Annual ¡VAMOS! Partners’ Forum meeting held in Porto

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LPRC colleagues Cameron, Edine and Luís attended a recent ¡VAMOS! meeting held at project robotics-developer INESC’s Porto facilities on the 29th and 30th of March. The purpose of the meeting was to hold the annual Partners’ Forum (PF) meeting, which was supplemented with an Advisory Board (AB) review meeting.

On the first day of the meeting, attendees divided themselves amongst two separate workshops to discuss progress on Work Packages 1 & 6, Dissemination, and Market Uptake, and Work Packages 3 & 4, System Construction, and Navigation and Awareness.

In the afternoon, both groups reconvened to attend a meeting on Work Package 5, Field Testing. During this session, the schedule and management of field-tests, site calibration and local assembly of components, and the training of personnel and site-safety were discussed and agreed upon. This careful and detailed planning is to ensure that the field tests in Devon, UK (October 2017) and in Vares, Bosnia (June 2018) will be conducted without avoidable setbacks or injury to staff.

¡VAMOS! partners attend the WP5 Field Testing workshop

The current build-status of the ¡VAMOS! mining vehicle at SMD in Newcastle.

In the morning of the second day, external Advisory Board members joined the consortium to conduct an iterative review of all project work packages 1 to 7. LPRC colleagues Edine and Cameron presented Work Package 1 and Work Package 6. After this full project review, a summary and review of project risks was conducted by Mr Jeroen van der Linden of Damen Dredging.

In the afternoon the partners toured the INESC robotics lab, where INESC partners are developing many subsea robotics technologies for ¡VAMOS! and other European projects. After this informative visit, the Advisory Board and Work Package leaders met for the final event of the two-day workshop: the Advisory Board review session. During this session, the Advisory Board put forth their critiques of various aspects of the project, and provided their insight into the technology and the developments per work package.

L-R: Cameron Sword (LPRC), Eduardo Silva (INESC), Bramley Murton (AB), Edine Bakker (LPRC), Glen Jones (AB).

Foreground (L-R): Mike Buxton (AB), Stef Kapusniak (Technical Manager), Jeroen van der Linden (Risk Manager).

The ¡VAMOS! project is now entering the final stages of the construction of all technical equipment. The consortium is on schedule in all project matters, and is looking forward to the first field tests in Southwest England this October.

 

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The 5th INTRAW consortium meeting – Paris, France

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The 5th INTRAW consortium meeting was held in Paris on the 22nd and 23rd of March. During the meeting the INTRAW Consortium and Reference Country (RC) representatives from the USA, Australia and South Africa were present. The focus of the meeting was Work Package (WP) 2 ‘Programming’ and WP3 ‘Deployment’. The INTRAW project is working towards developing an ‘International Observatory for Raw Materials’.

The first day began with an introduction and the approval of the minutes from the last consortium meeting in Falmouth, Cornwall. After this, work commenced with an overview of the active work packages, with a focus on WP2 and WP3. Topics discussed in each work package included the schedule, gaps and deviations from original plan, and outcomes and milestones already or soon to be achieved.

Partners at the INTRAW consortium meeting

During discussion on WP2 there was a major engagement of the partners on the three forecasted scenarios for the year 2050, all of which consider four Fields of Action (FoA): Research & Innovation, Industry & Trade, Education & Outreach and Recycling & Substitution. An interactive exercise took place where the attendees reflected on current progress and considered new ideas on a set of defined action plans (a recommendation for stakeholders) on each FoA. This exercise will allow for better and more appropriate actions to be applied, with refinements like these saving time and money at the implementation stage. Subsequently, LPRC representatives Marco and Luís conducted another WP2 workshop exercise with the aim of understanding the effect of cross-cutting synergies between different action plans. During this exercise, partners considered different future scenarios and their potential impact on international cooperation on raw materials.

First exercise involved commenting on defined action plans

Second exercise dealt with analysis and classification of synergies between different action plans

The first day ended with an introductory discussion on WP3 concerning the validation of two important aspects of the project: the strategic plan for the Observatory, and the business plan for its future governing organisation.

