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ROBOMINERS Project Meeting, Tampere, January 2023

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The ROBOMINERS Project teams joined together in Tampere, Finland, to discuss the current status of the project and next steps in the development of a unique mining technology line. The project will finish in November 2023, so it is important to discuss issues and work together to achieve the goals. This meeting was held on the 24, 25 and 26 January 2023. From the side of La Palma Research Centre, two members of the team were there to contribute to discussions.

The first day was dedicated to the presentation of the status of the 9 relevant Work Packages, which covered topics ranging from technical (Simulations, virtual prototyping, scale model experiments, Miner design and prototype development, etc) and less technical (Active roadmapping & clusters, Integrated sustainability assessment, etc). LPRC, who leads the Active roadmapping & clusters Work Package, presented the activities of 2022 and what are the next steps. The day finished with technical discussions between the partners.

On the second, LPRC hosted a Workshop with the project partners dedicated to the Preparation for Pilots. Divided between two groups lead by LPRC members, the workshop aimed at collecting information about the site selection for testing the technology in 2030 and for commercial application in 2050. A paralell objective was to gather data on future research pathways that are interesting for the ROBOMINERS technology line.  After the workhsop, more technical discussions were held. The day was complemented with a visit to a nearby museum.

The final day was dedicated to the preparation of the upcoming field activities: integration of the robot-miner between different partners, testing in laboratory conditions and demonstrations with the miner in the real environemnt.

LPRC will now process the details and information collected during the workshops and will use the data to implement the remaining Tasks: Preparation for Pilots and Roadmapping.

Follow ROBOMINERS on the website and its social media channels (Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube) to learn more about and keep informed with the project!

ROBOMINERS Consortium and Review meeting, Brussels, 29, 30 June and 1 July 2022

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The ROBOMINERS consortium met in the capital of Europe, Brussels, for the most recent project meeting, which was coupled with a field visit and a review meeting with the European Commission-related personnel.

The meeting agenda started with a field trip to the South of Belgium to see the ROBOMINERS prototype in action in the field on 29 June, where the project partners had the chance to see the prototype (currently in development) in action.

On the following day, 30 June, the consortium members got together to discuss the state of project – with a review on the past, present and future status of all the operating Work Packages. La Palma Research Centre presented WP8 – Active roadmapping and Clustering, providing a view on the clustering activities and the many foresight actions towards future ROBOMINERS roadmaps. In the afternoon, which was dedicated to internal workshops and discussion groups, LPRC organised a visioning workshop with the participation of several project members. Data obtained from this interactive exercise will be used for implementation of the Work Package 8 foresight methodology.

On the 1st of July it was time for the Review meeting with the European Commission. The Work Packages leaders presented the work done and answered the questions and doubts put forwarded by the reviewers. Luís Lopes from LPRC represented Work Package 8.

Work within ROBOMINERS will now continue with technological development and integration into the prototype, aiming at the field tests of 2023. This work will be supported by foresight analysis developed and implemented by LPRC and ethical, environmental and economical analysis made by other project partners.

Follow the project through its website and social media to be up to date with ROBOMINERS developments!

Call for experts – ROBOMINERS Delphi Survey

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The LPRC team would like to invite you to answer to the ROBOMINERS Delphi Survey Round 2 as an expert in mining / geosciences topics: https://webgate.acceptance.ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/ROBOMINERSDelphiSurvey2ndRound.

The ROBOMINERS Delphi Survey presents a series of statements about the future (2050) on topics relevant for the vision and implementation of its technology line. You, as a participant, are invited to freely comment and express opinion on those topics.

In particular, this Survey is the 2nd round of the Delphi Survey which builds upon the comments and statistics made by the experts in Round 1. You can find the statistics and highlights from the previous Round here. This will be the last round and after all data is collected from experts it will be processed and a final document with the results will be produced.

The ROBOMINERS concept

Participation in the survey takes approximately 30 minutes and your answers will be kept strictly confidential and anonymous.

Thank you for your help!

About Delphi Surveys

The Delphi survey was originally developed as a technological forecasting technique, which aimed at reaching consensus over relevant technological developments. Nowadays, Delphi Surveys have expanded into a variety of modified approaches. However, at its core, the Delphi method stands out as a reliable method in situations where individual judgements must be elicited and combined to address an incomplete state of knowledge. The Delphi method is based on anonymous opinions of experts who are fed back the results of a round-based survey, allowing these experts to rethink their judgement and converge to consensus over key identified areas.

