12 October 2026
Atalaya Mining Copper, S.A.
(“Atalaya” or the “Company”)
Touro Declared Strategic Project Under EU Critical Raw Materials Act
EU designation complements Touro’s strategic industrial project status in Galicia
Atalaya Mining (LSE: ATYM) is pleased to announce that Proyecto Touro, through its local entity Cobre San Rafael ("CSR"), has been designated as a Strategic Project by the European Commission under the European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act (“CRMA”).
The EU designation recognises the strategic importance of Proyecto Touro in contributing to a secure and sustainable European supply of copper, which has been included on the EU’s list of strategic raw materials as a result of being essential to electrification, energy infrastructure and industrial development.
Separately in 2024, Proyecto Touro was declared a strategic industrial project (or in Spanish, Proyecto Industrial Estratégico ("PIE")) by the Xunta de Galicia, reflecting the project's potential to support new investment and economic development in Galicia.
Alberto Lavandeira, CEO, commented:
“This declaration by the European Commission reinforces our confidence in Proyecto Touro, which has been designed to be a modern and sustainable copper operation that can help provide Europe with reliable access to critical raw materials.
Confirming and highlighting its commitment to promoting mining investment in Galicia, the Xunta de Galicia has also announced the launch of a public tender for mining concessions.
We look forward to finalising the environmental approval process of the Touro copper project, which we believe is now close to completion.”
EU Critical Raw Materials Act Background
The CRMA entered into force on 23 May 2024. It establishes measures to strengthen the EU's capacity along the critical raw materials value chains and diversify its sources of supply. The European Commission launched two calls for applications for Strategic Projects. The first application call closed on 22 August 2024, and the second round closed on 15 January 2026.
For this second call, the Commission received 102 applications located in the EU across 18 Member States. Of these, the European Commission and external experts assessed 92 applications against the criteria set by the CRMA, such as security of supply, technical feasibility, environmental, social and governance standards, and cross-border benefits for the EU. Based on this assessment, the European Commission consulted with the Critical Raw Materials Board, composed of representatives of the Member States, with the European Parliament participating as an observer.
Contacts:
|
SEC Newgate UK |
Elisabeth Cowell / George Esmond / Gwen Samuel |
+44 20 3757 6882 |
|
Atalaya Mining |
Michael Rechsteiner |
+34 959 59 28 50 |
About Atalaya Mining Copper, S.A.
Atalaya is a European copper producer that owns and operates the Proyecto Riotinto complex in southwest Spain. Atalaya’s shares trade on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market under the symbol “ATYM” and Atalaya is a FTSE 250 Index constituent.
Atalaya’s operations include the Cerro Colorado open pit mine and a modern 15 Mtpa processing plant, which has the potential to become a central processing hub for ore sourced from its wholly owned regional projects around Riotinto, such as Proyecto Masa Valverde and Proyecto Riotinto East. In addition, Atalaya has a phased earn-in agreement for up to 80% ownership of Cobre San Rafael S.L., which fully owns the Proyecto Touro brownfield copper project in the northwest of Spain, as well as a 99.9% interest in Proyecto Ossa Morena. For further information, please visit www.atalayamining.com
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