Open to the world : the European Union's Horizon programme for research and innovation : an exploration and mining technology workshop at the PDAC convention in Toronto.
Date: 2020-09-23
Institutions: Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
Subjects: civil society, environmental impact, image, innovation, international cooperation, mining extraction, mining industry, mining operation, raw material

Open to the world 
The European Union's Horizon 
programme for research and 
innovation 

An exploration and mining technology workshop at the 
PDAC convention in Toronto 

Written by Jonas Hedberg, reviewed by Masuma Farooki and R. Anthony Hodge 
September – 2020 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises 
Unit B.2 — Environment and resources 

Contact: Jonas Hedberg 

E-mail:  EASME-B2-RAW-MATERIALS@ec.europa.eu 

European Commission 
B-1049 Brussels 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Open to the world 
The European Union's Horizon 
programme for research and 
innovation 

An exploration and mining technology workshop at the 
PDAC convention in Toronto 

Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises 

2020 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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ISBN 978-92-9460-217-6 
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 Open to the world - The European Union's Horizon programme for research and innovation 

Executive summary 

The  European  Union  held  a  workshop  on  exploration  and  mining  technology  at  the 
PDAC  convention  in  Toronto.  European  Commission  and  government  representatives 
highlighted  the  importance  of  international  cooperation  on  raw  materials,  as  key 
enablers for the green transition, of evidence-based decision-making, and of doing the 
right  investments  in  the  next  few  years.  Horizon  2020  projects  presented  their  key 
results, the benefits they can bring, and their experiences working with civil society to 
build  trust  in  the  extractive  industry.  They  gave  examples  of  new  geophysical 
exploration  techniques  and  field-augmented  reality  for  geological  models,  improved 
approaches to managing water and safe tailings, innovations in zero waste mining and 
processing  and  piloting  electrification  and  automation  of  mines.  A  panel  on  mineral 
exploration  discussed  how  technology  projects  can  engage  civil  society  in  the 
application  of  the  technologies.  Another  panel  on  mining  and  mineral  processing 
discussed approaches for using research and innovation in mining to build trust in the 
extractive industry.   

One  of  the  main  issues  highlighted  in  the  panel  discussions  was  the  hurdle  of  a  bad 
reputation  gained  by  mining  companies,  resulting  from  their  past  performances. 
Technologies  reducing  the  footprint  of  mining  activities  have  great  potential  in 
improving  this  reputation,  but  technology  optimism  without  considering  the  human 
element can backfire and again undermine trust in the sector. It is therefore important 
to  recognise  what  can  realistically  be  achieved  by  a  given  innovation,  and  carefully 
consider what a technology application means for the different people concerned. It is 
also  important  to  consider  how  these  innovations  are  communicated  to  the  wider 
public. The academic and research world is well positioned to engage with youth, local 
communities  and  civil  society,  and  is  perceived  as  understanding  and  contributing  to 
social responsibility. Mining and exploration companies, in contrast, risk being seen as 
self-serving,  and  therefore  need  to  have  greater  focus  on  demonstrating  the  good 
practices that emerge from research and innovation in this sector.  

Conveying the message that the mineral industry is an enabler for the green transition 
can attract young professionals, being increasingly value-driven. The cross-disciplinary 
character of projects in the Horizon programme can also attract people who have not 
previously been in contact with the industry. 

5 

 
 
 
Contents 
1. 
2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Introduction ............................................................................................... 7 
Opening .................................................................................................... 7 
Raw materials for the climate-neutral economy ................................................... 8 
2.1. 
2.2. 
Societal  challenges:  innovation,  evidence-based  decision  making 
and public trust ................................................................................................................. 9 
Introduction to EIT Raw Materials.............................................................................. 9 
2.3. 
Introduction of the moderators ................................................................................. 10 
2.4. 
Mineral exploration and intelligence .............................................................. 10 
3.1. 
Presentations ................................................................................................................... 10 
3.1.1. 
Passive  seismics  to  reduce  environmental  impact  and  costs  of 
mineral exploration – PACIFIC .................................................................................. 11 

3.1.2.  Upscaling  mineral  exploration  through  field  augmented  reality  – 

FARMIN............................................................................................................................... 12 

3.1.3.  Deep  mineral  deposit 

targeting 

through  new  geophysical 

3.3. 

3.2. 

technologies - Smart Exploration ............................................................................. 13 
Panel discussion on what technology projects can do to engage civil 
society in the application of technologies ............................................................. 13 
The  European  Commission’s  Raw  Material  Information  System 
(RMIS) – a knowledge management and monitoring tool .............................. 15 
Mining and mineral processing ..................................................................... 16 
4.1. 
Presentations ................................................................................................................... 16 
4.1.1. 
Innovation  and  public  engagement  in  the  mining  industry:  setting 
honest boundaries .......................................................................................................... 16 
Sustainable intelligent systems for a global mining industry - SIMS ......... 17 
Zero  waste  concept  for  underground  mining  and  processing  - 
MineTALC ........................................................................................................................... 18 
4.1.4.  Making a business case of water and safe tailings - ITERAMS ..................... 18 
4.2. 

Panel discussion on how research and innovation can contribute in 
building trust in the extractive industry ................................................................ 19 
ERA-MIN  -  Public-public  partnership  coordinating  research  and 
innovation programmes on raw materials ............................................................ 21 
4.4. 
Participating in the Horizon programme and where to find out more ........ 21 
Closing .................................................................................................... 21 

4.1.2. 
4.1.3. 

4.3. 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 Open to the world - The European Union's Horizon programme for research and innovation 

1.  Introduction 
With  Europe  striving  to  be  the  first  climate-neutral  continent  by  2050,  the  transition 
towards  a  carbon  neutral  economy  implies  a  rapid  implementation  of  clean  energy, 
efficient  energy  storage  and  clean  mobility.  This  requires  significant  amounts  of 
certain  metals  and  minerals,  which  increased  recycling  alone  cannot  cover.  How  can 
innovation  in  metals  and  minerals  exploration,  mining  and  processing  help  the 
industry  to  meet  the  needs  of  this  transition  at  minimum  environmental  and  social 
costs,  and  how  can  research  and  innovation  projects  engage  with  civil  society  to  co-
design solutions for a responsible and trusted extractive industry that brings benefit to 
society and local communities? 

In this technology workshop at the PDAC1 convention in Toronto, some of the Horizon 
2020  projects  working  on  these  issues  presented  their  key  results  and  experiences, 
including  solutions  relating  to  exploration,  water  and  tailings  management, 
automation, digitalisation and electrification of mines, and the importance of engaging 
the public in the process. 

