RAWMINA will develop and demonstrate an innovative pilot system for the clean and sustainable production of non-energy, non-agricultural raw materials (RMs) in the EU from Mine Waste (MW) resources. RAWMINA will implement and standardize an innovative energy, water- and cost-effective continuous pilot process for producing RMs. It will integrate novel bio-leaching and nano-based materials for Sb, Co, Ge and W selective recovery from MW from “unexploited/underexploited metal containing materials”. RAWMINA will improve EU competitiveness and create added value in RMs processing, refining and equipment manufacturing by developing a new circular business model as an alternative to traditional linear mining economy. RAWMINA will integrate different technologies that will be demonstrated (TRL7) with MW of diverse geological compositions from EU and non-EU mines demonstrating flexibility in processing of the innovative pilot system. The project will perform a techno-economic and sustainability assessment throughout the entire life cycle considering health, safety, socio-economic and environmental impacts; maximizing water/energy efficiency and waste/wastewater reduction. IP, exploitation and business plans will be developed ensuring market penetration, technology export and first exploitation plan. RAWMINA will transform MW into a resource, enabling marketable products recovery to be used in batteries, flame retardants, optical fibers and industrial tools. The project will create a CRM Recovery Helix to maximise clustering and will interact with local communities to gain EU citizens trust. It will increase resource efficiency and sustainability of EU industry, contributing to decrease EU CRM import dependency. Apart from sheltering the EU from possible shortages in CRM supply, the project will contribute to reduce production costs and environmental impacts, contributing to the objectives of the European Innovation Partnership on RMs.

The MINEYE (Earth Observation techniques for MINe lifE cYclE monitoring using ML-based data fusion approaches) consortium consists of 13 partners from nine European countries and aims to strengthen EU autonomy in primary and secondary raw materials, at the same time as reducing environmental impact. This is done by development of innovative cost-effective, time-efficient and competitive Earth Observation (EO) based methodologies and technologies for the entire mining value chain. MINEYE will integrate EO data with other data sources such as EuroGeoSource, ProMine, EGDI and will collect new EO, remote sensing, geophysical and in-situ data. MINEYE aims at developing novel data fusion and processing algorithms for EO technologies for the mineral exploration, operational, closure and post-closure stages. MINEYE unlocks the potential of EO data, including Copernicus, commercial satellites, upcoming hyperspectral missions, airborne as well as in situ data. This is achieved by creating generic innovative machine learning algorithms tailored to solve specific needs within the mining value chain. MINEYE’s overall objective and ambition is to increase the access to critical and strategic minerals and metals in Europe with full consideration of environmental and social aspects, by providing the mining industry with proven and validated solutions for uptake of EO data and technology. MINEYE's final product is a web-interface, IPOP (Interfacing, Programming and Optimisation Platform) for providing data and result. IPOP has three outputs each covering a specific part of the mining value chain: (1) methods for Mineral Prospectivity Mapping (2) EO plugin for LiquidEarth software for 3D modelling, (3) evaluation and maps of re-mining potential and tailings characterization. In addition, ground stability assessment and environmental monitoring are included to support the development of a socially responsible mining. IPOP further serves as a multi-criteria decision-making tool.

The general objective of Project RESiLEX is to demonstrate 7 industry-driven technological and business innovative solutions covering the full Silicon value chain in order to contribute to improving the resilience and sustainability of this critical raw material value chain in Europe. RESiLEX (Resilient Enhancement for the Silicon Industry Leveraging the European matriX) will assess the economical, social and environmental impact of these solutions and identify, roadmap, provide open source policy-making recommendations to accelerate the replication of the ones with the highest potential, while also addressing transversal challenges from the European mining industry as a whole with a 8th pilot transversal demonstration.

The European Union has underexploited potential to produce critical raw materials (CRM) and special metals, as stated in the Study on the EUs list of Critical Raw Materials (2020). Concretely, the battery sector is considered as a key strategic sector for the EU due to the increased use of batteries in different important sectors such as electric mobility. Thus, METALLICO proposal presents a new opportunity for the European Union. It is composed by an strategic consortium along the value chain, including mining and industrial sites with primary and secondary sources of critical and battery metals (Li, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni); experienced partners to pilot novel processes for producing battery-grade materials based on previous projects and activities; industrial and SME end-users in the battery, cement, paint, and ceramic sectors; and partners to demonstrate the social-license-to-operate (including the support of government bodies), sustainability and commercial chances that the solution represents. Worldwide, these battery metals are predominantly in Chile, Australia, South Africa, China, and The Democratic Republic of Congo, representing a high risk for the EU in terms of supply shortage. For example, in the case of Li, the EU import reliance is 87% for lithium concentrates and 100% for refined compounds as there is no domestic refining . METALLICO includes 4 cases studies in the EU to recover: battery-grade Li2CO3 from a primary spodumene/lepidolite/petalite deposit; Co concentrates and battery-grade CoSO4 from a mine secondary resource (CLC); and Cu, Co, Mn, and Ni concentrates from metallurgical slag from a Pb refining company (KHGM) and secondary mine tailings (THARSIS). Upscaling of sustainable and innovative upstream and downstream processes will demonstrate the techno-economic recovery and production of these critical and important metals for the EU.

The industry is facing surmounting challenges today, such as deeper mining, social license to operate, access to land, higher production rates, but at a lower cost and more challenging environments, both underground and on the surface. Innovative mining technologies, research and education are required through bridging of business, research, and education, to enable a sustainable, efficient, and successful mining industry now and in the future. MASTERMINE proposes a structural multilevel change for the mining operations, focusing on the top-down axis of Culture, Strategy and Tactics. Culture refers to the intrinsic change for the EU mines, to understand the value of digitalization and environmental sustainability We address the Strategy pillar for the mine, by designing high-level modules that address real industrial challenges. We lead the digital transformation of mines through CYBERMINE, we foster autonomous and electric operations along with smart monitoring and maintenance through AUTOMINE, we ensure safety and stability in critical structures using GEOMINE, in GREENMINE we enhance the environmental sustainability of the mines by improving energy consumption, air quality and GHG emissions, water savings and waste valorisation. In METAMINE, we build a virtual world for the EU mines, introducing the concept of the mining metaverse hosting all the technologies, along with Digital Twins and Business Intelligence to provide simulation and decision support. Finally, we make the EU mine OURMINE, by bringing the communities together, build trust around the sustainability compliance of the raw material and fostering social innovation. We are going to demonstrate our approach in 5 EU demo cases and one replication demo in South Africa. Our mining partners offer access to a total of 11 mines around Europe, producing 10 different raw materials, including 5 CRMs (Cobalt, Tungsten, Coking Coal, Phophate Rock and Platinum).