Thumbnail

Tools for sustainable gold mining in EU (SUSMIN)

Completed
About
Although the gold demand has been constantly increasing in past years, the commodity findings have been decreasing and the extraction of gold has complicated due to increasing complexity and decreasing grade of the ores. Gold mining is a chance for Europe to increase economical development, but it has challenges in eco-efficiency and extraction methods (e.g. cyanide). Thus, the novel energy and resource-efficient methods and technologies for mineral processing should be developed to concentrate selectively different gold bearing minerals.
The SUSMIN-project identifies and evaluates environmental impacts and economical challenges of gold mining in EU. The objective of the SUSMIN-project is to increase the transnational cooperation and to support environmentally, socially and economically sustainable gold production within EU to decrease import dependency. This research promotes sustainable and economically viable gold production within EU by developing and testing geophysical techniques for gold exploration and eco-efficient ore beneficiation methods and alternatives for cyanide leaching. Additionally, the research will improve treatment methods for mine waters by the development and testing of advanced adsorbents. The research on socio-economic issues pursues to develop tools for enhancing the mechanisms of the corporate social responsibility as well as community engagement and management of the relations with the stakeholders. With the environmental risk assessment and better knowledge of the geochemistry and long-term transformation of the contaminants in mining wastes and mine waters, the mining companies are able to predict and prevent the impacts to the surrounding environment.
Keywords:
Energy, Environment, Mineral Resources and Bio-Resources, Mitigation and Remediation, Processes and Systems Modelling, Resources and Raw Materials
Start Date:
End Date:
CERENA Role:
Partner

Coordinator/Local PI

CERENA Team

Proponent Institution

GTK - Geological Survey of Finland

Partners

GEOLOGIAN TUTKIMUSKESKUS (GTK), FINLAND
LULEÅ UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SWEDEN
GEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF ROMANIA (GIR)
WROCLAW UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (WUT), POLAND
BABES-BOLYAI UNIVERSITY (UBB), ROMANIA
CERENA / FEUP

Funding Programme

PROJECT ERA-MIN/0002/2013

Total Funding
1 232 602,00 €
CERENA Funding
100 000,00 €

Funding Entities

Useful Links