Representatives of the European Commission and the European Institute of Innovation 
and  Technology’s  Knowledge  and  Innovation  Community  on  Raw  Materials  presented 
the  opportunities  that  the  Horizon  programme  offers  in  terms  of  collaboration  with 
leading  research  organisations  across  the  world,  including  funding  for  organisations 
from developing countries, together contributing to building a knowledge base on raw 
material related issues. 

Panel discussions centred on the role of research and innovation projects in engaging 
civil society in the application of new technologies, and in contributing to a responsible 
and trusted extractive industry. 

The  workshop  was  supported  by  the  Partnership  Instrument  of  the  European 
Commission through the EU goes to PDAC project, seeing a collaboration between the 
Directorate-General  for  Internal  Market,  Industry,  Entrepreneurship  and  SMEs  (DG 
GROW),  the  Executive  Agency for  Small  and  Medium-sized  Enterprises  (EASME),  and 
the EIT RawMaterials. 

2.  Opening 
Arnoldas  Milukas,  Head  of  the  Unit  Horizon  2020  environment  and  resources  at 
EASME,  opened  the  workshop  welcoming  the  participants.  He  spoke  about  taking  a 
pilot  approach;  for  the  first  time,  in  Horizon  2020,  the  European  Union  dedicates  a 
specific  part  of  its  research  and 
innovation 
raw 
programme 
materials.  Between 
the  Societal 
Challenges  and  EIT  RawMaterials, 
the Horizon 2020 programme spends 
about  one  billion  Euros  on  raw 
material research and innovation. 

to 

about 

further 

in  Horizon  2020, 

He 
the 
spoke 
importance  given  to  international 
in 
cooperation 
the 
raw 
particular 
materials, 
significant 
with 
contributions  from  across  the  world, 
for example from South Africa, Chile, 
Australia  and  Japan,  as  well  as  other  advanced  mining  nations.  He  hoped  that 

field  of 

in 

1 Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada 

7 

 
                                                 
participation from Canada, and from other advanced mining countries, would increase 
in Horizon Europe as discussions advance on extending the programme association to 
countries that are geographically distant from Europe. 

A  good  example  of  international  cooperation  is  the  HiTech  AlkCarb  project,  where 
industry  and  academia  experts  from  around  the  world  met  to  funnel-in  leading 
practices  and  knowledge  on  geomodels  and  interpretation  methodologies.  Expertise 
gained  in  African  exploration  improves  the  chances  of  finding  new  “hi-tech”  element 
deposits in Europe. The project also contributes to the Horizon 2020 outreach through 
a  free  online  course  on  sustainable  mining  called  “Technology  Metals  for  a  Green 
Future”. 

Arnoldas concluded by highlighting the future importance of raw material research and 
innovation  for  the  carbon-neutral  economy,  and  its  significant  place  in  the  upcoming 
Horizon  Europe  programme,  before  introducing  Peter  Handley,  Acting  Director  of  the 
Directorate for sustainable industry and mobility at DG Grow. 

2.1.  Raw materials for the climate-neutral economy 
Peter Handley opened by introducing the legal act2 to be published the following day, 
setting out 2050 as the target date for a carbon-neutral European Union, which means 
virtually  eliminating  greenhouse  gas  emissions,  requiring  a  shift  in  the  economy.  At 
the start of the value chains that support our economy, are raw materials. Peter talked 
about  the  European  Commission’s  work  to  support  this,  in  particular  with  its  Joint 
Research 
He 
highlighted  the  new  list  of  Critical 
Raw  Materials  (CRM),  soon  to  be 
published,  as  well  as  a  report 
looking  ahead  to  the  2030  and 
2050  horizons.  The  European 
Commission  sees  the  challenge  of 
resource  security  as  a  combination 
of  securing  access  to  raw  materials 
and  ensuring 
raw 
materials are clean, sustainable and 
responsibly  sourced,  in  order  to  be 
confident  that  customers  will  not 
shy away from products. 

Centre, 

those 

JRC. 

that 

He  also  mentioned  the  work  on  sustainable,  responsible  and  transparent  battery 
supply  chains,  and  the  work  with  member  state  authorities  and  industry  on  a 
sustainable  mining  code  for  Europe.  Further  he  spoke  about  the  new  industrial 
strategy  to  decarbonise,  going  digital,  and  keep  jobs  in  Europe.  He  underlined  the 
importance  of  research  and  innovation  reaching  the  market,  and  gave  examples  on 
block  chain  technology  to  trace  material,  and  making  mining  operations  more 
sustainable through electrification and automation. 

Peter  closed  by  saying  that  “It  is  a  time  of  change  and  with  the  long  and  capital-
intensive  investment  cycles  in  the  sector  we  need  to  make  sure  that  we  make  the 
right investments in the next few years”. 

2  Proposal  for  a  REGULATION  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT  AND  OF  THE  COUNCIL 
establishing  the  framework for achieving climate  neutrality  and  amending  Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 
(European Climate Law) 

8 

 
 
                                                 
 Open to the world - The European Union's Horizon programme for research and innovation 

2.2.  Societal challenges: innovation, evidence-based decision making and 

public trust 

Arnoldas Milukas introduced Dr Eibhlin Doyle, Chief Geologist heading the Exploration 
&  Mining  Technical  Division  of  the  Government  of  Ireland,  for  her  talk  on  Societal 
Challenges: innovation, evidence-based decision-making and public trust. 

identified 

Eibhlin  started  with  an  introduction  to 
the  Raw  Materials  Initiative  (RMI),  the 
raw  material  policy  package  forming 
part  of  the  supporting  competencies 
between  the  European  Union  and  its 
member  states,  as  decided  in  the  EU 
Treaty of Lisbon. Research funding is an 
important  tool  to  implement  the  RMI, 
with  action  areas 
in  the 
Strategic  Implementation  Plan  (SIP)  set 
Innovation 
up 
Partnership  on  Raw  Materials,  bringing 
together stakeholders in the sector. One 
of the main components of the Horizon 2020 has been to develop the knowledge base 
on  raw  materials,  in  order  to  facilitate  evidence-based  decision-making.  The SIP  also 
identifies  social  acceptance  as  a  key  area,  and  the  European  Commission  has 
incorporated this in the Horizon 2020 work programmes. Eibhlin gave the example of 
the  PACIFIC  project,  with  Nicholas  Arndt  taking  part  in  the  first  panel  on  mineral 
exploration  and  intelligence  (section  2.1.1).  Eibhlin  recommended  viewing  the  Raw 
Material  Information  System  set  up  by  the  Joint  Research  Centre,  as  the  main 
platform for the European knowledge base on raw materials. 

the  European 

by 

Eibhlin  concluded  by  encouraging  participants  to  get  involved  in  the  Horizon  2020 
programme,  to  join  the  research  community,  and  contribute  to  evidence-based 
decision-making and social acceptance. 