The second day centred on more in-depth discussion on the strategic planning and business planning of the Observatory and its governing body, this time also focussing on the statutes of the Observatory. After the timeframe from discussions had ended, the two-day meeting ended with a summary of the work developed before and during the meeting, followed by the clarification of the decisions taken during the meeting concerning the Consortium’s actions for the following months.

In summary, it was a successful meeting, one where the presence of the reference countries contributed in a positive way towards the establishment of the future organisation. These partners have the experience to give valuable input for the international aspect of the Observatory.

INTRAW will end next year, and due to this meeting the preparations for the final steps are now underway.

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KINDRA Progress Meeting, Rome

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On the 1st and 2nd of March 2017, LPRC colleagues Ariadna Ortega & Adrienn Cseko attended a KINDRA progress meeting at the University of Sapienza in Rome. Amongst other things, project members discussed the technicalities related to the opening of the European Inventory of Groundwater Research – the very first online tool exclusively dedicated to groundwater research & knowledge. In addition, partners reviewed the possible set of tools to be used for gap analysis, and the steps which could be taken for more efficient project communication and dissemination. LPRC are proud to host the next KINDRA meeting with the JPE (Joint Panel of Experts) in La Palma in June!

2017 Real Time Mining Conference, Amsterdam

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In October, LPRC will be taking part in the Real Time Mining Conference in Amsterdam. This conference, hosted by TU Delft on behalf of the Real Time Mining Consortium, will bring together an assortment of companies from the European mining industry who are working on projects commissioned by the EU’s Executive Agency for Small to Medium Enterprises (EASME) as part of the Horizon2020 research programme.

LPRC will be represented via two projects: Underwater Explorer for Flooded Mines (UNEXMIN, www.unexmin.eu @unexmin) and Viable Alternative Mine Operating System (VAMOS, www.vamos-project.eu @projectvamos).

The host project – Real Time Mining.

The conference will focus on five main topics related to improving the operating efficiency of the European extractive mining industry. Namely, these are ‘positioning and material tracking’, ‘automated material characterisation’, ‘resource modelling’, ‘process optimisation’, and ‘data management’.

Parties interested in attending should submit an abstract to Mike Buxton at TU Delft at M.W.N.Buxton_at_tudelft.nl, with more information on the conference being available for download at https://www.realtime-mining.eu/.

UNEXMIN’s Technology Appraisal Workshop

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From the 31st of January to the 2nd of February, exactly one year since the beginning of the project, the UNEXMIN consortium held its fifth workshop at Tampere University of Technology in Tampere, Finland. Taking place at the home of partner organisation TUT, the workshop focussed on approving the technological developments of the project prior to the shortly-commencing manufacturing phase.

A live discussion on UX-1 robotics developments between technical project members

On day one, the three-day meeting began with a revision of all project Work Packages. The second day then consisted of technology appraisal discussions as well as workshops on technological developments on control systems and data conversion, dissemination strategy, together with the beginning of Work Packages 3 and 4. During these two days the advisory board members were present in the workshop and gave their valuable input to the discussion. The third and final day was dedicated to further technical discussions and decision-making on the mechanical design, sensory array, and systems testing.

Technical workshops are good places to discuss developments. Shown above is the mechanical design and sensors workshop.

Creating a novel technology system like UNEXMIN is not easy. This is why these project meetings are so important, as they create to tangible advancements from synergistic collaboration leading to the generation of new ideas. Work will now continue with the development and testing of other technical instruments. The next big step is to build the first robotic prototype – UX-1!

What will it look like? Check the last picture for a sneak-peak…

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3D modelling of the Recsk Porphyry Deposit

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After the two-day general geomodelling training, work began on the modelling of the Recsk Ore Complex. Jean-Jacques Royer and Tamas Miklovicz have since been working on the 3D geological reconstruction of this mineralization using Paradigm’s GoCad software, with the aim of defining a grade and tonnage model and reconstructing 3D geological structures.

Jean-Jacques Royer and Tamas Miklovicz working on their Recsk Ore Complex model

The Recsk Copper Ore Deposit is located in the North-East of Hungary, 100 km from Budapest in a structural region called the Dranó Zone. The metallic enrichment was caused by volcanic activity related to diorite intrusion in the Late Eocene and Late Oligocene. The extent of the explored complex reaches depths of 1300 m below the surface, and at depth shows porphyry copper-gold and skarn lead-zinc enrichment, with epithermal gold found close to the surface. Historical exploration programs have recorded data on rock samples, drilling campaigns, chemical analyses, and more; two shafts have been sunk, however commercial exploitation of the deeper regions hasn’t yet occurred. The mine is currently flooded as investors await a higher demand for mineral raw materials.

