Bogdan Ivan specified that the largest of all three projects comes to Hunedoara County, namely 300 million euros for the extraction and refining of copper and gold from the Romanian subsoil, which will automatically reduce the dependence of the entire cycle on everything that means the final processing of copper on imports.
“At the moment, Romania depends on copper imports from countries outside the European Union. With this project, which will produce 20,000 tons of copper concentrate annually, we will ensure both the needs of the Romanian economy in everything that means the processing industry, as well as a significant part of the European one. We will increase by 2.3% the production at the European level in terms of copper, essential in everything that means microconductors, in everything that means the automotive industry, the aerospace and defense industry”, explained Bogdan Ivan.