Introduction to EIT Raw Materials 

2.3. 
Arnoldas  Milukas  introduced  the  next  speaker,  Jens  Gutzmer,  one  of  the  directors  of 
the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology, and a board member of the 
EIT RawMaterials. 

Jens started by saying that the European Union certainly has done something right in 
establishing  the  EIT  RawMaterials,  the  world’s  largest  partnership  in  raw  materials 
research.  Joining  the  partnership  of  some  370  partners  in  23  different  EU  member 
states,  organised  in  12  hubs,  is  a  good  way  of  getting  involved  with  some  of  the 
leaders  in  the  field.  The  partnership  has  funded  some  250  projects,  working  for 
example on sourcing of lithium, nickel and cobalt, clean steel, sustainable production 
of  goods,  or  developing  talent  in  the  sector.  He  highlighted  examples  on  projects 
working with recycling of batteries, removing asbestos fibres from steel that so far can 
only be dumped, improved design of products for repair, and certification schemes for 
responsible sourcing of critical raw materials. 

Seven  Master  degrees  are  EIT-labelled  in  an  initiative  that  includes  students  from 
different parts of the world, and which are expected to work internationally. 

He  emphasised  that  raw  materials  are  key  enablers  for  the  green  transition  and  will 
substitute  fossil  fuels  in  the  long  run,  evidencing  this  with  figures  related  to  electric 
cars,  photovoltaic  and  battery  storage  to  show  the  immense  potential  increase  in 
demand.  This  demand  can  be  satisfied  with  recycling  to  a  limited  extent,  making  it 
necessary to secure new sustainable sources and supply chains for raw materials. 

9 

 
Jens  rounded  off  with  an  invitation  to  the  Raw  Material  Summit  in  Berlin,  where  the 
raw material community comes together to discuss issues related to raw materials. 

Introduction of the moderators 

2.4. 
Arnoldas Milukas introduced the moderators of the two panels on mineral exploration 
and intelligence and on mining and mineral processing. Anthony Hodge is professor at 
the  Queen’s  University,  Canada,  and  at  the  Sustainable  Minerals  Institute  of  the 
University of Queensland, Australia. He is the former CEO of the International Council 
on  Mining  &  Metals,  his  career  spanning  the  private  sector,  government,  civil  society 
organizations,  communities,  and  Indigenous  peoples,  and  has  had  several  advisory 
roles, including for a Horizon 2020 project on international dialogues, STRADE.  

Masuma  Farooki  is  the  Consulting  Director  at  MineHutte,  and  has  been  involved  in 
Horizon  2020  projects.  As  development  economist,  she  has  over  10  years  of 
experience  working  on  commodity  related  issues  for  developing  and  advanced 
resource-rich  countries,  her  focus  is  on  measuring  the  socio-economic  impact  of  the 
resource  sector  and  developing  frameworks  for  the  implementation  of  responsible 
mining  practices.  Her  work  involves  analysis  of  global  value  chains,  industrial,  trade 
and mineral policies, and the social licence to operate.  

3.  Mineral exploration and intelligence 

3.1.  Presentations 
Anthony Hodge introduced the panellists: 

•  Nicholas Arndt, emeritus professor of petrology/geochemistry at the University 
Grenoble  Alpes,  president  of  Sisprobe,  a  small  company  that  uses  ambient-
noise seismology in mineral exploration. He has held academic positions in the 
United  States,  Canada,  Australia  and  Germany,  has  worked  in  the  minerals 
industry,  and  has  published  several  books  on  ore  deposits  and  mineral 
resources. 

10 

 
 
 
 Open to the world - The European Union's Horizon programme for research and innovation 

•  Fabian Stamm, from the institute for Computational Geoscience and Reservoir 
Engineering  (CGRE)  at  the  RWTH  Aachen  University,  with  a  geological  and 
technical  background  and  also  having  studied  the  environmental,  societal  and 
economic  aspects  around  mineral  and  energy  resources  exploration  and 
production.  He  is  co-founder  of  Terranigma  Solutions,  a  spin-off  from  the 
University. 

•  Alireza  Malehmir,  Professor  of  Applied  Geophysics  at  Uppsala  University  and 
vice  chair  of  the  Near  Surface  Geoscience  Division  of  European  Association  of 
Geoscientists  and  Engineers  (EAGE),  also  serving  on  the  editorial  boards  of 
Geophysical Prospecting and Nature Scientific Reports. 

•  Frances  Wall,  Professor  of  Applied  Mineralogy  at  Camborne  School  of  Mines 
(CSM),  University  of  Exeter,  who  specialises  in  technology  raw  materials, 
especially  rare  earth  elements,  with  interests  in  geology,  processing, 
responsible sourcing and circular economy. A former Head of CSM, Frances has 
been  involved  in  many  international  research  projects,  including  on  social 
licence  to  operate,  and  is  a  Steering  Group  member  of  the  Cornwall  Mining 
Alliance.  Frances  was  named  one  of  the  100  Global  Inspirational  Women  in 
Mining 2016 and awarded the William Smith medal of the Geological Society of 
London for applied and economic aspects of geology in 2019. 

Anthony  invited  Nicholas  Arndt, Fabian  Stamm  and  Alireza Malehmir  to  introduce  the 
findings of their Horizon 2020 projects to the audience. Frances Wall joined the panel 
discussion afterwards. 

3.1.1. Passive seismics to reduce environmental impact and costs of mineral 

exploration – PACIFIC 

Nicholas  Arndt  spoke  about  the  PACIFIC  project  -  passive  seismic  techniques  for 
environmentally friendly and cost efficient mineral exploration. The project’s emphasis 
is on passive seismic methods, but it also works on the social acceptance. He started 
with  an  example  from  the  Rouez  district  in  France,  where  in  2013  an  exploration 
company  obtained  the  first  exploration  permit  in  France  in  20  years.  Although  the 
company had communicated with local communities, well-organised movements from 
the public stopped all exploration activities in the area. 

