Network on European Sustainable Mining and Processing Industries

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Network on European Sustainable Mining and
Processing Industries
Prague Declaration 4 November 2003
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• Waste Minimisation and Resource Management (WP
  2)
• Recycling and ecological production (WP 3)
• Market and competitiveness (WP 4)
• Eco-efficient and intelligent mineral processing
  and metallurgy (WP 5)
• Health Safety (WP 6)

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EU Policy for the extractive industry

• EU Communication on the sustainable development
  of the extractive industry
• EU Communication on the Safe Operation of mining
  and other extractive industries
• Identified RTD as major driver for sustainable
  development in the sector

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General EU Policies of relevanceEU Thematic
Strategies RTD

• Natural Resource Use
• LCAs and material flows analysis
• Resource efficiency and the diminished use of
  resources, de-coupling the link between economic
  growth and negative environmental impact
• Promotion of extraction and production methods
  and techniques to encourage eco-efficiency and
  the sustainable use of raw materials, energy,
  water and other resources

• RTD into reduced environmental impact
• Life cycle and mass flow data
• RTD into technology
• Better extraction technologies
• Technology for higher resource yields
• Further reduced emissions
• Further reduced energy consumption
• Reutilisation of emissions, heat and wastes from
  production
• Small scale mining

5
General EU Policies of relevanceEU Thematic
Strategies RTD

• IPP
• Making life-cycle information and interpretative
  tools available
• Product design obligations

• Life cycle data
• In close cooperation with customer industries
• More product/service with less resource use
• Better performing products
• High quality control
• Products intended for reuse and recycling
• Development of

6
General EU Policies of relevanceEU Thematic
Strategies RTD

• Recycling and Waste Minimisation
• of old and newly arising wastes
• RD (Identify themes for existing programs )

• Development of better rehabilitation techniques
• reduced footprint
• Reduction of tailings
• by development of process efficiency
• by development of new and safe uses of tailings
• reprocessing technologies for old tailings
• Safe disposal of tailings

7
New Chemicals Policy

• Requirements for the metals and minerals
  industry
• More data throughout the life-cycle of the
  industrys products
• More data on substances and products used in the
  minerals industry, i.e. occupational exposure data

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EU Communication on the Work programme for health
and safety RTD

• Extractive industry identified as a risky
  workplace with a high accident rate
• De facto accident rates are in some countries
  already below industry average
• More efforts have to made

• Increased automation
• Improved personal protection equipment
• Transfer of robotics
• Close cooperation with ESA and vehicle
  manufacturer

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Extractive industry, RTD and the enlarged Europe
in 2004

• From research to technical development
• Critical mass
• EU 15 190000 employees in the non-energy
  extractive, 200000 employees in the energy
  extractive sector
• 10 enlargement countries 1,5 million employees