LPRC at “How the European Arctic secures the European Green Deal” webinar

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On Wednesday – 17 March 2021 – LPRC was present at the webinar “How the European Arctic secures the European Green Deal”, which was an online event organized by Svemin (the Swedish Association of Mines, Mineral and Metal Producers), Finnmin, North Sweden European Office, and region västerbotten.

The webinar was divided in three main sessions: Mineral extraction, battery production and recycling. These are relevant topics to emphasize the importance of minerals and metals to support the technology involved in the production of windmills, electrification of transport, solar PV systems and others, which are among the solutions towards a low-carbon future.

The program counted with several speakers, panel discussions, as well as a live chat that allowed participants to learn more and discuss about the leading role of the European Arctic in sustainable mining in the world. More specifically, how the Nordic Countries are the front-runners in reducing the carbon footprint per unit of extracted raw materials, and, therefore, contributing to the successful realization of the Green Deal goals in Europe.

The CEOs and other representatives of relevant companies of the sector, such as Boliden, LKAB, Finnish Minerals Group and Talga Group Ltd were invited to give their opinion on the topic and present their initiatives towards a sustainable European raw materials supply. In addition, Policy Analysts, MEPs, MPs and other decision makers provided their overview and commented on the existing and future initiatives in the sector, as well as the importance of generating demand for sustainable raw materials for further investments. The closing remarks were given by Mikael Janson, Director North Sweden European Office.

The webinar consisted of fruitful discussions and a lot of lessons learned for other regions in the EU and worldwide to join forces towards a low-carbon future in the mining sector. The event was 3 hours long, and the whole recording can be watched on the Svemin channel on YouTube – HERE.

Register for the ROBOMINERS project webinar!

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On 18 February 2021 the ROBOMINERS project is organising a webinar on “Small and very-small scale robotic mining: deposit types and opportunities for Europe”.

The aim of this virtual event is to:

  • Provide an overview of abandoned mines in Europe and their potential
  • Discuss the challenges of reopening an old mine
  • Outline the different steps from the discovery of a deposit until the opening of a mine
  • Present expected contributions of the ROBOMINERS technology to resume operations in abandoned mines where the application of conventional technologies is not relevant

The webinar is scheduled for 14:00-16:15 CET and speakers will be announced in the coming days.

To sign up for this free webinar, please register here: https://bit.ly/3cn2i9d

Register and join the discussion on the future mining opportunities in Europe!

EU Raw Materials Week 2019

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The 4th edition of the EU “Raw Materials Week” will take place from Monday 18 to Friday 22 November 2019, in Brussels. It builds up on a series of events organised by the European Commission addressing the latest news on raw materials in the EU. The RMW will be a unique opportunity for the raw materials community to discuss and exchange on all relevant issues: policy, technology, international cooperation, framework conditions, knowledge base etc.

Further information, registration and reference: www.eurawmaterialsweek.eu

UNEXMIN Consortium meeting, Budapest

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LPRC member Luís Lopes recently participated in the UNEXMIN Consortium workshop in Budapest, on the 24 and 25th of June, where the UNEXMIN partners discussed the current state of the technology, the final steps of the UNEXMIN project and the vision and objectives for the future. Discussion and preparation for the field trials at the Molnár János Cave also took place.

The two days event started with discussion on the navigation and autonomy features of the UX-1 robot. Here the technical teams discussed the state-of-the-art of the UNEXMIN technology and the improvements that they need to see to better manage navigation and the crucial autonomy component. After this session, the team focused on the geoscientific evaluation that will need to arise from the data obtained during the different trials. Providing relevant geoscientific data, that cannot be obtained in any other way is the motto of the UNEXMIN technology – the one item that will prove the technology to be of use. The first day finished with a short discussion on the final UNEXMIN conference and its planning – registration is open and free for everyone: https://www.unexmin.eu/unexmin-final-conference/

The second day began with a presentation on the remaining project deliverables, and it continued with interactive debate on future possibilities for the innovative solution. In the afternoon the partners travelled to the Molnár János cave, place where the next and final UNEXMIN field trial will take place, and started the preparations of the testing.

