Brussels, 04 March 2016 Following the huge success of the European Intelligence Network on the Supply of Raw Materials (Minerals4EU) project, the “Minerals Intelligence Infrastructure for Europe” has been legally registered under the form of a Foundation on Friday 4th March 2016. The non-profit Minerals4EU Foundation overall scope is to provide a one-stop-shop to official and verified data, information and knowledge on mineral resources, and to act as contact point through which stakeholders can easily and transparently access its products and expertise. Among its main services, the Foundation will coordinate the development of the European Union Mineral Resources Knowledge Base infrastructure, in support to European Union affairs, policies and action programmes, and will provide the best available EU expertise and information based on the knowledge of its Members, composing the European Minerals Intelligence Network. Moreover, the Minerals4EU Foundation will respond to specific requests from the European Union, or will formulate proposals for actions of interest to the EU. The Foundation is governed by a Management Board overseeing the whole management of the organization and composed of both private and public sector key EU stakeholders representing the whole mineral resources value chain. It is expected that the services put in place will ultimately serve to boost EU economy and competitiveness in the field of Raw Materials. BACKGROUND The Minerals4EU project delivered a European Minerals Knowledge Data Platform (EU-MKDP). The Platform contains a Mineral Resources Database, Map Viewer, Foresight studies and the European Minerals Yearbook, first digital reliable source of information on minerals statistics and intelligence in Europe. More information at http://www.minerals4eu.eu EuroGeoSurveys – web: http://www.eurogeosurveys.org/ Email: claudia.delfini@eurogeosurveys.org francesca.siciliano@eurogeosurveys.org Phone: +32 2 888 75...

PRESS RELEASE TAXPAYER FUNDED BOOST FOR EUROPEAN MINING INDUSTRY   Brussels, 15 October In the wake of global economic slowdown and collapsing commodity prices, mining companies and consumers of minerals need to be ever more cost conscious if they are to survive. On the 15th October, the European Minerals Yearbook, first digital reliable source of information on minerals statistics and intelligence in Europe, was officially launched at the “Raw Materials Diplomacy Dialogue between the EU and Advanced Mining Countries” organized by the European Commission DG GROW and EASME in Brussels. Including 40 European countries, 65 commodities from primary minerals with a focus on the twenty critical raw materials for the EU, covering a 10-year span for production and trade, the Yearbook is meant to reduce costs and risks, and secure sustained supplies for European industries in the mining and manufacturing sectors. This comprehensive database contains detailed production pan-European information, therefore providing a new tool to the industry and EU decision-makers which before had to rely on fragmented and/or non-official sources. As MEP Mr Andrejs Mamikins stated: “The European Minerals Yearbook is a great achievement. It could, for instance, reinvigorate also my home country Latvia’s economy through a more efficient extraction and subsequent use of natural resources. It could allow Europe to be much more self-sufficient and not overly dependent on the United States Geological Survey agency. It is my hope that the newest yearbook shall open a new page in Europe’s quest for increased competitiveness and prosperity”. In his speech, Mr David Mair, Director for Policy Support Coordination at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, strongly supported the strategic cooperation between the JRC and EuroGeoSurveys to transfer knowledge and scientific evidence into policy. The Yearbook information is intended to be used by...

On 15th October 2015, in Brussels, the first official European Minerals Yearbook will be launched in the frame of the next Raw Materials Diplomacy Dialogue between the EU and advanced mining countries event, organised by the European Commission’s DG Grow and EASME. The event will be opened by the DG GROW Director Mr. Gwenole Cozigou and by MEP Mr R. Buetikofer. Mr Andrew Bloodworth, Science Director for Minerals and Waste from the British Geological Survey will explain how this innovative comprehensive source of minerals statistics can facilitate for the first time the European Union decision-making on investment planning and can be used to benefit the European economy, industrial development and trade and the lives of European citizens. Alongside data for primary minerals, the European Minerals Yearbook includes available data for mineral-based waste generation, treatment and trade. It presents national level statistical data for 40 European countries for the last ten-year period 2004 to 2013. All the data are accessible digitally through the European Minerals Knowledge Data Platform and provide the resource potential of primary and secondary mineral sources in Europe. For more information please contact the EuroGeoSurveys Secretariat http://www.minerals4eu.eu/...

The final Conference of the Minerals4EU Project took place on the 25th of August in Brussels, at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. The results of the project were presented to stakeholders, including representatives of the minerals industry, governments and EU Institutions. Almost 100 participants took part in the event. Sustainability, interoperability and knowledge are the keywords of Minerals4EU. The Minerals4EU products form together a platform of distribution of information on minerals that benefits the whole of Europe now and in the future. The EU Minerals Knowledge Data Platform allows stakeholders to search, view and acquire standardized geo-resource and related data, freely accessible. The interoperability among countries is guaranteed as the platform is built in the framework of the INSPIRE Directive (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe). For the first time, a European digital Yearbook for Raw Materials is available for consultation online. The Yearbook, which includes 65 commodities from 40 EU and non-EU countries providing a wide range of data never collected before, will be officially presented and launched on the 15th October 2015 in Brussels at the “Raw Materials Diplomacy Dialogue between the EU and the advanced mining countries” event. David Ovadia, Exploitation Manager of the project, illustrated the structure of the Permanent Body that will allow the sustainability of Minerals4EU. As a legal entity under Belgian law, the permanent body will count on a small bureau of skilled staff co-located at EuroGeoSurveys in Brussels, acting as access point to a broader network of members. The bureau will therefore assist the Network in providing data, expertise, etc. Such a structure will assure that the project results will not be lost, but will survive to serve European policy makers, investors, citizens, scientists and tackle the challenges of the minerals industry. Furthermore, the...

PRESS RELEASE A Permanent body: a new solution for the sustainability of the MineralsEU project Brussels, 22 June 2015 The final Minerals4EU Stakeholder Workshop was organised on the 17th June, as part of the 8th European Congress on Regional Geoscientific Cartography and Information Systems (EureGeo), held in Barcelona. The Congress was attended by over 150 scientists from all around Europe. Mr Ovadia, the exploitation manager of the Minerals4EU project, opened the workshop highlighting the importance of the project not only because of its contribution to competitiveness in the EU, but also for the number of partners involved, more than 30 participants comprising Geological Surveys, research institutes and industries, who collaborate to make available free and comprehensive data. The overall scope of the project is in support economic development and quality of life, and in doing so, it is necessary not only to harmonise data across borders but also to identify a “place” where industries and researchers can get them. Minerals4EU will be the “one-stop-shop” access point to data, information and knowledge on mineral resources, as part of the European Innovation Partnership of Raw Materials. This is possible through the establishment a network of minerals data providers who make available mineral relevant geo data, set up a yearbook on minerals statistics and provide foresight studies. But what the audience found very interesting and different from most other EU projects is the establishment of a Core Permanent Body that will offer the sustainability of the service beyond the project lifetime, offering public good exploitation facilities via a single bureau, with skilled staff able to respond to requests and, of course, a web portal for technical and scientific information. Mr Ovadia concluded the session inviting all the participants to attend the launch event, where the results of...