11 

 
 
the  need 

tomographic 
Nicholas 

Nicholas spoke about the need for metals in a 
low-carbon  economy,  and 
to 
explore deeper and cheaper. One approach is 
to  use  passive  seismic  techniques,  as  active 
techniques  are  expensive.  The 
seismic 
project  uses  portable  seismometers  in  dense 
surface arrays and ambient seismic noise, i.e. 
anything  that  sets  the  earth  vibrating,  to 
the 
produce 
subsurface. 
some 
preliminary  results  from  demonstration  sites 
at  the  Marathon  deposit  in  Ontario  and  the 
Kallak  iron  ore  project  in  Sweden.  The  team 
works  on 
the  methods  by 
extracting  body  waves,  rather  than  surface 
waves, from the ambient noise signal, as this 
allows  for  greater  resolution  and  enables  the 
detection  of  reflections.  It  also  combines 
surface  arrays  with  downhole  arrays  in  a 
multi-array method. 

improving 

showed 

images 

of 

The  social  acceptance  work,  led  by  Aoife 
Braiden  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Ireland, 
shows  that  many  misunderstandings  come 
from  the  way  information  is  communicated. 
Preliminary  results  from  areas  in  Ireland  with  no  mining  activity  show  relatively 
positive views on mining; in these areas, the perceived positive impacts outweigh the 
negative.  The  group  will  now  ask  similar  questions  where  mining  is  currently 
underway, and more results will be available by the end of the project in roughly one 
year. 

3.1.2. Upscaling mineral exploration through field augmented reality – FARMIN 
Fabian  Stamm  took  the  floor  to  speak  about  field  augmented  reality  in  the  FARMIN 
project,  an  EIT  upscaling  project  resulting  from  the  recently  ended  Visual3d  network 
created  in  2017,  with  partners  across  Europe  from  mining  industry,  university,  and 
research  institutions.  FARMIN  involves  four  of  those  partners,  RWTH  Aachen 
University,  Luleå  Technical  Unversity  (LTU),  Boliden  and  DMT,  and  a  number  of 
external partners. 

There  is  great  potential  for  digitalisation  along  the  raw  material  value  chain.  First  in 
the chain comes geology, where we need a good understanding of the subsurface for 
mining  to  succeed.  Common  techniques  for  visualisation  are  neither  efficient  nor 
intuitive.  The  temporal  and  spatial  difference  between  field  and  office  activities  gives 
rise  to  miscommunication  and  operational  delays,  ultimately  leading  to  errors  in 
decision-making. FARMIN develops 
a software solution with which the 
geological  expert  will  be  able  to 
visualise  and  interact  in  real-time 
in an immersive augmented reality 
geological 
environment 
models,  on  any  device.  The  vision 
is  that  in  the  future  a  geologist 
going in the field would be able to 
see a holographic projection of the 
geological  model  on  site.  The 
geologist  would  be  able  to  update 
the  model  with  new  observations 
in  real-time.  There  are  potentially 

with 

12 

 
 
 Open to the world - The European Union's Horizon programme for research and innovation 

great  benefits  in  terms  of  improved  decision-making,  reduced  environmental  impact, 
and  appealing  ways  of  communicating,  both  between  teams  and  in  outreach  to  the 
wider public. 

3.1.3. Deep mineral deposit targeting through new geophysical technologies - 

Smart Exploration 

Alireza  Malehmir  spoke  about  the  Smart  Exploration  project,  deep  mineral  deposit 
targeting through new geophysical technologies, with 27 partners, of which 11 SMEs. 
Alireza  said  it  is  a  good  moment  for  their  project  as  a  lot  of  effort  goes  into 
decarbonisation,  being  dependent  on  minerals  and  metals,  and  Europe  has  good 
mineral potential. “Incentives for exploration could be better, but on the positive side, 
environmental  legislation  and  standards  are  strong  in  the  EU,  and  exploration 
expenditure is likely to increase”.  

The  first  year  focused  on  legacy  data,  and 
the  team  demonstrated  how  legacy  data 
holds  great  potential  to  discover  new  ore 
bodies. Alireza showed the examples of the 
Lombador  ore  deposit  in  the  Neves-Corvo 
mine  in  Portugal,  and  from  the  Ludvika 
mines. 

Smart Exploration also generated new data 
from  six  test  sites  in  Kosovo,  Fisoka  and 
Gerolekas  in  Greece,  Siilinjärvi  in  Finland, 
Neves-Corvo in Portugal and Ludvika mines 
in  Sweden,  using  2D  and  3D  active-source 
and  passive  seismics,  with  sensors  in 
tunnels  and  on  surface,  SkyTEM  surveying,  ground-penetrating  radar,  magnetic, 
gravity,  resistivity,  induced  polarisation  and  geochemical  surveying.  Field  camps, 
schools  and  visitors  attended  most  of  these,  peaking  at  150  people  from  different 
schools at one time in Ludvika. 

The second year focused on producing five prototype geophysical systems, including a 
GPS-time transmitter that allows to synchronise receivers, a broadband E-Vib seismic 
source,  a  deep  penetrating  Helicopterborne  time-domain  (HTEM)  system,  a  Slimhole 
modular-based  digital  seismic-magnetic-temperature  system,  and  a  UAV  electro-
magnetic system, quite likely pioneering in the world. 

Smart  Exploration  has  already  generated  two  patents,  and  produced  more  than  40 
publications in open access, most of them peer-reviewed. 20 young professionals are 
involved in the work. 

3.2.  Panel discussion on what technology projects can do to engage civil 

society in the application of technologies 

Anthony Hodge said he felt privileged to see the depth of thinking in these projects. At 
the  same  time,  the  world  out  there  has  a  different  sense  of  mining,  and  sometimes 
very negative. For this reason, he posed three questions to the panellists: 

•  Given these technological innovations – what goal do you see for engagement with 
the world out there, with communities, with non-scientific people, with the people 
that will not come to PDAC? 

•  What impediments restrict engagement with the public right now on these themes? 
So that people can understand what we are dealing with, and what is possible? 

•  What steps do we need to take to strengthen the relationship between technology 

developers and civil society? 

13 

 
Each  panellist  spoke  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  Anthony  opened  the  floor  for 
questions from the audience. 

Frances Wall started by saying that we often talk of exploration in relation to mining, 
but there are other fields, like geothermal, that also require exploration to take place 
in order to know the subsurface. Frances and her collaborators have started to use the 
word  geo-resources  when  speaking  to  people  about  the  underground,  because  the 
different resources are very much related. 

