Follow the Money
In the scramble to acquire strategic minerals, the European Commission adopted new rules reducing review and fast-tracking mining projects around the world. President Ursula von der Leyen announced the Critical Raw Materials Act during her September 2022 State of the Union speech, calling to address EU dependency on imported critical raw materials by diversifying and securing a domestic and sustainable supply of them.
Donatus Albrecht is the brother of President von der Leyen and a partner in Aurelius Investment Advisory. The Aurelius Group owns Minova, a global US-based mining company that is seeking to profit from Europe’s scramble for strategic minerals. Aurelius announced its acquisition of Minova in December 2021 and completed it in March 2022, just months before the EU President’s announcement.
Critics raise concerns about transparency, political influence, and the lack of clear, project-specific reasoning in the EU mining approvals. The OECD says the industry’s fight against corruption is complicated by potentially huge profits, the “gatekeeping” function of governments, limited competition, and a blurred distinction between private and public interests. Civil society organizations sought reviews of social and environmental impacts of many of the EU mining projects and were denied.
electric light the most efficient policeman.”