Fostering international cooperation in the field of raw materials - the intraw project and the European international observatory for raw materials

Abstract

In the last decade, a structural change has taken place in the world’s mineral markets and the global demand for raw materials stands at the bottom of a new growth curve. In this perspective, safeguarding the domestic minerals supply in a sustainable way will be challenging not only to Europe but also to other countries such as Australia, Brazil or the United States. As part of the European Commission’s Horizon 2020, the International Cooperation on Raw Materials (INTRAW) project was launched in 2015 under the coordination of the European Federation of Geologists. Since then and in line with the European Raw Materials Initiative and the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) of the European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials (EIP-RM), the INTRAW project has been working on mapping national best practices, policies and strategies aiming to maintain a competitive and functioning economy and non-energy minerals industry (primary and secondary raw materials). INTRAW´s work has been focused in three domains: Research and Innovation, Education and Outreach, and Industry and Trade of five technologically advanced partner countries: Australia, Canada, Japan, South Africa, and the United States of America. Findings during the first year of our research show the leading role of Australia in long-term economic growth and of Western Australia in automation, of Japan in deep sea mining, substitution and raw materials diplomacy or of Canada in setting the pace of exploration. The outcome of the ongoing mapping and knowledge transfer activities will be used as a baseline to set up and launch the European Union’s International Observatory for Raw Materials as a definitive raw materials knowledge management infrastructure. The Observatory will be a permanent international body that will remain operational after the end of the project aiming at the establishment of strong long-term relationships with the world’s key players in raw materials technology and scientific developments.