MINEA Final Conference: This COST Action comes to an end with a strong commitment for continuity

On February 20 and 21, we travelled to Bologna to participate in the final conference of MINEA. Since 2016, this pan-European expert network (MINing the European Anthroposphere) has developed amazing work compiling expertise on the assessment of anthropogenic resources for secondary raw material production. The main focus was on four types of waste (residues from extractive industries, landfills, construction and demolition waste, residues from waste incineration) and the development of a new UNECE standard for the global communication on the future availability of secondary raw materials.

MINEA main findings to facilitate the development of material recovery projects in the EU were presented at the MINEA Final Conference in Bologna. Around 120 attendees from more than 20 European countries were invited, representing the waste and resource sector, governmental authorities and policy makers.

Our colleague Marta Alonso presented ICAMCyL’s work in the frame of the Work Group 2.1, which is focused on ‘Material recovery from extractive industries residues’. Under the title ‘Current knowledge, knowledge gaps and actions needed for resource assessment. A systematic review of case studies’, Marta showed the information collected in order to assess current knowledge and knowledge gaps, as well as actions needed to foster the production of raw materials from mining and metallurgic residues. She also presented the analysis of several case studies providing site specific characterization, evaluation and/or classification for minerals and materials recovery.

The systematic analysis carried out, with 62 case studies analysed and 79 projects listed, is an ongoing work that will continue under the umbrella of new EU projects to come. The study showed the need for joint actions that include the main stakeholders: policymakers and regulative bodies, industry, civil society and local communities.

All in all, MINEA has made a great collaborative effort to map the current knowledge, gaps and needs, and compile case studies to estimate and communicate the viability of anthropogenic resource recovery. To make the estimates reliable, transparent and comparable requires their integration into a sustainable resource management framework, one that provides an appropriate environment among information systems, quality assurance systems, supporting networks and institutional structures. That is why all MINEA partners agreed that more collaborative efforts are needed, which means a strong for continuity in the framework of future EU projects.

COST is supported by the EU Framework Programme Horizon 2020