Following the mission led by Philippe Varin during the second half of 2021, a mission in which A3M participated, many recommendations were made. Among these, the creation of a French Observatory of Mineral Resources for Industrial Sectors (OFREMI) whose mission is to strengthen the resilience and sovereignty of French strategic industrial sectors by helping them secure their supply of mineral resources.
Under the sponsorship of the Minister of Energy Transition, the launch was made official on November 29, 2022.
The following speakers took part in the event, in order of speaking: Philippe Varin, Agnès Pannier-Runacher - Minister for Energy Transition, Roland Lescure - Minister Delegate for Industry, Michelle Rousseau - President of BRGM, Christel Bories - President of ERAMET and CSF Mines and Metallurgy, Christophe Poinssot - Deputy Director General of BRGM, and Stéphane Bourg - Director of OFREMI, Peter Handley - European Commission.
OFREMI brings together around BRGM, CEA, IFPEN, Ademe, IFRI and CNAM: the CSF Mines and Metallurgy plays a specific role. Among the various actions carried out at OFREMI, there are economic intelligence, prospective studies and various working groups whose results support the decisions of public authorities and industry.
Bruno Jacquemin, General Delegate of the Ores, Minerals, Metals Alliance (A3M) and permanent delegate of the CSF Mines & Métallurgie, heavily involved in the structuring of OFREMI's private partnerships, specified on the day of the launch: "The Observatory's work program will be determined by all stakeholders, both public (representing all ministries involved in issues related to raw materials) and private, such as the French Aeronautics and Space Industries Group (GIFAS), the Union of Metallurgical Industries and Trades (UIMM) or the Automotive Platform (PFA)."
