LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The European Union is pushing ahead with plans to stockpile critical materials, with Italy, France and Germany set to take leading roles as the bloc moves to cut reliance on China, four sources with knowledge of the matter said.

The EU unveiled a plan called RESourceEU in December to reduce its dependence on China for key raw materials, including a joint stockpile and export restrictions on reusable metal scrap and rare earth waste. The European Commission has yet to provide details.

China is the world's largest producer of industrial metals and minerals. Its export controls since 2023 on gallium, germanium, tungsten, indium, molybdenum, antimony and heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium have disrupted supply chains for manufacturers outside the country.

With Europe lacking refining capacity and facing long lead times to diversify, strategic reserves are seen as one of the few tools available to cushion its economy against China's export curbs, safeguard defence production and protect energy transition goals.

DEFINED ROLES

The sources said there had been movement towards building up critical minerals reserves. France will work on financing purchases, Germany will handle sourcing and Italy will take charge of storage, according to three sources who attended a Teams meeting with EU officials in December.

Italy and Germany have already pledged to work together to secure raw material supply chains vital to their industries.

"Building on the RESourceEU Communication, the European Commission is working closely with several member states on a pilot project to strengthen the EU’s stockpiling of critical raw materials. 10 member states are currently involved," a Commission spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that the countries were split into working groups to assess the volume of minerals, the logistics, and the financing required to cover costs such as long-term storage.

The December meeting focused on storage facilities, including those run by Italy-based Pacorini Global Services and Netherlands-headquartered C. Steinweg, the sources said. Steinweg and Pacorini declined to comment.

One source expressed frustration at the EU's slow progress, saying there were many working groups, a lot of talking, but little action.