At LPRC, the work started with data handling, which included the cleaning of the data-set, and its subsequent organisation and standardisation.

The data-set includes:

  • Chemical data from 135 drillings (Cu, Pb, Zn, Fe, Mo, S, Au, Ag and Se content, density measurements, and polymetallic index)
  • A lithological column constructed from drillings data
  • 34 geological cross-sections
  • Geophysical maps, including a filtered gravity-anomaly map, and an apparent resistivity and analytical-signal map composed from airborne magnetic measurements
  • Google Earth satellite and topographic maps
  • Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (ASTER GDEM) data

Most of the drilling orientations are inclined, and hence true XYZ values had to be calculated from azimuth and dip measurements every 50 m in order to obtain the drill trajectory. After this was completed, the next step was to fit the depth-based chemical measurements to the true XYZ coordinates.

In a parallel task, 34 geological cross-sections were imported into the model, which were then georeferenced using the true XYZ coordinates from the drilling data. With the use of the cross-sections, computation of fence diagrams allowed faults to be identified and digitised, and for the extensive fault system to be reconstructed. The next step was to digitise lithological layers such as the Quaternary and Oligocene sediments, Eocene stratovolcanic layers, and the Palaeogene diorite intrusion. Once this was completed, the digitised lithological layers had to be cut by the fault planes using a tailored GoCad function. After this process was completed, the form of the intrusion was reconstructed.

The next stage in the Recsk Ore Complex agenda will be the definition of a grade and tonnage model, and the fine-tuning of the 3D model.

Cross sections and topography

Above: pictures from the Recsk Ore Complex modelling process

Jean Jacques Royer has since travelled to Tampere, Finland for a @UNEXMIN Advisory Board meeting, however the geomodelling work continues here on Isla de La Palma. Coming up next: a predictive 3D structural geological model of La Palma. Check back soon for more details on this intriguing and controversial topic.

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LPRC employees develop skills in 3D and 4D geological modelling

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On the 16 -17th of January 2017, La Palma Research Centre staff took part in a training course on 3 & 4D geological  modelling with Jean-Jacques Royer, an expert in Geomodelling methods. 3  & 4 D Geological modelling is regularly applied in the mining and the oil and gas industry, and is one of the now crucial modern tools used to identify and define resources and reserves of essential geological materials.

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Jean-Jacques Royer (furthest left, foreground) teaching LPRC staff how to model geological features.

The GOCAD software allowed LPRC employees to learn how to manipulate geological data in order to create 3D digital models and obtain information on geological features including faults, rock formations and mineral ore deposits, in terms of their location, size, and volume, and more.

With this training, LPRC members came to acquire a deeper knowledge of computerised geoscientific techniques; methods which are being widely used within many disciplines in the academic and industrial geoscience community.

Special thanks are given to Jean-Jacques Royer for conducting a greatly insightful training course.

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INTRAW WP2 meeting hosted by LPRC

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On the 11-12th of January 2017 LPRC had the opportunity to welcome project partners of INTRAW from FCT, Portugal, Assimagra – RecursosMinerais de Portugal, Fraunhofer IAO, Germany and EFG, Brussels and the University of Miskolc, Hungary who joined our colleagues on our road to create an international observatory on raw materials. During these two days, the partners were focusing their efforts on Work Package 2, fine-tuning the Action Plans on R&I, Education & Outreach, Industry & Trade and the Management & Substitution of raw materials.

The overall goal of the project is to set up and launch the European Union’s International Observatory for Raw Materials as a definitive and permanent raw materials knowledge management infrastructure in collaboration with technologically advanced non-EU countries (Australia, Canada, Japan, South Africa, & US) in response to similar global challenges. For more information, please visit: intraw.eu or follow the project on Twitter: @intrawproject

meeting_work      WP2_group_photo

¡VAMOS! Work Package 6 Kick-off Meeting on La Palma

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On Wednesday and Thursday this week, 7th and 8th December 2016, LPRC hosted a kick-off meeting in La Palma for a Work Package of the Horizon2020 project, ¡VAMOS! (¡Viable Alternative Mine Operating System!).

