EuroGeoSurveys at the European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials Annual Conference   Innovation is the key word to ensure the future supply of raw materials. This is the message launched by Mr. Calleja Crespo, Director General of DG Grow, during the EIP on Raw materials Annual Conference that took place on the 13th and 14th of January 2015. After the first successful call for Raw Materials where 80 commitments have been accepted with the participation of 800 partners all around EU, now it is time to put in action the commitments and make them effective. Exploiting this Conference to exchange knowledge, to present project ideas, and to reinforce networking is the second message that Mr Crespo conveyed to the audience. In fact he encouraged participants to see the two-day event as an opportunity for finding partners in order to write a successful proposal. To support all these actions, a vibrating posters session and a Brokerage Event were organized, in which participants had the opportunity to interact and cooperate. In this framework the Geological Surveys play an important role in the EIP on RM implementation, as Mr. Verbruggen, President of EuroGeoSurveys, highlighted during his keynote speech in the High Level Panel. The EGS Members are indeed involved in up to 29 of the 80 commitments. Projects such as Promine, which produces the main mineral deposits map of Europe, or EURARE, showing the Greenland mining potential and setting the basis for the development of a European Rare Earth Element (REE) industry, demonstrate the contribution that the Geological Surveys can give to the EIP on RM, helping Europe to become independent from the countries that today export mineral resources. The support to the EIP on RM and to the Knowledge Innovation Community (KIC), has been presented by EGS during the poster...

The European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials is a stakeholder platform that brings together representatives from industry, public services, academia and NGOs. EuroGeoSurveys will participate in the High Level Conference of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) that will be held in Brussels on Tuesday 13 January 2015. EuroGeoSurveys new President Mr. Koen Verbruggen will give a speech during the morning High Level Panel in which the Members of the High Level Steering Group of the EIP will participate. Mr Koen will illustrate the EGS pivotal role on the challenge of Raw Materials supply security for Europe. This annual conference aims to present a comprehensive picture of developments in the fields covered by the EIP, regional approaches to raw materials and some concrete examples of “Raw Materials Commitments”. The annual event also aims to provide a platform for networking to discuss experiences and possible future commitments. The conference will include a poster session where the stakeholders will be able to present their commitments. The Horizon 2020 Brokerage Event organised back-to-back with the conference, will serve as a forum for stakeholders to meet partners for future calls for proposals and provide information on financing instruments available under the Horizon 2020 Work-Programme 2015. Please find the Programme of the Conference...

The conference “Mineral Resources and their potential contribution to growth” was successfully held on 20 – 22 November 2014 in Nicosia, Cyprus, with the participation of 84 scientists including a representative from EuroGeoSurveys. The outcomes arising from the presentations and discussions that took place are listed below: There are significant deposits of mineral resources (energy, metallic minerals, industrial minerals, etc.) both in Greece and Cyprus, which if exploited according to the principles of sustainable development, can contribute greatly to the economic growth of both countries. The research and application of innovative exploitation and production methods are necessary for the survival and progress of modern mineral resources exploitation plants. The Greek and Cypriot companies put remarkable efforts towards this target. Mineral resources are becoming more valuable due to their global exhaustion. Thus, deposits with lower concentration are becoming economically exploitable considering the development of new innovative extractive methods for the recovery of the valuable material. Environmental issues were extensively discussed due to bad practices of the past. It was concluded that with the implementation of the current environmental laws and regulations modern companies in the mining industry are now aware of the necessity to protect the environment and the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility. The Government in both countries must include in their planning the exploitation of the Mineral Resources as Development Pillar. This requires simplification of the licensing procedures, which are unacceptably complicated and time consuming. There is a need for further cooperation between academic institutions and the industry, as well as for continuous training of new scientists. A permanent cooperation between scientists and relevant stakeholders from Greece and Cyprus would be useful for addressing problems of this nature and to achieve the common goal that is to promote the mining industry and its...

