{"id":28408,"date":"2022-12-19T10:46:11","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T10:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=28408"},"modified":"2023-05-12T15:30:54","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T14:30:54","slug":"m4mining-project-to-enhance-the-sustainability-of-critical-raw-materials-mining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/m4mining-project-to-enhance-the-sustainability-of-critical-raw-materials-mining\/28408\/","title":{"rendered":"m4mining project to enhance the sustainability of critical raw materials mining"},"content":{"rendered":"
Mining is essential for acquiring critical raw materials required to power the green energy transition. These materials are used in various technologies, from electric vehicles<\/a> (EVs) to wind turbines. However, the extraction process and long-term effects of mining sites\u2019 waste materials create major environmental concerns.<\/p>\n Spearheaded by NORCE<\/a>, the m4mining project will innovate drone and satellite-based methods for rapid mapping, analysis and visualisation of active and inactive mining site data to make mining critical raw materials more sustainable, reducing waste and boosting environmental management.<\/p>\n Various mining stakeholders from the EU and Australia will be involved in the project, with case studies including the Bauxite aluminium mine in Greece, Copper-Gold mine<\/a> waste sites in the Republic of Cyprus, and several mines and legacy sites for Copper, Gold and Rare Earth Elements<\/a> in Australia.<\/p>\n Simon Buckley, a principal researcher at NORCE and scientific coordinator for the project, commented: \u201cWe want to make the extraction and site management process more efficient and environmentally sustainable. We already have some of the main technology building blocks required and a really strong consortium that has worked on hardware, software and sustainable mining research for many years.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will develop the technology further to achieve real-time monitoring. There are still several technical and scientific challenges to be solved – the hardware and software, new algorithms, and making it safe, fast, and robust enough to work in challenging operational environments. No available solution is currently delivering real-time results, so m4mining aims to provide a step-change for future commercial solutions and best practices.\u201d<\/p>\n