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LPRC contributed to discussions on the geosientific data evalutation and preparation as well as relevant input for the remaining period of the UNEXMIN project (until 31st of October) and the future applications of the technology in the market. Glad to be active part in this project!

RoboMiners Kick-off meeting, Madrid

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The 13th and 14th of June the Politechnical University of Madrid hosted the kick-off meeting of the newly started Robominers project.

ROBOMINERS will develop a bio-inspired, modular and reconfigurable robot-miner for small and difficult to access deposits and presents a solution for reopening many of Europe’s abandoned underground mines, without the need for a full recommissioning and in particular without the need for dewatering the mine. Under this application scenario it will be possible to resume mining exactly where it was abandoned in the past, which may have been several hundreds of years ago, turn the mine into a profitable business and produce sufficient revenues to cover the costs of a full-scale remediation of any environmental pollution from the past.

The consortium is formed by 14 outstanding members with the coordination of the Politechnical University of Madrid and includes the University of Tampere, University of Miskolc, University of Leoben, the European Federation of Geologists, the Belgian Royal Institute of Natural Sciences, Assimagra, the Geological Survey of Slovenia, Resources Computing International, GeoMontan, the Tallin University of Technology, the Mineral and Energy Economic Research Institute of Poland, K-Utec and, of course, La Palma Research.

During the kick-off meeting the novel idea of a bio-inspired resilient mining robot was discussed and the concept of the project was defined amongst all members.

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LPRC lead Work Package 8, Active roadmapping & clusters and collaborates in almost all other Work Packages, but most actively in Work Package 10 Dissemination and Outreach.

UNEXMIN presented at AIMS 2019, Aachen

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On the 13th and 14th of June, during the AIMS – Aachen International Mining Symposia – 2019, Luís Lopes, from LPRC, gave a talk about the development and current state of the UNEXMIN, under the Second International Conference “Mines of the future”. UNEXMIN is developing an exploration technology that might be part of a vision where mines are innovative and sustainable.

The two days event counted with numerous personnel from academia, research, industry and governmental bodies, all interested or involved in mining and related topics. There has been a number of keynote talks and presentations, divided into sessions and a panel discussion, fostering dialogue on the different emerging topics.

The first day started with three keynote talks about the sustainability of mining in the present and future, and on the current best practices. Six main sessions succeeded, with 4 to 5 presentations per session:

  1. Science: Tailings & Mine wastes
  2. Technology: Digitalisation
  3. Science: Methods & measurements
  4. Science: Mining challenges
  5. Technology: Equipment & methods
  6. Innovation: Modelling

The UNEXMIN project was introduced under session 5 – Technology: Equipment & methods, by Luís Lopes: “Re-exploring flooded mines: the UNEXMIN unique robotic solution”. The talk was well received by the audience, which showed big interest in a number of questions that focused on the technology as well as on policy aspects on its application.

On the second day, two parallel sessions kickstarted discussions: 1) Technology: Resource extraction and 2) Technology: New systems. A unique session on “Responsibility: Engagement and closure” ended the talks of the conference, right before the final panel discussion on the “Mines of the future need to be different from those of today!”.

Posters sessions and exhibitions of mining companies completed a very innovative and interesting event. The network possibilities with partners from different areas of the globe and the raw materials value chain were also very welcome.

It was a great pleasure that LPRC and the UNEXMIN project was represented in an important discussions about the present and future of mining activities, spanning through all the value chain, from exploration to exploitation and even to mine closure and remediation.

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LPRC is actively taking part of a change that is already ongoing!

UNEXMIN Final Conference, Brussels

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This event will provide a unique opportunity to discuss the UNEXMIN project overall and its specific fields of work, including minerals exploration, raw materials exploitation, and robotics and ICT development, with cross-cutting discussions that aim at demonstrating the impact that UNEXMIN can have on the European landscape.

The programme sessions are: 1) setting the political context: the future of mining in Europe, 2) Raw materials and mining, 3) robotics and functionalities and 4) round table – mineral exploration: future and long-term initiatives.

Registration to the event is free of charge: https://www.unexmin.eu/unexmin-final-conference/#tab-id-5

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