On the 8th and 9th February 2015 in Cape Town, South Africa, EuroGeoSurveys (EGS) and The Organisation of African Geological Surveys (OAGS) will hold a joint Workshop to present and discuss the final draft of the feasibility study “Geoscientific Knowledge and Skills in African Geological Surveys (PanAfGeo)”. Key stakeholders such as UNECA, UNDP, UNESCO, World Bank and SEAMIC will also take part in the meeting. The study investigated how to increase African-owned geological knowledge and skills for sustainable mineral exploitation and related infrastructures, and natural disasters prevention and mitigation. The Workshop also intends to discuss a possible future multiannual Project – including objectives, methods of implementation, trainings and partnerships – implementing the report’s recommendations. The audience’s feedback is a priority to achieve this ambitious goal, a cooperation that will strengthen the geological sector in Africa, and will therefore represent a step forward in the political commitment to the development of EU-Africa cooperation in this area. The Workshop will precede the Conference Mining Indaba, foremost global gathering on investing in the African mining value chain, scheduled from the 9th to the 12th February 2015 in Cape...

On the 5th November 2014 the Members of the ETP SMR gathered together for the 5th ETP SMR General Meeting, held at the Metals Conference Centre Cooper in Brussels. The Meeting has been an important forum for discussions on common activities, projects and future events. The members agreed to foster communications and collaborations with the European Technology Platforms as well as other key stakeholders. In this view, it was underlined the importance of disseminating more information to potential members: unlike other similar networks, ETP SMR integrates all stakeholders across the raw-material value chain, overcoming the traditional fragmentation of the mineral resources sector. This is considerably important for the various subjects involved in the raw materials industry. In order to achieve this goal, Members agreed for a broader commitment in addressing Horizon2020 Calls and participating in common projects according to a strategic approach with a close relation with the Knowledge Innovation Community on Raw Materials (KIC RM). Finally, during the meeting Swerea MEFOS has been accepted as Full Member of ETP SMR, after a vote unanimously in favor. Swerea MEFOS is known over the world for its unique large-scale experimental equipment and its ability to conduct extremely large research projects within the areas such as process metallurgy, heating, machining, environment and energy technologies for mineral, etc. The ETP SMR Foresight Workshop “Novel Materials for Energy Applications – Materials technologies vital to meet future energy needs” was held on the 6th November in Brussels. The workshop was focus in the Rare Earth Elements (REE), critical raw materials of high economic importance in various sectors. Dr Evangelos Tzimas, Scientific/Technical Project Manager at the European Commission DG Joint Research Centre, presented the list of this critical raw materials explaining that the criticality is very dynamic, and depend on various...

Great result from the workshop on EU-Africa Cooperation in Mineral Resources that took place in Livingstone (Zambia) on 22nd November 2014. The workshop was preparatory to the Extraordinary Session of the Conference of African Ministers responsible for Mineral Resource Development (CAMRMRD). EuroGeoSurveys (EGS), the Geological surveys of Europe was invited by the African Union Commission and the European Commission to contribute to the debate. Mr Luca Demicheli, the Secretary General of EuroGeoSurveys, highlighted the fruitful cooperation in the field of geology, which is being carried  with the Organisation of African Geological Surveys (OAGS). In this framework the”PanAfGeo” feasibility study financed by the European Commission is assessing how to increase African-owned geological knowledge and skills for sustainable mineral exploitation and related infrastructures, and natural disasters prevention and mitigation. The study is carried out jointly by EGS and OAGS. The sustainable use of resources of geological origin such as minerals and non-energy raw materials and groundwater requires skills based on modern knowledge and technology, adjusted to local needs, as well as mapping geology requires skilled individuals and technical tools, which several Geological Surveys in Africa are not able to afford. The study therefore has also developed a capacity building schema, through the creation of a decentralized specialization school for African professionals. As Mr Demicheli pointed out, this feasibility study plays an important role to increase the geological knowledge of African countries and to allow them to better estimate national mineral reserves, better plan budgets based on expected revenues from these reserves and give increased bargaining power vis-à-vis mining firms. By developing this ambitious pan-African project, this cooperation will strengthen the geological sector in Africa, and will therefore represent a step forward in the political commitment to the development of EU-Africa cooperation in this area. Further developments...