She mentioned two examples from her own experience. One is a story of failure in a 
natural  laboratory  in  southern  Germany  used  in  the  HiTech  AlkCarb  project.  The 
project had no interest in mining, only in research, wanting to drill one hole of 3-400 
metres.  Expertise  from  Namibia,  having  high  standards  in  public  consultation, 
supported  the  interaction  with  the  public.  The  team  was  well  received  by  the  local 
community,  but  local  politicians  would  not  give  the  necessary  permits,  as  they  were 
worried  about  negative  impacts  after  problems  with  the  drill  holes  of  a  nearby 
geothermal  project,  having  caused  the  hydration  of  anhydrite  to  gypsum,  with 
extensive damage to the centre of a historic town in the area. The example shows that 
once it goes wrong you cannot easily come back. 

A  success  story  on  the  other  hand  is  from  mineral  and  geothermal  exploration  in 
Cornwall, UK, where companies have taken care in speaking to the local communities 
right from the beginning. Good educational activities have helped the outreach to the 
wider public, young and children. 

Alireza  Malehmir  started  by  saying  that  as  a  University  they  have  a  technical 
responsibility,  but  also  a  social  responsibility.  “Even  though  we  are  technology 
developers,  we  are  part  of  society  as  well”.  Communication  is  often  key  and  a  bad 
reputation can be a big hurdle. “We have to drill for exploration, but we can overcome 
the  hurdle  of  a  bad  reputation  by  explaining  that  we  can  now  do  things  much  better 
than  in  the  past.  We  can  say  that  we  will  be  able  to  tell  the  public  what  is  in  the 
ground – and not knowing that is a bad thing”. The Smart exploration project invites 
people from local communities to the test sites. “Coming from a university you are in 
general more trusted, so involving academia is useful”. 

14 

 
 
 
 Open to the world - The European Union's Horizon programme for research and innovation 

Fabian Stamm mentioned that augmented reality could provide a good opportunity for 
new  communication  channels.  It  can  provide  opportunities  for  the  wider  public  to 
interact  and  understand  the  work  of  exploration  and  mining,  and  give  members  of  a 
community  a  positive  experience  related  to  the  work.  “Many  approach  technological 
progress  with  scepticism.  It  is  up  to  us,  as  technology  developers,  to  bring  down 
barriers and build bridges”. 

Nicholas  Arndt  came  back  to  his  example  from  the  Rouez  district  in  France.  In  that 
case  there  were  several  reasons  for  the  opposition  to  exploration.  One  was  that 
mining  companies  had  not  performed  well  in  the  past.  Another  related  to  the  public 
and  local  communities  getting  most  of  their  information  from  online  resources  and 
social media, where negative opinions on mining are dominant. “If people are asked if 
they  are  positive  about  local  sourcing  of  products,  they  would  usually  say  yes,  but  if 
you  ask  the  same  question  specifically  for  local  mining  of  minerals  and  metals  the 
answer will often be different”. 

Anthony  Hodge  noted  that  there  is  so  much  in  the  question  asked.  He  took  the 
example  of  mining  and  music  –  no  orchestra  would  exist  without  metals.  Frances 
agreed that making the connection to culture often works. 

Alireza  Malehmir  added  that  mining  is  important  to  achieve  the  UN’s  Sustainable 
Development Goals. “If we can mine in Europe, it is our responsibility to do it, and not 
outsource the negative impacts of mining”. 

Anthony responded that the question of responsibility is central. On the other hand, if 
you see the examples of what damage has been caused by mining, it is very difficult 
to take a positive view of it, and that is where the disconnect can be. 

Alireza  said  that  technology  could  help.  Mining  today  is  not  what  it  was  30-40  years 
ago  –  the  footprint  will  not  be  the  same.  Nicholas  Arndt  mentioned  that  companies 
have made similar statements just before major disasters, and Anthony agreed that is 
exactly the issue that may create problems with trust. 

Fabian  Stamm  agreed  to  Alireza’s  point  that  innovation  has  a  huge  potential  to 
improve  performance.  He  took  the  example  of  developments  that  allows  dissolving 
gold without cyanide, which would be very good for public perception. He added that 
we also have to start earlier with education, giving examples of interactive outreach in 
the FARMIN project. 

Anthony rounded off the discussion by saying that in the presentations we had talked 
about the potential that change can bring. He asked the question of how much of the 
innovation is social, and if we put enough emphasis on that. This would be the topic of 
the second panel discussion on building trust in the mining sector. 

3.3.  The European Commission’s Raw Material Information System (RMIS) – 

a knowledge management and monitoring tool 

The  mineral  exploration  and  intelligence 
panel  ended  with  a  presentation  by 
Constantin  Ciupagea,  Head  of  the  unit 
the  European 
Land  Resources 
Commission’s  Joint  Research  Centre,  on 
the  Raw  Material  Information  System 
(RMIS)  –  a  knowledge  management  and 
monitoring tool. 

at 

Constantin started by setting the scene of 
an  even  higher  increase  in  demand  for 
critical  raw  materials  (CRM)  and  base 

15 

 
metals  coming  with  the  EU  Green  Deal,  bringing  Europe  into  the  digital  age  and  low 
carbon  society.  He  stressed  the  importance  of  foresight  activities.  The  European 
Commission  and  the  JRC  established  the  RMIS  in  2015  exactly  because  they  noticed 
that there is an exchange needed between people that speak different languages, and 
there are large gaps in data and knowledge. RMIS acts as the reference access point 
to the EU knowledge base on raw materials and facilitates the availability, coherence, 
and quality of knowledge needed to inform policy. 

The  RMIS  includes  tools  that  show  strategic  industrial  supply  chains,  trends  and 
profiles  for  different  countries  and  raw  materials.  It  also  addresses  important 
knowledge  gaps  on  secondary  raw  materials,  important  to  monitor  indicators  related 
to  the  policy  on  a  Circular  Economy.  It  provides  a  space  for  projects  funded  under 
Horizon 2020, acting as a gateway to those projects. 

The  JRC  supports  DG  Grow  in  the  criticality  assessment  of  raw  materials,  and  the 
RMIS has a number of publications related to that and other raw material issues. 

