German Chancellor Martin Schulz said he wants to expand investment in Mongolia to secure supplies of strategic raw materials, including copper and rare earths, Mining.com reported, citing Bloomberg News.
Germany is seeking to diversify its supply of materials needed for battery and chip production, and Mongolia can be a reliable partner, Schulz said during a meeting with Mongolian Prime Minister Alvun Erden in Berlin on Thursday.
"What is important now is to identify specific projects on which we can move forward," Schulz told reporters at a joint news conference. Germany wants to have many good partners around the world and not be overly dependent on one country, he added.
Major economies such as Germany compete fiercely for date-scarce resources, as well as metals and rare earths that are crucial to tackling climate change and the digital transition.
Germany has been heavily dependent on Russian fossil fuel imports for decades. Alarmed by the war with Ukraine, Germany is now seeking to diversify its supply of raw materials necessary to run its economy.
European Commission president Angela von der Leyen said last month that things like lithium and rare earths would be more important than oil and gas in the near future.
She predicts that EU demand for rare earths will increase fivefold by 2030 from current levels.
Rare earths are used in everything from electric motors to turbines and wind turbines to mobile electronics.
