The mining industry market - Italy (2023)

1.2 The global market

In ****, the world mining market (***) of *.* percent is expected under which the world market could reach a value of $***.* billion.

Mineral extraction market World, ****-****, in billions of dollars Thebusinessresearchcompany

Looking at mineral-related trade flows, Australia is the world leader in **** by value of exports, which reached a value of more than $*** billion. It is followed by Brazil, $**.* billion, Chile, with $**.** billion, Peru, with $**.** billion, and finally South Africa with $**.** billion.

Major mineral exporters World, ****, in billion dollars UnComtrade In terms of inflows, China is by far the world's largest importer of minerals. In ****, the value of Chinese imports is $***.** billion. Japan's mineral imports, the world's second largest importer of minerals, stand at just **.* percent of China's imports (***). It is followed by South Korea, with $**.** billion; Germany, with $**.** billion; and, finally, India, with $*.** billion. Major mineral importers World, ****, in billions of dollars UnComtrade

1.3 The Italian market

This analysis considers the total turnover of enterprises engaged in the extraction of minerals from quarries and mines, the economic value of output sold of metal ores and other minerals from quarries and mines.

Turnover

Between **** and ****, the turnover of mineral extraction enterprises in Italy is growing. During the period, total turnover grew from *.** billion euros to *.** billion euros, marking a growth of **.* percent. The growth appears to be constant throughout the entire period with the only exception being ****, when turnover is down by *.* percent. However, in ****, the decline recorded in **** is completely absorbed and turnover grows by **.*%.

Total turnover of mineral extraction enterprises from quarries and mines Italy, ****-****, in billion euros Istat

Production sold Between **** and ****, the value of production sold also appears to be growing. Over the *-year period considered this grew by **.*%, from *.** billion euros to *.** billion euros. In this case, unlike the previous one, the trend is up and down. There are negative changes in the two-year periods ****/**** (***) Production sold of metal ores and other minerals from quarries and mines Italy, ****-****, in billion euros Istat In contrast to the total turnover and value of production sold, the number of mining sites, determined by the sum ...

1.4 Import - Export

The analysis of trade flows related to imports and exports of minerals to Italy is broken down by product type. In particular, minerals (***) are considered.

Minerals

Italy can be defined as a net importer of minerals. Considering the period ****-****, the export coverage ratio, determined by the ratio of the value of exports to the value of imports multiplied by ***, is well below *** percent. Specifically, the value of imports increased from $*.** billion to $*.** billion (***). In this case, growth is uniform throughout the entire period, with the only exception of **** when there was a **.* percent drop in exports Import - export of minerals Italy, ****-****, in millions of dollars UnComtrade Considering Italy's trade outflow of minerals, Spain and Germany together collect more than ** percent of total Italian exports, **.* percent and **.* percent respectively. Beglio contributes **.* percent of Italy's mineral exports. All other countries individually collect no more than *.* percent of the total value and together contribute **.* percent of Italian exports. Main destination countries of mineral exports Italy, ****, % UnComtrade Considering now Italy's mineral imports, from the graph below, one can see an extreme diversification of inflows. Brazil is Italy's main trading partner in mineral imports, contributing **.* percent of the total value. It is followed ...

1.5 The impact of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict

The outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in February **** resulted in, among other things, a general increase in the price index. The mineral extraction sector nis not exempt from this increase. Through the analysis of the producer price index for mineral extraction from quarries and mines, it is possible to show an increase of **.* points between January **** and September ****. This means that over a period of ** months, extraction costs increased by **.* percent. Compared to ****, the increase stands at **.* percent.

Producer price index for mineral extraction from quarries and mines Italy, ****-****, base ****=*** Istat

Analyzing the producer price index, it is possible to show a different intesity of the consequences of the conflict on the foreign and domestic markets.

Considering the producer price index for the foreign market of mineral extraction from quarries and mines, between January **** and September **** this increased by **.* points. Over ** months, the industry's production costs related to foreign trade grew by **.* percent, which is double the aggregate figure for the foreign and domestic markets (***).

Producer price index for the foreign market for mining and quarrying minerals Italy, ****-****, base ****=*** Istat Now considering the producer price index for the domestic market, between January **** and September this increased by * points. Between ...

2.1 Demand in Italy

However, the use of minerals is to numerous sectors of the economy, which makes an assessment of demand very difficult. This analysis considers the sold production of minerals by weight and the main minerals sold.

In Italy, production sold of minerals grew by **.* percent between **** and ****. During the period, the volume of production sold increased from ***.** million tons to ***.** million tons. The growth appears to be constant throughout the entire period, with the only exception being **** when the volume of production sold dropped by *.*%, except for growing again in **** (***).

Production sold of metal ores and other minerals from quarries and mines Italy, ****-****, in millions of tons Istat Considering the different product types, basalt represents the most traded product in terms of volume. In ****, sold basalt production accounts for more than */* of total sales volume (***). Other crushed stone and other mineral types account for *.*% and **.*% of total sales, respectively.