The workshop was organised with the objective of understanding and planning the various deliverables within the scope of the Work Package.

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Selected workshop participants in front of the Museo de La Palma.

Technical management was present, as was the Project Coordinator together with multiple partners with roles within the Work Package. Participants included senior representatives from specialist geological and industrial mining institutions such as GeoZS (Slovenia), Montanuniversität Leoben (Austria), Soil Machine Dynamics (England), and more.

In reference to the objective of the kick-off meeting, on Wednesday, each pre-identified deliverable was presented by the assigned leader: debate ensued, during which inconsistencies were identified, and understanding was conferred among the group.

The workshop concluded on Thursday morning with a round-up of solutions identified during the first sitting, a brainstorming exercise, follow-up business from the meeting, and a succinct summary action plan.

LPRC will now continue to coordinate this work package, presenting progress at the next ¡VAMOS! meeting in March.

 

Report on the 1st Raw Materials Week, Brussels

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Last week, La Palma Research Centre colleagues Tamás Miklovicz and Cameron Sword participated in a series of workshops and talks organised by the European Commission as part of the European Raw Materials Week in Brussels. The event gathered important players in the raw materials community from Europe and beyond, and focused on broad-ranging discussions between researchers, industrial partners, and policy makers.

On Monday afternoon, the kick-off meeting was held for our new project FORAM: Towards a World Forum on Raw Materials. During the kick-off meeting, the coordinator first introduced the project and consortium members, and then the floor was given to Work Package leaders to describe and explain the work in detail.

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Vitor Correia presenting FORAM Work Package 3: Vision and Focus

On Tuesday morning, Cameron and Tamas participated at the SLO (Social Licence to Operate) Conference, organised by Montanuniversität Leoben. The title of the conference was ‘Re-Connecting Raw Materials with Society.’ Speakers discussed a number of best practices and initiatives which significantly improve the connection between mining companies with local communities.

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Opening of the  SLO Conference by Peter Moser, Montanuniversitat Leoben

During the FORAM Public Launch on Tuesday evening, Mathias Schluep (WRFA) gave a concise overview of the project, which was then followed by a panel discussion. Amid an active discussion with the audience, panel members Ruediger Kuehr (UNU), Marcin Sadowski (EASME), Luca Demicheli (EGS), Vitor Correia (EFG), and Mathias Schluep (WRFA) debated obstacles, trends, opportunities, challenges, and initiatives within the world of raw materials.

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The panel discussion during the public launch of FORAM

On Wednesday morning, EFG and Fraunhofer IAO led a session on ‘INTRAW: Future Scenarios on International Raw Materials Provision’ at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. The workshop began with the project coordinator Vitor Correia giving a short presentation about the INTRAW project, followed by an introduction to the scenario technique by Flavius Sturm. Following this, the participants were divided into three groups whose objective was to discuss three end-member scenarios devised by the INTRAW team. Each group then engaged in a one-hour discussion on the credibility & accuracy of their scenario, its consequences for raw materials, and the specific actions that need to be taken for the EU to be well positioned in their specific scenario.

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Tamas Miklovicz (LPRC) and Tina Brenda (Slovenian Geological Survey)  facilitating discussion on the “Sustainable Alliance” scenario.

During the early afternoon, speakers presented the Raw Materials topics of Horizon 2020 Work Programme 2017, the ERA-MIN 2, and EIT Raw Materials calls. In the evening, various participants were presenting project ideas.

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UNEXMIN, VAMOS, and INTRAW project material was in displayed at events across Brussels during Raw Materials Week.

The 4th annual High Level Conference of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Raw Materials took place on Thursday. The programme was divided into a high-level panel on Raw Materials Beyond 2020, and three distinct sessions. The first session regarded ‘Raw Materials Needs in a Future Circular, Low-carbon Economy’ – Prof. Julian M. Allwood gave an inspiring presentation on the low-carbon economy. The second session focused on ‘Copernicus for Raw Materials’, which is part of the European Earth Observation Programme. The day ended with a session on ‘Framework Conditions for Sustainable Mining.’

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