MINERAL RAW MATERIALS ARE THE

FUTURE –

THE IMPORTANCE OF MINING IN

EUROPE TO MEET THE DEMAND

Roman Stiftner

General Secretary of Eumicon

Managing Director of

Austrian Mining and Steel Association and

Austrian Non Ferrous Metals Federation

„NO PRODUCT WITHOUT MINERAL RAW MATERIALS –

NO DAY WITHOUT MINERAL RAW MATERIALS“

Nearly no production that is not based on mineral raw materials

or for which at least tools or machines based on mineral raw

materials are used to produce them.

Due to their different properties, raw materials are used for very

diverse applications.

And the demand for mineral raw materials will grow.

© Photos: www.pixabay.com

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RAW MATERIALS ECONOMY

Value added networks

Mining is the beginning

of the value chain

Mineral raw materials are

extracted in mines

Nevertheless is the influence

of mines larger than the pure

supplier of raw material

for the subsequent production

entity

MAIN DRIVERS OF DEMAND

OF RAW MATERIALS

World population growth(world's population has

doubled over past 50 years)

Growing wealth (GDP has grown tenfold

in past 50 years)

Urbanisation

Digitalisation

Low-carbon transition

Transformation of industry

energy use to electricity („Break through technologies“)

4

5

THE RISE OF SUPERCOMPUTERS IS NOW

Page 6

DIGITIZATION ACROSS THE WHOLE EU ECONOMY

TechnologyMedia &

Entertainment (Youtube)

Retail (Amazon)

ICT (iphone)

Finance Sector(Digital

Currency)

Manufac-turing

(3D-Print)

Healthcare (E-Health)

Basic Materials

Oil &Gas

Auto-motive

(autonomous driving)

Source: Global Center for Digital Business Transformation, an IMD (Lausanne, Switzerland) and Cisco Initiative with Accenture https://www.accenture.com/de-de/insight-digital-oil-and-gas)

Time

ELEMENTS USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF

COMPUTER CHIPS (1980S)

© www.usgs.gov

ELEMENTS USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF

COMPUTER CHIPS (1990S)

© www.usgs.gov

ELEMENTS USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF

COMPUTER CHIPS (2000S)in

cre

asin

g c

om

ple

xity o

f pro

ducts

!!

(61 o

ut

of 92 e

lem

ents

)

© www.usgs.gov

EUROPE'S LOW-CARBON TRANSITION

NEEDS MORE RAW MATERIALS

Every conceivable low-carbon product contains raw

materials in some shape or form, and

Europe's low-carbon transition will require even more.

Break-through technologies for production of

raw materials ...

10

RATIO OF GLOBAL MINERAL MINE PRODUCTION

2000-2009 compared to 1970-1979© www.usgs.gov

EU 2050 GOALS

EU 2050 goals require breakthrough innovations for low-carbon

raw materials production

The EU’s ambition for a 2050 decarbonised economy will

challenge European metals producers to go beyond their already

high standards

battle of

all sectors

of industries

for “green

electricity”

foreseeable

12

WHY IS IT A TOPIC FOR THE RAW MATERIALS

ECONOMY? CURRENT (2012) AND PROJECTED (2030)

ANNUAL DEMAND OF SPECIFIC RAW-MATERIALS

Source: European Commission, Raw Materials Scoreboard 2016

Where will they come from in the future?

EU - CIRCULAR ECONOMY –

PACKAGE RECYCLING – A SOLUTION?

Quelle: European Parliament

Aim:

From pure waste

management to circular

economy

… that does take into account all

aspects of life cycle of materials

and products:

Production and product design

via use to re-use, recycling and

recovery.

Metals are „permanent materials“ –

many are endlessly recyclable -- BUT:

14

RAW MATERIALS IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

There will always be mineral raw materials, that

are not recyclable, because they are consumed in the

production (graphite electrodes in the EAF steel industry)

are not recyclable, as they are, processed, part of a

product (e.g. iron ore in steel etc.)

are not or hardly recyclable, because they appear in very

small amounts in products (e.g. REE etc.)

are not or hardly recyclable, because materials become

more and more complex.

Nevertheless exactly these mineral raw materials are essential

for „green“ materials, products and technologies.

RAW MATERIALS IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Primary raw materials will be necessary also in the future

As recycling alone will not be sufficient to feed the

demand

the supply of primary raw materials will be irreplaceable

Therefore it is essential to

not only foster recycling, but

also emphasize the importance of primary raw materials

within the circular economy.

An adequate Raw Materials Policy is necessary!

CONCLUSIONS

Digital is a clear growth opportunity - value chains might change

completely through digitalization

Digital will further improve operations – plant design through “Mining 4.0”

Enormous additional demand of electrical energy

transformation to the low-carbon economy boosts demand of raw

materials.

Industry has a leading role in the EU innovation ecosystem. Raw materials

must have a priority in the FP9 innovation program.

New type of education and job profiles will be required to transform the

industry. Attractiveness of technical education important!

The EU raw materials industry is a solution provider

for innovation, low-carbon energy and

brings added value to the EU!

17

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

GLÜCKAUF!

Roman Stiftner

General Secretary of Eumicon

Managing Director of

Austrian Mining and Steel Association and

Austrian Non Ferrous Metals Federation

Phone: +43 (0) 590 900 3311

roman.stiftner@wko.at