9 SESSION BRIEF
Lisbon, Portugal – 22 October 2025
The MINEX Europe Forum in Lisbon concluded its technical sessions with a dynamic discussion on the future of resource extraction in Europe. Session titled “Mining Reimagined: A Sustainable Blueprint for Europe’s Raw Material Independence,” was moderated by John Merry, Principal Environmental Scientist at SRK Consulting (UK). The session brought together experts from across the mining lifecycle to examine how advanced technology—from initial mineral exploration to final processing—is crucial for supporting the energy transition and securing critical minerals for renewable energy and energy storage solutions.
Critical Minerals and Defence Raw Materials
The session opened with a focus on the urgent need for a robust European supply chain, particularly for materials vital to the defence industry.
Christian Graf, Director of the Processing Division at ANZAPLAN, highlighted the critical nature of certain raw materials—specifically rare earths, tungsten, and graphite—and the geopolitical risk posed by China’s dominance in processing and recent export restrictions. Graf stressed that these restrictions often explicitly prohibit the stockpiling of materials for military purposes, forcing companies to find alternative, non-Chinese solutions.
Graf, representing a team of processing engineers, detailed the unique technical challenges presented by these commodities:
- Rare Earths: The complex and varied mineralogy of rare earth ores dictates the entire processing scheme, ranging from caustic leaching to high-pressure techniques.
- Tungsten: The two main tungsten minerals, scheelite and wolframite, require completely different processing schemes, yet often occur together. Furthermore, grade is a critical factor, with lower-grade deposits necessitating more costly and capital-intensive autoclave leaching.
- Graphite: Natural graphite is essential for numerous defence applications. The challenge lies in the sheer variability of flake size distribution across different deposits, a characteristic that dictates the material’s final application.
Innovation Across the Mining Cycle
Following the defence focus, Frank Browning, Principal Resource Geologist at SLR Consulting, delivered a broad overview of how innovation can tackle Europe’s raw material challenges across the full mining cycle, providing examples of where cumulative value can be created.
Optimising Exploration and Resource Modelling
Browning emphasised the need to move beyond simple resource classification by quantifying the uncertainty and risk in resource models. He advocated for the use of simulation methods—generating a range of block model scenarios instead of a single one—to capture geological and grade uncertainty. This data-driven approach allows for more robust decision-making, such as defining the optimum drill spacing and derisking high-uncertainty areas in mine plans.
Processing Complex, Lower-Grade Ores
Addressing the industry trend of lower grades and higher metallurgical complexity, Browning outlined a two-pronged approach for sustainable project success: incorporating advanced techniques like ore sorting and advanced comminution (High-Pressure Grinding Rolls and Stirred Mills), and utilising Automated and AI-driven process control for evidence-led process design.
Sustainable Tailings Management
The final piece of the puzzle is a change in mindset from viewing tailings as mere waste to designing a “waste with a purpose” system. Innovations include closed-loop water circuits, opportunities for residual metal recovery, and GIS integration for facility-level platforms that enhance risk monitoring and regulatory compliance.
Deep Dives into Processing Technology
The session then moved into specific technological case studies focusing on process optimisation and efficiency.
Dominik Schoenegger, Product Line Manager – Mining at Christian Pfeiffer Maschinenfabrik, tackled the challenge of Optimising Plant Infrastructure: Installation of a New Ball Mill on Existing Foundations. Schoenegger highlighted that with fewer new projects and more brownfield expansions in Europe, the focus is increasingly on retrofitting and upgrading existing infrastructure to improve efficiency. He presented case studies demonstrating that with a highly specialised, tailor-made approach, a new mill can be designed to fit an old foundation, often with an increase in diameter and throughput.
Esko Tahkola, Business Development Manager, Europe at CiDRA Minerals Processing, presented on Solutions to improve production and energy efficiency of concentrators, focusing on the grinding and classification circuits. Tahkola introduced proprietary technologies that enable improved control:
- SONARtrac Flow Monitoring: A passive clamp-on sonar technology that provides true solids flow measurement in slurries.
- Cyclonetrack PSD: A system that measures particle size directly from every overflow of a hydrocyclone battery, allowing operators to run cyclones closer to their optimal roping limit to reduce circulating load.
- P29 Separation Technology: A novel, energy-saving separation process that uses specially treated polymer sponges instead of air bubbles (as in flotation) to capture wanted particles, potentially allowing for a coarser grind and saving up to 40% of grinding energy.
The Innovation Ecosystem and Exploration
The final speakers returned to the themes of innovation ecosystems and early-stage exploration.
Charles Chamirai Nyabeze, Executive Vice President and Network Director at the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI), detailed The Canadian Mining Innovation Ecosystem. Nyabeze presented the Mining Innovation Commercialisation Accelerator (MICA), a vehicle created by CEMI to modernise mining and strengthen the Canadian supply chain. MICA is focused on four core technical areas—productivity, energy, smart, and environment—and is actively leveraging public funding into follow-on investment for projects across the entire mining value chain. He stressed the importance of an ecosystem-wide, collaborative approach that avoids the colonial mentality of simply “parachuting” technologies.
Finally, two presentations highlighted the cutting edge of mineral exploration:
- Aurela Shtiza, Director of Industrial Affairs & Raw Materials at IMA-Europe, introduced Minotaur: The way forward towards more innovative sustainable exploration. Minotaur is a European project developing miniaturised robotic systems for autonomous, in situ exploration of deep land deposits. The goal is to challenge traditional drilling methods, reducing environmental impact and permitting hurdles while speeding up decision-making by creating a digital twin and digital drill cores.
- Filipa Dias, Exploration Geologist at SpotMine, discussed Beyond the Drill: SpotMine’s Data Engine for the New Era of Mineral Exploration. SpotMine, a Portuguese startup, is addressing Europe’s critical raw material challenge, particularly for lithium, with the MindSpot project. MindSpot aims to reduce the exploration timeline by integrating multiple data sources—satellite data and drone data—via artificial intelligence to produce 2D surface predictive maps, combined with Deep Ground Penetrating Radar (DGPR) to create a 3D model that guides drilling.
Conclusion
The session provided a comprehensive and detailed look at the technological path forward for European resource development. The overarching consensus was clear: the pursuit of Europe’s raw material independence demands a radical shift towards integrating cutting-edge innovation at every stage of the mining value chain. From sophisticated exploration techniques and risk quantification in resource estimation to advanced, energy-efficient processing methods and sustainable waste management, the industry must prioritise efficiency, transparency, and technological integration. This approach is deemed essential for creating a resilient, environmentally responsible, and technologically advanced blueprint for secure European supply chains.