A CRMA capacity metric for maximum annual production volumes of Union-based extractive operations involving strategic raw materials.
Union extraction capacity turns extraction into a policy and monitoring metric. It covers extractive operations located in the Union, including processing operations that are typically located at or near the extraction site, and focuses on strategic raw materials rather than all materials generally.
This page is anchored in CRMA Article 2, point 5. The definition is limited to maximum annual production volumes of relevant extractive operations located in the Union, including near-site processing that normally belongs with extraction.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials
an aggregate of the maximum annual production volumes of extractive operations for ores, minerals, plant products and concentrates containing strategic raw materials, including processing operations that are typically located at or near the extraction site, located in the Union
CRMA Article 2 source-specific definition layer.
Reference: Article 2, point 5
Use Union extraction capacity when comparing CRMA capacity targets, project contributions or supply-security evidence for strategic raw materials. It is useful for separating upstream Union production potential from processing capacity, recycling capacity and imported material flows.
Capacity terms can sound like simple production statistics, but the CRMA separates extraction, processing and recycling into different Union capacity buckets. In a traceability or passport-adjacent system, that distinction matters because a mine-site volume, a refinery volume and a recycling-output volume support different supply-risk and sourcing claims.