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LPRC presents projects during the online “GeoUtrecht 2020” event

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On the 25th of August, LPRC members Luís Lopes and Márcio Tameirão had the opportunity to show two very innovative raw materials projects to the EU community during GeoUtrecht 2020 – this year online due to the current restrictions on travel. The selected projects were ROBOMINERS and UNEXUP.

The ROBOMINERS and UNEXUP presentations were included within the session “Raw Materials and their societal relevance for Europe” pinpointing what these two EU-funded projects are doing and what is their connection to the European society. The presentations raised interest from the audience which was translated into a few pertinent questions on the implementation of both innovative technologies with the vision to help with the sustainable sourcing of raw materials in Europe.

EGU 2020 online – with LPRC participation

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Similarly to the past editions of 2017 and 2019, LPRC is set to participate in this year’s European Geosciences Union with presentation materials on some of the projects where the company participates. This year, due to the restrictions imposed on the COVID-19 situation, the event will be held online.

The EGU 2020 online event will have many activities and discussions running from the 4th to the 8th of May. Posters, talks and other debates will be transformed into online available materials and chat talks will be held to engage in discussion with scientists.

Below you can find the projects and materials that the LPRC members are going to present during next week’s EGU 2020 online event:

Feel free to have a look at the projects and materials provided and join the discussion at the given times – science is for everyone!

ENGIE Kick-off, Miskolc

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The ENGIE Consortium met for the kick-off of the EIT Raw Materials funded project hosted by the coordinator, the University of Miskolc. In representation of LPRC, Ariadna Ortega and Adrienn Cseko presented the tasks to be performed during the next two years. ENGIE will work to better integrate women in the STEM related sciences.

During the first day, the coordinators presented their vision of the project and the partners introduced their respective Work Packages, including Work Package 3 “Impact assessment and monitoring” which is led by LPRC and was presented by Adrienn Cseko. The last session of the day focused on the work to combine the Work Packages efforts and how to be more effective in the task distribution and communication among partners.

Then on the second day the detailed planning for Year 1 was discussed and agreed by the consortium, where Ariadna Ortega presented the task LPRC is responsible for, “Researchers Night- Geoscience Theme”, in which an activity performed by EFG’s Linked Third Parties throughout Europe is to be organized during the European Researchers Night. Said activity will focus on the role of women in geosciences.

The ENGIE project is funded by the EIT Raw Materials programme and aims to turn the interest of girls to study geosciences and geo-engineering, and thus to improve the gender balance in the fields of these disciplines. The project will develop an awareness-raising strategy and create a stakeholder collaboration network for the implementation of a set of actions in more than 20 EU countries. The project envisions attracting more young women to the raw materials related scientific and engineering sectors.

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MIREU Workshop, Krakow

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The MIREU Project is establishing a network of mining & metallurgy regions across Europe and, in that context, the AGH University hosted the ‘Workshop on skills requirements’ on December 5th and 6th in Krakow, Poland. LPRC took part as guest speakers representing INTERMIN, having the opportunity to share some insights generated during the project.

LPRC’s presentation highlighted the importance of current sectoral trends related to ‘Industry 4.0’ and Sustainable Development and how these affect the set of skills that will be required in the future of the raw materials sector. Additionally, geographical complexities arising from different mining regions and their social and cultural aspects should be properly considered. Participants from Poland, Finland, Germany, Slovakia and Portugal, representing industry, government and academia helped to enrich the discussions with different perspectives.

The workshop was followed by the celebration of Barbórka – the miners’ day in Poland – and its 100th anniversary at the AGH University. The festivities also shined light over the importance of mining and metallurgy industries and their traditions for the region and were the perfect insipiration for thinking about the future of more socially responsible mining and metallurgy sectors in the EU – a necessity acknowledged by everyone.

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LPRC presented at Congress for Social Communication of Science, Burgos

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LPRC presented three posters and one oral presentation in the Congress for Social Communication of Science in the University of Burgos organized by AECC (Spanish Science Communication Association) on the 10th and 11th of October.

The two-day congress included roundtables, lectures, comedy stand-ups and a scientific social program focused on three main themes:

  • Receivers of science communication.
  • Strategies for science communication.
  • Channels for science communication.

