CIRAN will develop, test and validate processes to arrive at systemic policy-making, balancing environmental protection and societal needs for accessing critical raw materials (CRMs). This will be achieved through: 1) streamlined permitting procedures in environmentally protected areas; 2) modern policies and social contract frameworks that reconcile the protection of environmentally sensitive areas and domestic sourcing of CRMs in the EU; and 3) the development of a community of practice to support the uptake of the CIRAN recommendation and that will remain active after the project funding period. CIRAN proposes a logical framework that justifies extraction on the basis of a system-oriented assessment and the co-creation of knowledge (i.e. tested and validated by communities located in or nearby environmentally protected areas). It will create novel social contract models identifying rights, obligations and responsibilities of governments (national/regional), communities and mine operators, capable of dealing with transformations and challenges due to climate change. As a distinctive feature, CIRAN brings together 25 external experts on the environmental, political, social, economic, and technological factors that will shape the energy transition responses and the demand for CRMs. These experts, organised in four Expert Groups (EGs), will work with the Consortium, conveying insights on policy-making and -implementation, economic drivers, technologies, mining, local governance, social capital, nature conservation and biodiversity. The EGs will actively engage in CIRAN through synergetic processes combining analysis and deliberation, and participation in project workshops and structured consultations (e.g., focus groups, foresight analysis). The Consortium is geared to develop inclusive policy-making instruments that support the EU Green Deal and UN-led reforms to reach the climate commitments and sustainable development goals.

CHPM2030 aims to develop a novel and potentially disruptive technology solution that can help satisfy the European needs for energy and strategic metals in a single interlinked process. Working at the frontiers of geothermal resources development, minerals extraction and electro-metallurgy the project aims at converting ultra-deep metallic mineral formations into an “orebody-EGS” that will serve as a basis for the development of a new type of facility for “Combined Heat, Power and Metal extraction” (CHPM). In the technology envisioned the metal-bearing geological formation will be manipulated in a way that the co-production of energy and metals will be possible, and may be optimised according to the market demands at any given moment in the future. The workplan has been set up in a way to provide proof-of-concept for the following hypotheses: 1. The composition and structure of orebodies have certain advantages that could be used to our advantage when developing an EGS; 2. Metals can be leached from the orebodies in high concentrations over a prolonged period of time and may substantially influence the economics of EGS; 3. The continuous leaching of metals will increase system’s performance over time in a controlled way and without having to use high-pressure reservoir stimulation, minimizing potential detrimental impacts of both heat and metal extraction. As a final outcome the project will deliver blueprints and detailed specifications of a new type of future facility that is designed and operated from the very beginning as a combined heat, power and metal extraction system. The horizontal aim is to provide new impetus to geothermal development in Europe by investigating previously unexplored pathways at low-TRL. This will be achieved by developing a Roadmap in support of the pilot implementation of such system before 2025, and full-scale commercial implementation before 2030

INTERMIN will create a self-sustainable long-term lasting international network of training centres for professionals. This project involves educational and research institutions in the EU and the leading counterparts in third countries, based on specific country expertise in the primary and secondary raw materials sectors. The network will map skills and knowledge in the EU and the third countries, identify key knowledge gaps and emerging needs, develop roadmap for improving skills and knowledge, as well as establish common training programmes in the raw materials sectors. In line with the EU's strategy for international co-operation in research and innovation (COM(2012)497), the consortium will seek international collaboration, fostering and exploring synergies with the relevant EU Member States initiatives

The X-MINE project supports better resource characterization and estimation as well as more efficient ore extraction in existing mine operations, making the mining of smaller and complex deposits economically feasible and increasing potential European mineral resources (specifically in the context of critical raw materials) without generating adverse environmental impact. The project will implement large-scale demonstrators of novel sensing technologies improving the efficiency and sustainability of mining operations based on X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), X-Ray Transmission (XRT) technologies, 3D vision and their integration with mineral sorting equipment and mine planning software systems. The project will deploy these technologies in 4 existing mining operations in Sweden, Greece, Bulgaria and Cyprus. The sites have been chosen to illustrate different sizes (from small-scale to large-scale) and different target minerals (zinc-lead-silver-gold, copper-gold, gold) including the presence of associated critical metals such as indium, gallium, germanium, platinum group metals and rare earth elements. The pilots will be evaluated in the context of scientific, technical, socio-economic, lifecycle, health and safety performances. The sensing technologies developed in the project will improve exploration and extraction efficiency, resulting in less blasting required for mining. The technologies will also enable more efficient and automated mineral-selectivity at extraction stage, improving ore pre-concentration options and resulting in lower use of energy, water, chemicals and men hours (worker exposure) during downstream processing. The consortium includes 6 industrial suppliers, 4 research/academic organizations, 4 mining companies and 1 mining association. The project has a duration of 51 months and a requested EC contribution of €9.3M.