On 22 September 2015 the CRM Alliance came together in Brussels to participate at a luncheon event sponsored by CRM Alliance member Etimine S.A. from Luxembourg. Etimine SA was established in 1984 and is a subsidiary of Eti Maden IGM, a Turkish State owned company. It is the biggest borate producer in the world and also has the largest share of the world boron market. The luncheon event focused on a highly sensitive issue for several critical raw materials – EU environmental legislation (REACH) with a particular focus on borates. Since the EU is highly dependent on the import of borates into the EU from third countries such as Turkey and the United States, the discussion generally centered on the impact REACH has on trade.
Concerning REACH, the CRM Alliance advocates having the socio-economic assessment done at the beginning of the REACH process, not at the end. For critical materials this would mean that at an early stage it could already be concluded that authorization, restriction or Candidate Listing cannot be realistic options, given their socio-economic importance. Other risk management options could then play a more important role, such as Occupational Exposure Limits for workers.
To read the full report, please click here.
To view the presentation given by Bayram Ankarali – General Manager of Etimine S.A., please click here.