Main types of mined products, breakdown by quantity of product sold in tons Italy, ****, % Istat

2.2 Demand drivers

This analysis of the drivers of mineral demand in Italy considers the evolution of the number of manufacturing enterprises in Italy (***).

Between **** and ****, the total number of manufacturing enterprises in Italy appears to be declining. During the period, the number of active enterprises fell from ***,*** to ***,***, marking a contraction of *.* percent. The decline appears to be constant throughout the period as well as the annual changes.

Manufacturing firms Italy, ****-****, in thousands Istat

In contrast to the manufacturing sector, the construction sector appears to be growing between **** and ****. During the period, the total number of active enterprises increased from ***,*** to ***,***, marking a growth of *.* percent. While between **** and **** the trend is negative with a *.* percent contraction of enterprises, between **** and **** the sector appears to be on the upswing (***) thanks mainly to the introduction of tax bonuses for renovation and modernization of buildings starting in ****.

Construction companies Italy, ****-****, in thousands Istat

2.3 The geographical distribution of demand

To visualize the geographical distribution of demand, two maps are created with the share of manufacturing and construction enterprises in each Italian macro-region.

Considering the manufacturing sector, the Northwest collects the highest share of enterprises, accounting for **.* percent of the national total. This is followed by the Northeast with **.* percent. Moving down to the South, the distribution is extremely uneven compared to the North. In the Center, **.* percent of manufacturing enterprises are concentrated while in the South the share drops to **.* percent. Finally, the Islands gather just *.* percent of the total number of manufacturing firms in Italy.

The geographical distribution of construction enterprises basically follows the trend outlined for manufacturing enterprises. The Northwest collects the highest share of enterprises, accounting for **.* percent of the total; the Northeast follows with **.* percent. In the Center, **.* percent of enterprises are concentrated while in the South the share drops to **.* percent of the national total. Finally, it is once again the Islands that collect the smallest share, amounting in this case to *.* percent.

3.1 The market structure

In order to analyze the market structure, enterprises active in the extraction of minerals from quarries and mines are considered. In particular, the number of active enterprises, the number of employees in the industry and the legal form of enterprises are analyzed.

Number of enterprises

Between **** and ****, the mineral extraction sector in Italy appears to be shrinking. During the period, the total number of active enterprises fell from *,*** to *,***, representing a decline of **.* percent. The decline appears to be constant during the entire period, and the annual negative changes show substantially homogeneous values. The outbreak of the pandemic in **** does not seem to have accelerated the negative trend recorded during the period.

Enterprises active in the extraction of minerals from quarries and mines Italy, ****-****, in number Istat

Employees Just as with the number of enterprises, it is also possible to outline a contraction in the number of employees between **** and ****. During the period, the total number of employees fell from **,*** to **,***, marking a decline of *.* percent. Unlike the previous case, the trend is up and down over the period considered with positive changes between **** and **** (***). Employment of mineral extraction enterprises from quarries and mines Italy, ****, in thousands Istat Legal form Finally, ...

3.2 Geographical distribution of mining sites

In order to visualize the geographical distribution of extractive sites, a map was created with the share of quarries and mines present in each macro-region in relation to the national total.

The Northeast and Northwest together collect almost ** percent of the total number of mining sites in Italy: **.* percent and **.* percent, respectively. They are followed by the Center, with **.* percent of the total, and the South with **.* percent. Finally, slightly more than * in ** mining sites are in the Islands, where **.* percent of quarries and mines are concentrated.

3.3 The value chain

After the depletion of the deposit, there is closure of the mining site and its reclamation, which may include environmental restoration and land reclamation. This is a critical phase that focuses on the responsible management of the environment and resources after mining activities have ceased. This phase includes various aspects:

Closure planning: closure planning ideally begins before mining operations begin. This process includes estimating future costs, allocating funds for closure, and planning specific actions for site recovery. Decommissioning: this can include decommissioning of machinery, demolition of structures, and disposal of waste materials in a safe and regulatory compliant manner. Environmentalrestoration: environmental restoration aims to reduce the environmental impact of the mine and may include remediation of contaminated soil and water, restoration of vegetation, and restoration of biodiversity. The goal is to restore the area to a state as close as possible to its original state or, in some cases, to a predetermined new use. Mining waste management: safe and sustainable management of mining waste, such as tailings dumps and tailings ponds. This may include consolidation, capping, and long-term monitoring to prevent pollution. Post-closure monitoring: long-term monitoring of environmental conditions at the site to detect and manage any environmental problems that may ...

3.4 The main actors

The following is a list of the main players involved in the extraction of minerals from quarries and mines in Italy:

Superbeton s.p.a: founded in ****, is a Grigolin Group company specializing in the production of ready-mixed concrete and bituminous conglomerates. Raw materials are procured through its own quarries, ensuring uniformity and continuity of supply. Active in several Italian regions, it has automated plants certified according to European and Italian standards for construction products. The company operates a wide production range that includes asphalt mixes, ready-mix concrete, cements and aggregates. With ** production plants, it is the leading producer of asphalt conglomerate in Italy

Sibelco s.p.a: is a global company that provides solutions in the field of industrial materials, focusing mainly on silica, clays, feldspars and olivine. Founded in ****, its initial business was the supply of silica sand from deposits in Flanders to major glass manufacturers in Belgium. Today, Sibelco operates *** production sites in ** countries with a team of more than *,*** people, and is also a leader in glass recycling.

