The MIN-GUIDE Annual Conference 2017, entitled “An Innovation-Friendly Policy Framework along the Mineral Production Value Chain”, took place in Brussels, Belgium on 13-14 December 2017 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Brussels.
The Annual Conference hosted participants from all over Europe, in order to exchange knowledge and experiences on the Innovation-Policy Nexus – the relationship of good practice innovation cases and their underlying policy frameworks. In addition to high‐level keynote presentations and interactive sessions, the MIN‐GUIDE online Minerals Policy Guide was presented. Moreover, the Annual Conference provided a platform for networking and community building, allowing participants to make use of an informal meeting space to exchange with peers and stakeholders from related areas and communities.
In the interactive part, the Conference comprised four parallel working group sessions, introducing participants to good practice cases along the mineral production value chain:
- Exploration and extraction (incl. Deep-Sea Mining),
- Mineral and Metallurgical processing,
- Waste management and mine closure.
The “Innovation Island” format of these parallel sessions allowed participants to learn and exchange hands on about the innovation cases’ success criteria, supportive policy framework factors, and cross-value chain interactions.
The Conference provided participants with:
- In-depth understanding of the Innovation-Policy Nexus: Keynote presentations and interactive sessions offering participants an in-depth understanding of value chain innovations and what role policy can play in innovation. The event included presentations and innovation island formats on industry good practice innovations, their supporting policy frameworks and cross-value chain interactions.
- A platform for networking and community building: Participants had opportunities to interact, network, and exchange with one another via different formats, such as innovation islands or a networking dinner. This set the basis for integrating the mineral production debates on multiple levels, in different policy settings, among diverse stakeholder groups, and among existing initiatives.
- Synthesised and easily accessible MIN-GUIDE results: The conference showcased the Online Minerals Policy Guide, which comprises results of three MIN-GUIDE Policy Laboratory workshops. This enabled future minerals policy experts and decision-makers to easily access and further develop a comprehensive, customizable, up-to-date online knowledge repository on EU MS minerals policy frameworks and good practice innovation.
All the presentations of the Annual Conference 2017 can be found below:
DAY 1: 13 DEC 2017
Opening and orientation
- Welcome Address and MIN-GUIDE project overview – A. Endl
- Europe’s Long-Term Vision on Abiotic Resources – C. Hebestreit
- Pressing Issues and Future Challenges for the European Aggregates Industry – D. Fincke
- World Wide Fund for Nature – WWF Germany – T. Kind
Innovation – Policy Nexus in the Mineral Production Chain
- Innovation and policy in MIN-GUIDE – M. Bicket
- Innovation and Policy Support Exploration / Extraction Outcomes – M. Tost
- Innovation and Policy Support in Mineral and Metallurgical Processing – J. Rosenkranz
- Innovation friendly mineral policy framework – M. Taxiarchou
Parallel Session: Innovation – Policy Nexus in Best Practice Examples Mineral Exploration and Extraction
- BIOMOre – H. Hejny
- Lower Environmental Footprint with mobilization – T. Korhonen
- Drones in Mineral Exploration – A. Saartenoja
Parallel Session: Mineral and Metallurgical Processing
- Mineral processing – Sandvik: Eco-efficiency in Comminution – H. Manouchehri
- Metallurgical processing – development of NOx-reducing measures in LKAB – R. Karlsson
- ADSOX – innovative biopurification of mine wastewater – A. Sand
Parallel Session: Waste Management and Mine Closure
- Olympiad reclamation project – D. Ballas
- Examples of resource optimization to minimize waste during operations & rehabilitation practices in the industrial minerals sector – A. Shtiza
- Environmental monitoring program in Kassandra Mines – D. Ballas
Parallel Session: Deep-Sea Mining
- Blue mining – vertical transport system development – W. Boomsma
- Impacts of Deep-sea mining – P. Weaver
Underwater exploration and mining – F. Barriga
DAY 2: 14 DEC 2017
Innovative Future Mineral Production: Fostering Cross-Value Chain Interactions
- Innovative Future Mineral Production along the Value Chain: Setting the Scene – P. Wall
- Results of Innovation-Policy Discussions of Day 1 – B. Shaw
- Innovative Future Mine and the Value Chain: Cooperation and Coherence among the Different Stages (Resource Efficient Exploration and Extraction by Smart Co-operation) – G. Bäckblom
- Innovative Future Mine and the Value Chain: Cooperation and Coherence among the Different Stages (Mineral and Metallurgical Processing) – C. Broadbent
- Innovative Future Mine and the Value Chain: Cooperation and Coherence among the Different Stages (Waste Management and mine closure) – K. Adam
MIN-GUIDE Online Guide: Mineral Policies and Innovations in Europe