Article published in Trends (1st May 2025) about the potential exploitation of critical minerals through mines in Belgium
Extracted from the paper published in Dutch
Lack of knowledge of the subsoil.
Although Belgium has a long mining history, particularly in zinc, lead and coal, it has invested virtually nothing in mapping its deep-seated resources over the past 30 years. As a result, the country is now moving forward in a fog.
‘If you ask me what we know about the Belgian subsoil below 100 metres, I’d be inclined to say zero’, admits Sophie Decrée, despite the fact that she is the author of the Critical Raw Materials Atlas of Belgium, a review of knowledge of the Belgian subsoil.
Data does exist, thanks to the self-sacrifice of researchers at UGent, ULiège and UMons, who have kept the flame burning despite political disinterest. But this work remains partial. ‘Unlike other countries, we have not invested in an ongoing exploration programme,’ laments the expert. Belgium is lagging far behind. Exploring does not necessarily mean exploiting. But not exploring
means depriving ourselves of the tools we need to make informed decisions, as Éric Pirard points out: “We simply owe it to ourselves, as good fathers, to look at what we have underground.
The paper and the interview on that subject has been published in the journal Trends-Tendances. You can retrieve the online document here.
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