The GeoERA Raw Materials Monograph
The economic, environmental and social challenges for civilization are constantly increasing. Ensuring prosperity, common welfare within a healthy and safe environment for all citizens within Europe and the rest of the world, places increasing pressure on the availability and exploitation of our subsurface natural resources, such as water, minerals and energy. Yet, the pressure on natural resources caused by growing world population remains high.
A prerequisite for knowledge-based decisions in the sense of the European Green Deal is a good understanding of the ‘Earth System’ based on relevant, detailed, reliable and comparable data and information. The provision of this information at regional and national level is among the tasks of Europe’s Geological Survey Organisations (GSOs). On the other hand, the mandate and structure of individual GSOs differ significantly with consequent effects on their regional / national work and possibilities for international cooperation. In addition to this spatial national task, GSO scientists are well aware that geological systems rarely stop at political borders and that cooperation is required to fully grasp the complex geological puzzle. Thus, apart from the scientific interest, cross-border cooperation improves the quality of research and data and hence decision making. Individual projects have been worked on for a long time by likeminded colleagues from various GSOs, but capacity building and a systematic, continuous, reliable structural setting of collaboration cannot be established by this piecemeal approach. Geoscientists are well aware of this and are working towards comparable understandings on Europe’s natural resources within a common database.
An already intrinsic value in everyday life is that mineral raw materials are indispensable in our daily lives and securing a responsible supply from domestic sources is a key element in achieving reliable raw material supply security for Europe. As a result, decision-makers and politicians need reliable data and information on raw materials, mines, deposits and resources.
The four GeoERA Raw Material scientific projects EUROLITHOS, FRAME, MINDeSEA e MINTELL4EU provide this valuable and coherent information on onshore and offshore commodities in Europe with a special focus on critical raw materials (CRM).
Nearly 40 national and regional geological monitoring organisations and marine institutes shared expertise and information resulting in an improved EU raw materials database on European onshore and offshore resources.
The termination of the GeoERA projects leaves an important legacy for all as the innovation in mineral intelligence has been clearly shown throughout the course of these projects. Coordinated by Antje Wittenberg of BGR, GeoERA Raw Materials has addressed a wide range of aspects and produced new data, information and knowledge that is currently being requested and used. GeoERA Raw Materials has gone that little bit further and published a comprehensive monograph based on the results obtained in the EUROLITHOS, FRAME, MINDeSEA and MINTELL4EU projects.
The GeoERA Raw Materials Monograph now produced reflects some of the most relevant results obtained and contains not only information on raw material potentials in Europe and the use of UNFC/UNRMS, but also lists and links to the most important products and scientific publications conducted.
The monograph is available in English for download in the following links:
https://www.bgr.bund.de/DE/Themen/Min_rohstoffe/Produkte/produkte_node.html?tab=Studien
https://www.lneg.pt/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/GeoERA_raw_materials_monograph_en.pdf
Daniel P. S. de Oliveira (1,2)
(1) Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia, I.P. (LNEG), Estrada da Portela, Bairro do Zambujal – Alfragide
Apartado 7586, 2610-999, Amadora Portugal
(2) Mineral Resources Expert Group, EuroGeoSurveys, Rue Joseph II, 36-38, Box 7, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Antje Wittenberg (3)
(3) Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR), Stilleweg 2, 30655 Hannover, Germany
F. Javier González Sanz (4)
(4) Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME-CSIC), C. de Ríos Rosas, 23, 28003 Madrid, Spain
Lisbeth Flindt Jørgensen (5)
(5) Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Øster Voldgade 10, 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark
Tom Heldal (6)
(6) Norges Geologiske Undersøkelse, P.O. Box 6315 Torgarden, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
