A CRMA value-chain activity covering removal of ores, minerals and plant products from their original source, including by-products, brine and tree-based sources.
Extraction is the first physical supply step in the CRMA raw-materials value chain. The definition is broad enough to cover mined ores and minerals, plant products, by-products, brine and tree-based sources, but it stays focused on removing material from the original source rather than transforming it into economically usable forms.
This page is anchored in CRMA Article 2, point 4. In the CRMA value-chain sequence, extraction is not the same as processing or recycling; it is the upstream activity that supplies ores, minerals, plant products or concentrates before later transformation or recovery steps.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials
the extraction of ores, minerals and plant products from their original source as a main product or as a by-product, including from mineral occurrence underground, mineral occurrence under and in water, and from brine and trees
CRMA Article 2 source-specific definition layer.
Reference: Article 2, point 4
Use extraction when classifying whether a project, facility, capacity figure or evidence record belongs to the upstream CRMA supply stage. It is relevant for mapping strategic raw-material supply, project scope and Union extraction capacity without mixing those records with processing, recycling or downstream manufacturing data.
Extraction is often treated as a general mining word, but the CRMA definition is useful because it fixes the boundary of the upstream source activity. For Minespider-style evidence systems, that boundary helps separate mine or source records from processing outputs, recycled-content claims and later product-level passport data.