There are 14 research projects included in the National Program for General Mineral Exploration just approved by the Interministerial Committee for Ecological Transition (CITE), distributed throughout the national territory, in key regions such as Lombardy, Piedmont, Trentino-Alto Adige, Liguria, Toscana, Lazio, Campania, Calabria, Emilia-Romagna, Marche and Sardegna, to which is added the national mapping of the deposits of extractive waste foreseen by the PNRR URBES project.

The program, whose implementation was entrusted by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE) and the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy (MIMIT) to the Geological Service of Italy of ISPRA, involves 15 operational units and over 400 specialists, with an investment of 3.5 million euros dedicated to the first phase of investigation of natural deposits.

The approval of the PNE marks a strategic return for Italy to the valorization of its mineral resources, in a modern, sustainable perspective and in line with European priorities. The objective is to build an updated picture of the national mineral potential, integrating historical information with a new exploration campaign, more than 30 years after the last public investment in the sector. The program also aims to provide preliminary indications to Italian and foreign investors on the availability of raw materials present in the country.

The investigation activities will focus on the most promising areas, selected by a team of experts among the top Italian specialists in mineral deposits. The focus will be directed in particular to numerous Critical and Strategic Raw Materials identified by the European Commission, including: lithium, boron, graphite, copper, manganese, fluorite, barite, feldspar, antimony, tungsten, titanium, bismuth, arsenic, magnesium, rare earths and platinum group metals. The focus also extends to other minerals of interest to the national industry, such as zeolites and industrial minerals.