4.  Mining and mineral processing 

Farooki, 

4.1.  Presentations 
Masuma 
the  moderator, 
introduced the idea of the second panel, to 
look  at  how  we  can  use  technology 
developments, and the benefits they bring, 
to  build  trust  among  communities  and 
citizens.  Do  we  need  to  change  the 
message from “we need mining” to “mining 
is  a  perfectly  safe  and  green  industry”? 
She introduced the panellists: 

•  Anthony  Hodge,  adding 

to  his 
previous introduction his impressive 
knowledge  of  the  stakeholders  in 
the sector, having worked both with 
the industry and local communities. 

•  Niclas  Dahlström,  a  senior  project 

manager  at  LTU  Business  and  in  the  programme  office  for  Swedish  national 
strategic innovation program for the mining and metal producing industry (SIP 
STRIM). 

• 

Juraj Janocko, professor at the Technical University of Kosice. 

•  Päivi Kinnunen, heading the metals and materials recovery group at VTT in the 
fields  of  material  recycling,  hydrometallurgical  process  development  and 
geomicrobiology. 

4.1.1. Innovation and public engagement in the mining industry: setting 

honest boundaries 

Anthony  Hodge  started  the  panel  with  a  presentation  called  “Innovation  and  public 
engagement  in  the  mining  industry: setting  honest  boundaries”  prepared  together 
with  Laeeque  Daneshmend  from  the  Department  of  Mining  at  Queen’s  University.  He 
explained  that  the  idea  of  the  presentation  came  from  their  observation  that  trust 
often  is  undermined  by  unkept  promises  from  mining  companies.  “Today  there  are 
good players in the mining industry, who are asking themselves why they cannot gain 
public trust. Another thing that has emerged in the past three years is a tremendous 
dependence  on  innovation, where mining  companies  highlight  innovation  as  a  reason 

16 

 
 
 
 Open to the world - The European Union's Horizon programme for research and innovation 

to invest in them. But, let us be honest about the limits on what we can do and not do 
with innovation, because, if we overhype the impacts, it will again undermine trust in 
the industry in the long term.” 

Anthony  talked  about  the  lifecycle  of  a 
mining  project  and  of  a  product,  where 
innovation could be applied at every step, 
and  about  direct  and  indirect  outputs  of 
the  metal  and  minerals  industry.  He 
talked 
of 
innovation; 
social 
innovation,  with  solutions  that  often 
require 
collaboration  of 
government, 
across 
constituents 
business,  and  the  non-profit  world.  The 
social  side  is  also  in  need  of  innovation, 
including  the  capacity  for  people  to  take 
on change successfully and not reject it. If that is not in place, all the innovation in the 
world is not going to work. People need to have the sense of pride and that the future 
is  positive  –  and  the  mining  companies  are  often  in  a  very  strong  position  to  deliver 
that. 

the  active 

technical 

different 

about 

types 

and 

He spoke about incremental and transformative innovation, giving different examples. 
It  is  clear  that  innovation  in  the  industry  is  not  happening  overnight  –  robotics  have 
taken 30 years to arrive to the point of implementation. 

The  reasons  for  innovating  is  to  enhance  efficiency,  i.e.  to  maximize  benefits  to 
society  and  community,  and  minimise  costs,  risks,  and  negative  implications.  The 
context  of  efficiency  has  gone  from  classical  concepts  of  maximising  outputs  for  a 
given  input,  through  eco-efficiency  in  the  early  nineties,  to  sustainable  concepts  of 
maximising  wellbeing  and  minimising  stress  on  people  and  ecosystems.  This  means 
carefully  considering  what  a  technology  application  means  for  the  different  people 
concerned, i.e. what are the positives, who will gain, and what are the negatives? 

Technology optimism, without the sensitivity of the human element, causes problems. 
Setting  honest  boundaries,  recognising  what  can  and  cannot  be  achieved  by  a  given 
innovation,  moves  us  from  short-term  to  long-term  thinking,  imbues  integrity  and 
honesty, and engenders the trust we are seeking. Anthony suggested that we should 
test innovation against a set of criteria, such as the scope and time horizon, whether it 
is  incremental  or  transformative,  enhanced  positives,  reduced  negatives,  who  gains, 
who pays the true cost and what degree of change will result. For example, what does 
a design time of 50 or 100 years mean for a facility that may have to operate safely 
for a thousand years, which some mine tailings must do? 

4.1.2. Sustainable intelligent systems for a global mining industry - SIMS 
Next  Niclas  Dahlström  spoke  about  the  SIMS  project,  Sustainable  Intelligent  Mining 
Systems,  finishing  in  April.  The  project  receives  12,7  million  Euros  from  the  Horizon 
2020  programme,  and  some  industrial  partners  are  adding  significant  extra  funds  to 
the  project.  The  partnership  includes  five  mining  companies,  six  suppliers  and  two 
universities.  The  starting  point  of  the  project  was  four  years  ago  when  the  mining 
companies  expressed  their  needs  for  the  future.  The  project  does  about  30  pilots  in 
eight different mines at Agnico Eagle in Finland, LKAB and Boliden in Sweden, K+S in 
Germany, KGHM in Poland, and in a virtual mine at the Luleå Technical University. 

17 

 
in 

some 

highlighted 

successful 
Niclas 
demonstrations 
in  communication  and 
positioning,  battery  electrical  vehicles  and 
robotics 
real  underground  mine 
environments.  SIMS  implemented  a  5G-
enabled  industrial  communication  network 
at  the  Boliden  Kankberg  mine  in  Sweden. 
Positioning  allows  drivers  of  underground 
vehicles  and  machines  to  navigate  in  the 
mine, see where other vehicles are, and to 
get  to  the  closest  rescue  chamber  in  case 
of evacuation. The project demonstrated a 
robotised  autonomous  charging  machine 
for blasting at the Boliden Garpenberg mine, as well as autonomous drone prototypes 
for inspection activities. Three different machines with Northvolt battery systems and 
infrastructure  were  demonstrated  at  1000  metres  underground  in  an  Agnico  Eagle 
mine in Finland.  

Niclas also presented the extensive outreach work in the project, and emphasized the 
importance of communicating what we are doing. He closed by saying that the EU has 
good geological conditions, and we could mine much more – Europe’s consumption of 
minerals is disproportionate to its production, which is not responsible. 

4.1.3. Zero waste concept for underground mining and processing - MineTALC 
Juraj Janocko presented the zero-waste mine concept of the MineTALC project, an EIT 
RawMaterials project that just started. The mining and backfilling system developed in 
the  project  integrates  technologies  ready  for  market  launch.  Backfilling  technologies 
using  tailings  will  enable  economical  extraction  of  low  and  medium  strength  deposits 
and  avoid  tailing  dams.  Closed  water  circuit  for  flotation,  and  use  of  mine  water  for 
flotation  and  an  onsite  concrete  plant,  aims 
to  achieve  operations  with  zero  waste.  A 
prediction  model  will  show 
the  best 
mineralisation  sites  and  allow  determining 
the  best  extraction  technology.  The  project 
pilots  these  technologies  in  the  Gemerska 
Poloma talc mine in Slovakia. 

