ZRG Mineral is a B2B sourcing intelligence platform for critical industrial minerals. It combines risk terminal, coverage map, predictive early warnings and compliance validation with ZRG certificate — for European procurement teams.

How is ZRG different from classic compliance tools?

Classic tools check backwards whether suppliers are ESG-compliant. ZRG Mineral warns forward 6–8 weeks before supply bottlenecks or price increases — with predictive alerts, live risk scores and coverage map.

Which materials does ZRG Mineral cover?

Gallium, rare earths, graphite, copper, lithium, NdFeB magnets and more critical industrial minerals in the material library — with CRMA-compliant field extraction.

Is ZRG Mineral LkSG and CRMA ready?

ZRG supports supply chain due diligence with documented audit trail, ZRG validation certificate (PDF) and compliance scores — designed for LkSG and EU CRMA requirements.

Is there a free way to get started?

Yes — free 30-day pilot on request with personal onboarding. Enterprise licences individually by B2B quote.

Critical minerals 2026: CRMA risks & procurement strategies | ZRG Mineral

Critical minerals are raw materials of high economic importance and significant supply risk — especially for EVs, wind energy, 5G infrastructure and AI hardware. The EU classifies them systematically under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). Procurement teams must quantify dependencies, price volatility and evidence obligations now — not when the market moves.

What counts as critical under the CRMA?

The EU Critical Raw Materials Act (Regulation 2024/1252) lists critical and strategic raw materials where the Union faces high import dependency alongside industrial relevance. Companies with CRMA-relevant materials in their supply chain must prepare diversification, risk monitoring and due diligence evidence — regardless of direct LkSG scope.

Most relevant for European industrial procurement in 2026: gallium, germanium, neodymium (rare earths), graphite, lithium, copper, cobalt and silicon.

Why these minerals matter

Import concentration: Over 90% of gallium and 80%+ of germanium originate from China; export licence cycles can reprioritise suppliers overnight.
No short-term substitutes: GaAs wafers, NdFeB magnets and battery-grade graphite cannot be swapped on a commodity exchange — purity and certificates bind you to specific suppliers.
Low recycling rates: Gallium and germanium are used in small concentrations; end-of-life recovery does not yet scale with EV and electronics demand.
Strategic demand: Wind, EVs, data centres and defence electronics compete for the same inputs — price and availability follow regulation as much as spot markets.

CRMA 2030: what to prepare now

Article 24: max. 65% from a single third country for strategic materials
Strategic stockpiles and contingency planning in critical sectors
Monitoring obligations for import concentration and supply disruptions
Compliance evidence for due diligence — often combined with LkSG expectations

Price risk and volatility

Critical minerals react to export policy faster than classical supply-demand signals. After China's 2023 export controls on gallium and germanium, spot and contract prices rose more than 40%. Neodymium follows export licence batches; lithium remains volatile with EV demand and processing concentration.

How to quantify raw material risk

Measure geo-exposure across origin countries and processing routes
Calculate supplier concentration (HHI or top-3 share) per material
Use leading indicators: MOFCOM licence delays often precede price moves by 3–8 weeks
Express exposure in EUR: tonnes × price × risk factor × entry probability

ZRG Mineral platform

ZRG Mineral is a sourcing intelligence platform for European procurement teams: portfolio import, material-specific risk scores, predictive alerts with 6–8 week lead time, coverage map, intelligence graph and compliance black box for audit-ready LkSG/CRMA evidence.