Europe’s goals in green and digital transition require innovative methods, techniques, and technologies to be used in mineral exploration. Europe has long traditions in base metal mining but has been less successful in developing projects to source CRMs whether lack of investments, the diverse national permitting procedures and the low levels of the public acceptance.
AGEMERA is a three-year research project that focuses on securing the European supply and independence of critical raw materials (CRMs) in order to meet the objectives of the green transition. CRMs are the key for the electrification of mobility and renewable energy production, but responsible sourcing of CRMs is a growing concern across the world. That is why innovative, sustainable, and socially accepted methods in mineral exploration and resourcing are crucially needed. Europe is a leading developer of green technologies and thus CRMs are essential to Europe’s economy.
This project aims to:
- Increase awareness of the importance of CRMs in the green/digital transition
- Strengthen EU’s autonomy of critical raw materials
- Improve knowledge base on CRMs
- Accelerate development of CRM exploration projects
- Increase awareness of the existence of sustainable mining approaches
The international consortium consists of 20 organizations that include universities, research centers, SMEs and industrial operators from 11 countries mainly from Europe. The University of Oulu has the main responsibility for the project.
Research methods comprise database searches, field surveys and sampling, as well as artificial intelligence based modelling. The geological and geophysical surveys will cover an area of 4,700 km2 in order to comprehensively map CRM resources. Field surveys are conducted at target sites in Finland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Zambia, Poland and Germany.
Survey technologies include:
- Drone-based magnetic, radiometric and electromagnetic survey systems
- Novel muon-based density detection systems
- Novel seismic techniques based on ambient noise interferometry and Raleigh wave ellipticity.
AGEMERA-project serves especially mining companies, survey equipment suppliers, researchers, policy makers, public society and non-governmental organizations. The project will also develop a CRM educational package and online game designed to be used at schools and universities. An open-access SoftGIS database on people’s social, cultural, environmental, and economic concerns related to mining and mineral exploration will also be created to be used together with the geological potential maps in order to ensure a basis for socially accepted and sustainable exploration and mining.