Omya s.p.a: specializing in the production and sale of micronized natural calcium carbonate in various forms, including powder, granulate and aqueous suspension the company has been present ...

4.1 Type of the offer

The distinction between quarries and mines is purely legal and is related to the type of ore extracted. Royal Decree ****/**, which is still today the reference law for the mining sector, distinguishes minerals into two categories. Specifically, in Article * it states, "The workings indicated in Article * (***) are divided into two categories: mining and quarrying."

Belonging to the first category are the exploration and cultivation of the following substances and energies:

minerals usable for the extraction of metals, metalloids and their compounds, even if said minerals are used directly; graphite, solid, liquid and gaseous fuels, asphaltic and bituminous rocks; phosphates, alkali and magnesium salts, alumite, micas, feldspars, kaolin and bentonite, bleaching earths, clays for porcelain and strong earthenware, earths with a refractoriness greater than **** degrees centigrade; precious stones, garnets, corundum, bauxite, leucite, magnesite, fluorine, barium and strontium ores, talc, asbestos, cement marl, lithographic stones; radioactive substances, mineral and thermal waters, vapors and gases.

Belonging to the second category is the cultivation:

of peats of building, road and hydraulic construction materials of coloring earths, fossil flours, quartz and siliceous sands, molar stones, coti stones of other materials industrially usable under the terms of Article * and not included in the first category

(***)

The ...

4.2 The prices

In order to analyze prices related to mineral extraction, the producer price indexes for different types of products between **** and **** are considered (***).

Producer prices for metal ores are found to be broadly stable between January **** and October ****. After peaking at ***.* points in May ****, the index showed a negative trend in the following months, touching **.* points in October ****, indicating that production costs are *.* percent lower than in ****.

Producer price index for metal ore mining Italy, ****-****, base ****=*** Istat

However, it is different for nonmetallic minerals. Between January **** and October ****, the producer price index rose by **.*, representing a **.* percent increase in production costs. While between January **** and January **** the index shows substantial stability, from January **** this undergoes an increase, peaking in June ****, the month in which the index reaches a value of ***.*. Compared to ****, costs have risen by **.*%. Producer price index for non-metallic mineral extraction Italy, ****-****, base ****=*** Istat Now considering specific product types, the producer price index for stone, sand and clay mining shows increased between January **** and October ****. During this period, the index increased by **.* points, representing an increase of **.* percent. Again, the increase begins in January **** and peaks in June ****. Compared to ****, production costs are **.* percent higher. Producer price index ...

4.3 New trends in supply

Artificial Intelligence (***) AI systems are being designed to discover new deposits by adding all old records to new data obtained from surface readings and using machine learning approaches. The advantages of entrusting these detections to AI systems rather than to mining workers is clear. Only intelligent machines have enough computational, analytical and predictive capacity to merit the investment. Thinking of conducting the same research with a team of professionals would result in an expenditure of time and resources that would be difficult for a company to sustain. The principle is the same as in industrial automation. Optimize work through data analysis, without wasting time or the possibility of error Ad example, KoBold Metals, the U.S. startup funded by Equinor and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the climate-friendly funds of billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, aims to use Artificial Intelligence exclusively for the discovery of new deposits.

In ****, the global market for smart mining (***) of **.* percent is expected under which the global market could reach values of $**.* billion by the end of the period.

Smart mining market World, ****-****, in billions of dollars Marketsandmarkets

5.1 The legislation

European Standards:

Directive **/***/EEC: concerns the implementation of measures to promote the improvement of the safety and health of workers at work. Directive **/**/EEC: concerning minimum requirements for improving the safety and health protection of workers in the mineral-extracting industries by drilling. Directive **/***/EEC: on the minimum requirements for improving the safety and health protection of workers in surface or underground mineral-extracting industries. Directive ****/**/EC: on the management of waste from the extractive industries.

Italian legislation:

National legislation on the subject still dates back to Royal Decree ****/****, which distinguishes, on the basis of the material extracted, between first-category (***) extractive industries. In compliance with constitutional dictates, competencies related to non-energy mineral extraction activities were transferred, at different times, to the regions:

Quarries: Presidential Decree No. *** of July **, ****. Mining: Legislative Decree No. *** of **/*/**** and Legislative Decree No. ** of June **, ****.

Regional laws:

6.1 Segmentation

• Superbeton s.p.a
• Sibelco s.p.a
• Caolino Panciera s.p.a
• Italkali s.p.a
• Omya s.p.a
• Minerali Industrialia s.r.l
• Dolomite Franchi s.p.a