These teams are very much inline with LPRC’s line of work and, therefore, this was a perfect place for LPRC to present its work and get connected to other stakeholders and interested parties within the same field.

LPRC presented two ongoing projects, MacaroNight and AGEO, and one upcoming one, ENGIE, each having a dedicated poster. The MacaroNight project’s poster and communication were enclosed in the “Receivers of science communication” theme, and were titled “Communicating science for islanders”, where the importance of the regional focus of MacaroNight was stressed. MacaroNight gathers parties from the archipelagos of Canarias, Madeira, Açores and Cape Verde.

AGEO targeted the way Citizen Observatories create a new channel to reach general society by making them part of the actual research and how the Interreg Atlantic Area funded would achieve this goal, while ENGIE tackles the strategies to close the gender gap in geo-sciences.

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UNEXMIN Final Conference, Brussels

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It was on the 26th of September 2019 that the UNEXMIN project organised its Final Conference to showcase its results and outputs to a group stakeholders ranging from the raw materials community to robotics, not forgetting the policy makers that connect these areas. LPRC took part in the organisation of the event, where among talks and presentations on UNEXMIN and related topics, the UX-1 robot could be saw in action.

This event was a great way to disseminate and communicate the UNEXMIN’s project final results and outcomes, part of the work that were leaded by LPRC since the beginning of the project, as per WP 8 – Dissemination, Technology Transfer and Exploitation. An extensive promotion campaign formulated by our team made  the presence of around 70 people and one robot – UNEXMIN’s own UX-1 robot – at the venue (Nemo 33, Brussels) a reality.

The agenda, prepared to deliver important content to the UNEXMIN’s stakeholders and to make the bridge between them and European policies, counted with talks and presentations on diverse topics, a rooundtable discussion on the future of raw materials and robotics, and, a live demonstration of the UX-1 robot, one of the main outputs of this EU project. The main sessions of the day, are as follows (the whole program can be seen here):

1 – Morning session: setting the political context: the future of mining in Europe
2 – Afternoon session I: Raw materials & mining (UNEXMIN project presentations)
3 – Afternoon session II: Robotics & functionalities (UNEXMIN project presentations)
4 – Afternoon round table – Mineral exploration, future and long-term initiatives
5 – UX-1 robot showcase (live demo)

After the success that was this event, as suggested by the approval of UNEXMIN’s stakeholders, it is now time to start packing the final results and outcomes. The UNEXMIN project ends on the 31st of October and, up to that date, the partners still need to finalise their work. This is also true for LPRC, responsible to deliver, among others, a research roadmap for the future of the UNEXMIN technology.

The UNEXMIN team would like to thank everyone that attended the Final Conference. Videos, photos and the presentations of made during the day will be available on the project website soon.

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AGEO Kick-off meeting, Lisbon

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The AGEO project kick-off meeting was held in Lisbon, at Instituto Superior Técnico, home of the project’s coordinator institution, on the 4th and 5th of July, with a field trip to showcase some examples of possible risks to be reported by the Lisbon multihazards pilot on the 6th. AGEO – Platform for Atlantic Geohazard Risk Management – will be launching several Citizens’ Observatory pilots on geohazards according to regional priorities. To do this, the project brings together partner institutions from 5 countries of the Atlantic area: Portugal, Spain, France, UK and Ireland. LPRC is one of the representatives from Spain and is leading WP2 – Communication.

The two days meeting started with an overview of the objectives and the roadmap to fulfill those; a review of each WP got the partners on the same page. Discussions on Citizens’ Observatories, Copernicus services and the Pilots within AGEO, crucial for the project development and goals, marked the remaining discussions of Day 1. Ariadna Ortega presented LPRC’s view for the Communication work package.

During the second day, a detailed overview and discussion on each WP’s activities and planning allowed the participants to know what to to, where to contribute and when to do it. Again, Ariadna Ortega, introduced LPRC’s ideas to the consortium. It is important that every partner contributes to the project development in every aspect – and the AGEO team understands that.

Besides the two-days discussion, a field visit was organised on Saturday by the Municipality, to show Lisbon’s most vulnerable spot that served as an example of the risks that could be reported by the citizens during the Observatory. This site showcased the project’s potential to the consortium and stakeholders alike.

LPRC is glad to be part of this consortium and will do their best to help the project achieve its objectives!

