Economy

The future of mining  

EU pressures Sweden: Allow more mineral mining 

 

 The EU has agreed on new legislation that will make Europe more self-sufficient and less dependent on China for the supply of critical minerals. This is reported by Affärsvärlden.  

 

The new law will put pressure on the member states to speed up the permit processes for new mines and is not least aimed at the Swedish mining bureaucracy.  

 

Sweden has large resources of the requested raw materials, but the permit processes are long and there has not been a new Swedish mine opened in 13 years. The new EU law will set a maximum ceiling for the permit processes of two years and three months.  

 

- This could mean that more projects in Sweden get permission in a shorter time, says Erika Ingvald, head of unit at SGU.  

 

The law is expected to play into the hands of the Swedish mining industry, with Boliden at the forefront, writes the business newspaper.  

 

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The future of Spotify  

Finance manager cut 100 million after the notification  

 

Spotify's finance director Paul Vogel, who is described as Daniel Ek's closest man, sold Spotify shares for close to SEK 100 million the day after the notice plans became known. This is reported by DI, which refers to the American Financial Supervisory Authority (SEC).  

 

After Spotify announced that just over a sixth of its workforce will be cut, the stock rose 7.4 percent on Wall Street. Vogel, who had received options in compensation from the company, then took the opportunity to sell shares for the equivalent of SEK 98.3 million.  

 

Spotify's general counsel and a board member also sold shares on the days in connection with the notification. 

 

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The growth of Italy  

Source: Italy withdraws from major Chinese investment  

 

Italy is now formally leaving China's major New Silk Road trade initiative, the Financial Times reports, citing a senior government source in Rome.  

 

Italy signed an agreement on participation in 2019 and was then the only G7 country to join.  

 

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has long been critical of Italy's participation in the initiative, which many consider an attempt by Beijing to increase China's influence in the outside world.  

 

The agreement had automatically been extended for five years if Italy had not terminated it before the turn of the year.

 

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The crypto market  

Bitcoin swallows more water than all of New York  

 

The mining of bitcoin consumes huge amounts of water. Estimates vary, but the global footprint is expected to exceed 2237 billion liters this year, writes the WSJ with reference to the journal Cell Reports Sustainability. That's almost 50 percent more than the city of New York consumes. 

 

Among other things, Bitcoin miners use water to cool down their computer servers. Cooling water is also required for the gas and coal-fired power plants that supply the computers and air conditioning systems with electricity. 

 

- We are struggling with water shortages around the world, so having a different demand is not something we welcome right now, says Kaveh Madani, director of the United Nations University Institute for Water.

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