New Exploration Tools for European Pegmatite Green-Tech Resources

Project Information

GREENPEG

Grant agreement ID: 869274

DOI

10.3030/869274

Project closed

EC signature date 17 April 2020

Start date 1 May 2020

End date 31 October 2024

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Climate action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials

Total cost

€ 9 250 230,00

EU contribution

€ 8 325 292,50

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITETET I OSLO
Norway

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - GREENPEG (New Exploration Tools for European Pegmatite Green-Tech Resources)

Reporting period: 2023-05-01 to 2024-10-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The manufacture of devices for green energy production and storage in Europe is a strategic, fast-growing sector which is essential for ensuring that the EU meets its energy and climate targets for 2030. It is worth an estimated €30 Bn in turnover, with investments of €4 Bn in the EU27, and is likely to create c.a. 100,000 jobs over the next 10 years. A major limitation to achieving this is that 95% of the key raw materials for green energy devices are currently imported from outside the EU. Securing domestic supplies of these raw materials is therefore urgent for sustainable industrial development, mainly in retaining a large part of the added value, reducing supply risks and ensuring EU environmental standards for the production of raw materials.

Many of the raw materials for green energy production can be sourced from a rock type known as pegmatite. The varieties of these which are most sought after are lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT) and niobium-yttrium-fluorine (NYF) pegmatites. Being relatively common in Europe, pegmatite deposits have the size and raw material value to attract even small mining operations which are regarded as major contributors in Europe to secure raw material supply.

The GREENPEG project developed and tested a set of advanced exploration technologies and algorithms which were integrated and upscaled into an environmental-economically viable toolset at the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6-7 for finding buried pegmatites and their green technology raw materials. Validation of the new approach will be ensured from industry-led trials at representative locations across Europe and business plans will help to integrate the new products and services as part of business enlargement and innovation by consortium members. Field method took place in Austria, Ireland and Norway, while application studies were also carried out in Portugal and Spain. By applying GREENPEG results, the local partners will help their region to extend their value chains. The GREENPEG outcomes will be implemented in the European Policies and Regulations in the domain of sustainable production of raw materials, meeting the ambitious 2030 energy and climate targets. In that way, GREENPEG contributes to the society by minimizing environmental impacts and risks associated with critical raw material exploration and mining. GREENPEG will feed the EU date source on raw materials which will allow EU policy making a sustainable strategy of resource politics, attracting investments in the raw materials sector and increasing the competitiveness of EU companies.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

GREENPEG implements a work-package like structure lead by an experienced project management of the University of Oslo and a well-balanced consortium of industry, research and survey. Field-testing approaches for development and validation of new exploration toolsets are divided into three investigation scales: (1) province scale (500 - 10000 km²); (2) district scale (25 - 500 km²); and (3) prospect scale (<25 km²). The methodology testing and optimization is being performed in three active and representative European demonstration sites (20-70 km2 each) in Wolfsberg in Austria, South Leinster in Ireland, and Tysfjord in Norway. The selection of sites spans the spectrum of challenges in exploration for European pegmatite deposits, which ensures that the delivered toolsets are robust and flexible enough to be applicable in manifold environments. The toolsets tested and optimized will effectively identify buried (up to 350 m depth), small (0.01-5 million m3) and clustered ore bodies of the LCT- and NYF-type. The GREENPEG approach ensures best environmental and social practices in the development of the exploration toolset. This is achieved by running a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to estimate energy and material inputs and environmental releases, and translation of LCA results into sustainable environmental management plans, to make informed decisions about human health and environmental impacts, and to promote public acceptance of exploration. In order to promote the results, GREENPEG has carried out market analysis for upscaling and market implementation. GREENPEG has engaged stakeholders with a smart project communication that terminates into a straightforward exploitation of the results supported by business plans, financial forecasts and intellectual property rights management. Beside the technical tasks, GREENPEG focused a number of its activities to the young careers. In this regard, GREENPEG wishes also to foster the EU as a community and societal vision.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

GREENPEG will unlock high-value pegmatite-bound, domestic mineral resources of critical raw materials, rare metals, and industrial minerals through the development and marketing of a cost-optimized exploration toolset deployable primarily by small and medium-sized enterprises. The toolset targets specific properties of NYF and LCT pegmatite ores, which is a major deposit type in Europe. Increasing exploration success, minimization of exploration time and costs achieved through GREENPEG inventions will make European exploration providers more competitive and strengthen European brands and entrepreneurship. GREENPEG wishes to revive the once strong European exploration economy by best practice “Made in Europe”. Besides, GREENPEG outputs will be integrated in a common interoperable EU Geological Knowledge Base in cooperation with the national Geological Surveys in Europe to substantially improve knowledge on reserves and to attract investments in the mining sector. By increasing European resources, GREENPEG will reduce risk in the supply of green technology raw materials and critical raw materials for manufacturing in Europe and accelerate investments in the European processing industry, currently stagnating. In doing so it will safeguard the long-term competitiveness of Europe in the production of green energy and energy storage devices, reduce levels of imports and therefore transport miles, and equip European exploration companies with state-of-the-art exploration knowhow and tools to ensure that these resources are supplied to manufacturers from European deposits, following EU regulations on environmental and societal impacts. It is expected to decrease costs and exploration emissions of CO2 (equivalents) by c.10% through the GREENPEG inventions, and to reduce disturbance to the ground, ground and surface waters and ecosystems, in compliance with EU regulations and ethical guidelines for exploration. In the wider context, GREENPEG will foster a positive perception of the European exploration industry by stakeholders, policy makers and citizens. The creation of >50 new jobs over the next 5 years is expected for GREENPEG partners only. Moreover, the sustainable supply of European pegmatite-derived raw materials will contribute to full capacity utilization and extension of processing plants in Norway, Portugal and Austria, creating about 500 jobs. GREENPEG inventions also will increase the competitiveness of European end users in the downstream industries: the photovoltaic, battery, ceramic, glass, micro-electronic and defense industries, which depend heavily on a reliable supply of critical, high- and green-tech raw materials. About 3.000 new jobs could be created in these industries within the next 10 years.

Scheme of GREENPEG methodology