Environmental assessment of minerals in Spain: what changes with the new 2026-2030 Plan

On March 10, 2026, the Government approved the 1st Action Plan for the Sustainable Management of Mineral Raw Materials 2026-2030, a national strategy that will mobilize 414 million euros in public investment to strengthen the strategic autonomy of Spain and the European Union in the supply of mineral resources essential for the energy and digital transition.

This plan seeks to ensure a secure, sustainable, and responsible supply of critical raw materials, improve traceability, encourage recycling, and promote the circular economy as fundamental pillars for Spanish industry and the achievement of climate goals. In this context, the environmental assessment of minerals is taking on an increasingly relevant role as a key tool for reconciling resource utilization with environmental protection.

A plan with a comprehensive vision: autonomy, technology, circularity, and sustainable management

The Plan is structured around four strategic pillars:

- Strategic autonomy, to ensure access to key raw materials.

- Industrial development, with the goal of strengthening national exploration, processing, and recovery capabilities.

- Circularity, by boosting the recycling, reuse, and recovery of raw materials contained in industrial or electronic waste.

- Sustainable management, aimed at developing mining activity with more rigorous environmental standards, greater traceability, and better land restoration practices.

Planned actions also include the preservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services, the restoration of degraded areas, and the analysis of the impact of extractive activity in rural, deindustrialized areas affected by demographic challenges. Furthermore, the plan aligns with the European Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) and the 2nd Circular Economy Action Plan.

The National Mineral Exploration Program (PNEM): a key component

Within the Plan, the National Mineral Exploration Program 2026-2030 stands out, endowed with 182 million euros and considered the first program of its kind in over 50 years.

This program will allow for:

- Updating resource inventories.

- Identify priority exploration areas by generating mineral potential maps for Spain, including tailings ponds and waste rock piles.

- Boost private sector participation through grants.

- Promote the use of predictive models and advanced technology.

Spain, a country with vast potential in mineral raw materials

Spain currently stands out as the second-largest copper producer and the only strontium producer in Europe, in addition to holding significant reserves of fluorspar, feldspar, and tungsten.

The geological complexity of the Iberian Peninsula translates into remarkable mineral wealth spread across much of the territory. In fact, our country is home to 20 of the 34 critical raw materials defined by the European Union in 2024.

With the approval of the 1st Action Plan for the Sustainable Management of Mineral Raw Materials 2026-2030, the Government is committed to identifying, understanding, and better leveraging this potential, strengthening strategic autonomy and promoting more modern and sustainable mining. In this scenario, the environmental assessment of minerals will be decisive in ensuring that the sector's development is carried out with criteria of sustainability, legal certainty, and territorial integration.

This plan represents a decisive boost to update knowledge of existing resources, improve traceability, and advance toward a model that combines responsible exploration, circular economy, and high environmental standards.

Social acceptance: a central element for the Plan's success

The strategy incorporates environmental, social, and economic sustainability as foundations for the sector's deployment. In this sense, the social dimension is clearly integrated into the Plan, which recognizes the need to proactively address the relationship with the public.

Social acceptance, therefore, becomes a key factor for the success of initiatives linked to mineral raw materials. This reinforces the need to approach each project from a broad perspective, in which the environmental assessment of minerals is not limited to regulatory compliance, but also contributes to improving territorial integration and the social perception of the project.

Implications for the sector: higher standards, greater opportunity

The 1st Action Plan for the Sustainable Management of Mineral Raw Materials opens up a landscape full of opportunities, but also brings new technical, environmental, social, and administrative requirements.

The rollout of this Plan will lead to an increase in activities related to:

- New mining research projects.

- Regulatory updates, including potential amendments to the Mining Act and Royal Decree 975/2009 on extractive industry waste.

- Restoration of degraded areas.

- Circular economy processes applied to mining waste.

Within this new regulatory and strategic framework, at Ideas Medioambientales we offer comprehensive support services for developers, government agencies, and organizations throughout all phases of their projects, providing technical expertise and a multidisciplinary approach to the environmental assessment of minerals.

Full environmental processing

- Environmental Impact Assessments.

- Specific sectoral reports.

- Biodiversity studies, such as fauna and botanical inventories.

- Restoration projects.

Archaeological management and processing

- Heritage impact assessments.

- Archaeological monitoring.

Advanced sustainability services

- Socioeconomic and territorial impact studies.

- Analysis of social cohesion and public acceptance.

- Sustainability plans and ESG models.

- Integration of circular economy criteria.

All of this through a comprehensive and strategic approach that enables:

- Multidisciplinary coordination across all phases.

- Support throughout public participation processes.

- Integration of technical, social, and environmental dimensions.

With this comprehensive approach, at Ideas Medioambientales we are prepared to help ensure that every project is developed with legal compliance, territorial integration, social acceptance, and sustainability, responding to the needs of a sector in the midst of transformation.

If you need technical support for environmental mineral assessment, get in touch with Ideas Medioambientales.