Aurela Shtiza

   

Director - Industrial Affairs & Raw Materials
IMA-Europe

BIO

Dr. Aurela Shtiza is the Director in Industrial Affairs & Raw Materials at Industrial Minerals Association Europe (IMA-Europe). She is a seasoned expert more than 20 years of experience in regulatory affairs in the fields of Sustainability, Innovation and Environmental legislation. After working as a consultant and for industry in regulatory affairs & sustainability, in 2011 she joined IMA-Europe. In her role as Director, she leads the advocacy of IMA-Europe on topics of, Sustainability, Innovation, Environment and oversees the development of the Sector Climate Roadmap. She is the general secretary of the European Specialty Minerals (ESMA). On behalf of industrial minerals, she is: The Vice-President in the Board of Process4Planet Public Private Partnership (A.SPIRE); Sherpa in European Innovation Partnership in Raw Materials (EIP-RM). Dr. Aurela SHTIZA holds a PhD in Geology from the KU Leuven (Belgium).

Session 9.
22 October 2025 / 16:30 - 08:10 | Lagoas hall

Minotaur: The way forward towards more innovative sustainable exploration

The use of heavy machinery combined with social acceptance & visual impacts can often hinder the exploration drilling. All of these factors make it challenging to discover new critical raw materials deposits needed for the transition of existing industries and for the development of modern high-tech industries. Traditional exploration methods can be slow and ineffective, leading to increased resource depletion and ecological disruption. As demand for these materials grows, finding innovative solutions that address the above challenges becomes a crucial step to move the raw material and transition agenda forward sustainably and effectively. MINOTAUR is an EU-funded project that aims to develop a concept for Miniaturized Robotic Systems for Autonomous In-Situ Exploration of Critical Raw Materials in Deep Land Deposits. MINOTAUR takes a fundamentally fresh look at exploration drilling and approaches it as a source-seeking and resourcing mapping problem, drawing inspiration from solutions in robotics, but where geology is a central part of the decision, with the outcomes of exploration enhanced through artificial intelligence and digital twin technology. MINOTAUR aims to address the multiple challenges faced by exploration drilling experts by adopting a novel and revolutionary perspective, combining geological principles and concepts with modern technologies such as robotics, digital twin technology, and AI.