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Constructing Social Futures conference, Turku

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Constructing Social Futures – Sustainability, Responsibility and Power conference took place between 12-13th of June in Turku, Finland, bringing together the foresight community. The theme was the concept of agency in action and research for futures. ‘Constructing Futures’ emphasizes opportunities and challenges related to the need for building and critically evaluating capabilities necessary for sustainable futures. This conference created a cross-disciplinary platform where participants could meet, share, and discuss new ideas concerning social futures. These two days consisted of keynote lectures, parallel sessions, participatory workshops and chaired poster session, from multidisciplinary topics.

The fist keynote presentation was held by Dr. Ivana Milojević (Metafuture) about the Power for, against, with and within: Futures studies as practice. Ivana’s set the tone for the conference with her passionate talk addressing two central questions: “Can futures studies, as a practice, make a difference?”, and “To what extent are futures being constructed through participation that reflects moral agency and leads to better futures for all?”. The second keynote presentation was given by Professor Ullrich Kockel (Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh) about the Heritage Futures: Tradition, Gain, Sustainability. The afternoon continued with 7 paralel sessions for ~15 minute presentations on topics such as Combining corporate foresight with corporate social responsibility and Citizen science, power, responsibility and foresight.

LPRC was represented by Tamas Miklovicz, who gave a presentation about the Application of foresight methods in the research of a disruptive geothermal technology (CHPM), in the session on Foresight activities and their effect on sustainability transitions. The presentation was focusing on the methodological aspect of how to make use of foresight tools for such a challenging technology. The presentation was well received and participants appreciated the robust methodology behind the CHPM roadmapping process. You can have a look at Tamas’s presentation in  the video below:

The second day continued with sessions and workshops on topics like Back to the futures we want: Envisioning and backcasting for Sustainable futures, and Utopias to combat futures by-negation, and The roles of futures studies in the negotiation of values and desired futures. The event was concluded with two keynote presentations. First Professor Keri Facer talked about All our futures? Climate change, democracy and missing public spaces. The second was given by Professor Ted Fuller On responsible futures: What can we do, what should we do?

All keynote speakers were donated a ~3 hectare peatland in Finland. Peatlands are the largest natural terrestrial carbon store, and among the most important ecosystems on Earth*, also helping us to reduce carbon footprint of the anthropocene.

You can read the Book of Abstract here and you may rediscover the event on Twitter following the #futuresconference2019.

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The Futures Conference 2019 was very inspiring! Many great ideas have been shared, discussed and agreed about building a more sustainable future. After the conference, arriving home, the real question remains: are we going to plant these seeds into our everyday life to nurture a sustainable future? We all hope that we do indeed, throughout our everyday decisions.

*https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/peatlands-and-climate-change

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 presented at EGU 2019, Vienna

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The UNEXMIN project was presented by LPRC’s member Luís Lopes during this year’s EGU General Assembly meeting, held in Vienna, between the 7th and 12th of April. The overview of the current and future state of the project was presented to a geoscientists audience, interested in  the future state of the mineral exploration sector.

UNEXMIN’s presentation on EGU 2019 was inserted on the session ITS2.2/ERE4.4 – The New Roadmap for Mineral Exploration: Challenges and Innovative approaches. Luís Lopes’s talk on UNEXMIN, entitled “UNEXMIN: an innovative approach for mineral exploration in flooded mines “, focused on the project’s innovative solution that aims to contribute to mineral exploration and mapping of flooded underground mines in Europe, without major costs or associated risks. The past, present and future of the technology were covered within the discussed topics that included the development of the robotic system and the field trials.

During the presentation on the project, there were a roomful of 60 people present. A session on Questions and Answers after the talk provided more input on the project to the session participants. It should be noted that the presentation had a positive and intriguiging effect on the audience: a great part showed interest either by making questions during the Q&A session or by directly talking to the presenter after the talk.

Luís Lopes also assisted to the debate on “Science in policymaking: Who is responsible?” and discussed poster presentations on new innovative approaches in mining with their authors during the poster session. LPRC’s line of work directly shines under geoscience and policy making, and therefore, this was a good opportunity to learn about the state of play in these fields.

Link to the debate on “Science in policymaking” debate: https://client.cntv.at/egu2019/gdb2

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The UNEXMIN project was communicated and disseminated with LPRC’s efforts once again!

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