A  spin-off  competence  and  training  centre 
will  provide  consultation  services,  courses, 
academia  support,  and  the  infrastructure  of 
the Gemerska Poloma talc mine in Slovakia, 
and 
knowledge 
to 
competence building. 

support 

sharing 

4.1.4. Making a business case of water and safe tailings - ITERAMS 
Päivi Kinnunen presented the ITERAMS project, making a business case for water and 
safe  tailings.  The  project  consortium  of  16  partners  wants  to  change  the  mining 
concept,  going  from  water  cost  minimisation  to  taking  care  of  water  properties. 
Similarly, it wants to go from tailings disposal to use in backfilling and surface covers. 
The aim is  to rethink water and waste in mining and take care of the value in them. 
This will enable a future sustainable mineral supply. 

The  questions  behind  the  project  is  whether  we  really  know  how  closing  the  water 
loops  will  influence  the  contaminants  and  flotation  performance,  or  whether  we  have 
understanding about how storing water in a closed reservoir will impact water quality 
and  recovery,  and  how  contaminants  can  be  measured  real-time,  on-line,  and  at  a 
reasonable cost.  

18 

 
 
 Open to the world - The European Union's Horizon programme for research and innovation 

Through  field  testing,  the  partnership 
developed an understanding of the most 
critical  mechanisms  for  closed  water 
loops,  and  how  to  monitor  and  treat 
water,  and  reduce  contaminants,  just 
enough for the flotation process to work 
properly.  Especially  fine  particles  are 
important,  including  oxidised  sulphur 
species and microbiology. 

three  case  sites 

ITERAMS  used 
in 
Finland,  Portugal  and  South  Africa, 
representing  very  different  seasonal, 
hydrogeological  and  microbiological  contexts,  to  test  the  developed  geopolymers  for 
surface  covers,  and  the  water  monitoring  sensors  and  water  treatment,  in  the  field. 
The  project  has  also  focused  on  ore  sorting,  because  it  is  possible  to  reduce  water 
consumption  and  improve  the  amount  and  quality  of  tailings  by  removing  the  non-
economical  part  of  the  ore.  Päivi  highlighted  the  ore  sorting  potential  by  showing 
results from one of the case sites evidencing that 10% of the ore is non-economical. 
She  further  showed  results  evidencing  the  good  properties  of  alkali-activated  tailings 
for  backfilling  and  covering  layers  for  high  sulphur  containing  waste rock,  minimising 
water penetration in order to mitigate acidic rock drainage. 

The project analysed the sustainability of the technologies and concepts with life cycle 
assessment and modelling of environmental impact. 

4.2.  Panel discussion on how research and innovation can contribute in 

building trust in the extractive industry 

Masuma  Farooki  started  by  asking 
Anthony  Hodge  whether  he  thought 
there 
in 
understanding  the  mining  sector  and 
building trust. 

is  a  generational  gap 

Anthony  started  by  noting  that  during 
the  presentation  of  the  FARMIN  project 
by Fabian Stamm in the previous panel, 
he  could  not  help  thinking  what  an 
opportunity  their  augmented  reality  is 
to interact with young people.  

He  continued  by  answering,  “yes,  there  is  a  generational  divide,  especially  in 
developed countries. If you go to other countries, like Chile or Peru, it is full of young 
people in the mining sector. That means that it is likely that these countries will take 
over  the  lead.  The  opportunity  to  build  trust  with  the  younger  generation  might  be 
slipping away too. Social media dominates the communication, where info on mining is 
not very flattering. The mining industry cannot defend itself, because it is self-serving. 
The  mining  industry  has  to  gain  confidence  that  their  actions  will  speak  louder  than 
words, that is, they have to demonstrate good practices. The credibility gap increased 
tremendously  with  the  many  recent  mining  tragedies,  and  those  happened  in 
advanced countries”. 

Masuma  noted  that  many  of  the  presented  developments,  in  for  example  the  SIMS 
project, seem to be focused on employees and operations. She asked the question to 
Niclas Dahlström if people care, outside the mine site. 

Niclas  said  that  young  people  more  and  more  are  looking  to  make  a  difference,  not 
only to earn well. “If they understand that the mineral business is an enabler for the 

19 

 
green transition, they might be more interested in the industry”. His team will pilot a 
free of charge Virtual Reality environment, developed in SIMS, to put in museums and 
schools.  

Masuma asked Päivi Kinnunen about the case studies used in ITERAMS, in so different 
environments – had she seen a difference in how the three regions reacted to the idea 
of closed water circuits? 

Päivi  answered  that  one  of  the  things  they  had  seen  is  that,  no  matter  if  water  is 
scarce or not, water is seen as a priority in all three regions and companies. 

Masuma  Farooki  opened  to  questions  from  the  public.  A participant  asked  a  question 
in  relation  to  the  younger  people  that  seem  to  have  deserted  the  industry  in 
developed  countries.  He  asked  whether  the  panellists  thought  it  was  time  to  totally 
change the type of education for mining professionals. Masuma thanked for the good 
question,  and  linked  it  to  her  last  question  how  we  can  attract  young  professionals, 
and if it is the responsibility of the industry to do that. 

Päivi  responded  that  “the  challenges  are  so  great  that  one  organisation  cannot  solve 
them  alone.  A  great  thing with  the  Horizon  2020  projects  is  that  they  bring  together 
people from very different disciplines, for example microbiologists and social scientists 
in the case of ITERAMS, and maybe that is also a possibility to attract new people to 
work in the industry”. 

Päivi  said  that  often  we  start  too  late  with  attracting  people.  “University  level  is  too 
late,  as  people  have  already  made  their  choices”.  In  ITERAMS  they  invited  school 
children  to  see  their  labs  and  work  places.  The  pupils  that  visited  had  very  clever 
questions, and they have a positive view of the raw materials sector. 

Juraj  Janocko  said  that  “people  from  many  different  disciplines  take  part  in  mining 
activities.  Gradually  young  people  could  end  up  in  mining  through  other  disciplines. 
We also need some more generally educated people in the business”. 

Niclas  said  that  it  is  important  that  the  industry  can  convey  the  message  that  it  is 
important  for  the  global  health.  For  example,  in  the  SIMS  project,  partners  that  had 
not worked with mining before, such as the telecommunication companies, started to 
become interested in mining through the project. 

Anthony  replied,  “yes,  we  need  a  change  in 
education,  but  the  industry  also  needs  to 
change. The mining industry is shooting itself 
in  the  foot”.  He  gave  the  example  where, 
when  the  market  crashed,  top  companies  let 
down  graduate  students  by  revoking  already 
signed  contracts.  “These  people  have  now 
left the mining profession. When the industry 
aims  for  survival  in  an  economic  downturn, 
trying  to  cut  costs,  the  first  thing  that  goes 
are  young  people.  Young  people  want  to 
make  the  world  a  better  place.  For  example 
they  are  attuned  to  the  idea  of  addressing 
climate  change,  and  the  mining  industry  has  not  demonstrated  a  capacity  to  absorb 
these  kind  of  persons  and  thinking”.  He  finished  by  saying  that  he  hoped  that  the 
upcoming  Horizon  Europe  will  have  a  part  of  its  programme  looking  at  changing 
management,  on  how  to  bring  people  into  change  in  a  way  that  is  respected  and 
motivates integrity. 

20 

 
 
 Open to the world - The European Union's Horizon programme for research and innovation 

4.3.  ERA-MIN - Public-public partnership coordinating research and 

at 

the 

innovation programmes on raw materials 
After  the  panel  discussion,  Ana  Luisa  Lavado, 
Portuguese 
programme  manager 
Foundation  for  Science  and  Technology  (FCT), 
presented  the  ERA-MIN  network,  an  ERA-NET 
public-public  partnership  coordinating  national 
research  and  innovation  programmes  on  raw 
materials.  It  is  a  network  of  21  public  research 
funding  organisations  from  18  countries  and 
regions 
including 
in  Europe  and  beyond, 
Argentina,  Brazil,  Chile  and  South  Africa,  and 
Quebec associating to two calls. 

It  has  implemented  a  call  for  project  proposals  on  raw  materials  research  and 
innovation  in  2017,  where  the  EU  provided  a  third  of  the  funding  through  Horizon 
2020, and two additional calls, in 2018 and in 2019, with only national funds. In total 
28  projects  have  been  provided  21  million  Euros  for  research  on  exploration  and 
mining, product design, processing, production and remanufacturing, recycling of end-
of-life  products,  and  on  crosscutting  topics.  ERA-MIN  will  grant  10  million  Euros  in 
2020,  and  continue  for  another  5  years  under  a  new  Horizon  2020  action  starting  in 
2021.  

4.4.  Participating in the Horizon programme and where to find out more 
Next, Jonas Hedberg reconnected to Eibhlin Doyle’s encouragement to get involved in 
the  Horizon  2020  programme,  and  gave  some  advice  on  where  to  find  partners  and 
support.  He  emphasised  that  the  programme  is  fully  open  to  participation  from 
organisations  across  the  world.  Some  130 
developing 
countries  are  automatically 
eligible  for  funding,  and  participants  from 
others  countries  can  receive  funding  if  their 
role is essential for a project. He presented a 
number  of  platforms  with  results  from  the 
Horizon  programme,  the  Environment  and 
resources  data  hub,  the  Horizon  results 
platform, 
the  Horizon  dashboard  and 
CORDIS,  with  a  particular  mention  to  a 
recently  released  CORDIS  results  pack  on  mineral  exploration.  He  went  into  more 
detail on the Innovation Radar, a tool developed to identify high potential innovations 
and  innovators  in  the  Horizon  2020  projects.  The  results  are  public  on  the  platform 
www.innoradar.eu. 

5.  Closing 
Arnoldas  Milukas  closed  the  workshop  complementing  the  speakers  on  their  very 
interesting  interventions,  and thanking  for  the  insights  on  how we  can  innovate both 
technologically  and  socially  to  address  the  challenges  ahead  and  build  trust  in  the 
mining industry. 

He  highlighted  the  great  needs  for  minerals  and  metals  as  enablers  of  the  climate-
neutral economy that had run like a thread through the different talks. 

21 

 
He  also  concluded  that  it  is  clear  that  there  are  solutions  to  progress  against  more 
sustainable  and  responsible  mining  practices  and  that  the  industry  is  moving  in  that 
direction.  The  Horizon  programme’s  openness  to  global  participation,  and  funding  to 
organisations from developing countries, is an important enabler for the international 
cooperation that is so crucial to ensure that this is happening globally.  

thanked 

He 
the  European  Union’s 
Service  for  Foreign  Policy  Instruments, 
DG  Grow,  and  EIT  RawMaterials.  He 
thanked 
the  moderators  Anthony 
Hodge and Masuma Farooki, and all the 
the 
speakers  and  participants 
workshop. 

in 

He concluded the workshop saying that 
the  workshop 
he  hoped 
participants again as participants in the 
Horizon programme. 

to  see 

22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GETTING IN TOUCH WITH THE EU 

In person 

All  over  the  European  Union  there  are  hundreds  of  Europe  Direct  information  centres. 
You can find the address of the centre nearest you at: 

https://europa.eu/european-union/contact_en 

On the phone or by email 

Europe  Direct  is  a  service  that  answers  your  questions  about  the  European  Union.  You 
can contact this service: 

– by freephone: 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (certain operators may charge for these calls), 

– at the following standard number: +32 22999696, or 

– by email via: https://europa.eu/european-union/contact_en 

FINDING INFORMATION ABOUT THE EU 

Online 

Information about the European Union in all the official languages of the EU is available 
on the Europa website at: https://europa.eu/european-union/index_en 

EU publications 

You can download or order free and priced EU publications from: 

https://publications.europa.eu/en/publications.  Multiple  copies  of  free  publications  may 
be  obtained  by  contacting  Europe  Direct  or  your  local  information  centre  (see 
https://europa.eu/european-union/contact_en). 

EU law and related documents 

For  access  to  legal  information  from  the  EU,  including  all  EU  law  since  1952  in  all  the 
official language versions, go to EUR-Lex at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu 

Open data from the EU 

The  EU  Open  Data  Portal  (http://data.europa.eu/euodp/en)  provides  access  to  datasets 
from the EU. Data can be downloaded and reused for free, for both commercial and non-
commercial purposes. 

24 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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         doi: 10.2826/51150 
        ISBN 978-92-9460-217-6