Our daily lives are governed by standards, such as DIN A4 as the standardised size for the height and width of certain sheets of paper. In Germany, standardisation is the responsibility of the German Institute for Standardisation (DIN), at European level it is the responsibility of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) and internationally it is the responsibility …
With my best regards Mit freundlichem Glückauf Dipl.-Ing. Andreas-Peter Sitte Chief Editor Mining Report Glückauf, Essen
Focus of this Issue: Standardisation in Mining
Editorial Mining Report
ISSUE 06/2025 // FOCUS OF THIS ISSUE: Standardisation in Mining
VISION ZERO Sustainable Mining 2025 Conference: Responsible Leadership – Sustainable Partnership: Shaping the Future of Mining
Teaser of the VISION ZERO conference “Sustainable Mining 2025 Conference: Responsible Leadership – Sustainable Partnership: Shaping the Future of Mining” Source: ISSA MiningFrom 13th to 15th October 2025, the VISION ZERO conference “SUSTAINABLE MINING 2025” took place at the TU Georg Agricola University in Bochum/Germany. During this time, Bochum became the centre of an international discourse on occupational safety, prevention, sustainability and transformation as well as a meeting place for global responsibility: not only was the history of mining reflected upon here, but the future was also shaped – safely, healthily, sustainably and responsibly.
Authors: Dipl.-Ing. Helmut Ehnes, Präsident ISSA Mining, Hannover/Germany, Dipl.-Ing. Joachim Löchte, Vorstand Technik, RAG Aktiengesellschaft, Essen/Germany, Dr. Harald Wellhäußer, Leiter Geschäftsbereich Prävention, Berufsgenossenschaft Rohstoffe und chemische Industrie (BG RCI), Heidelberg/Germany, Prof. Dr. Christian Melchers, Prof. Dr. Peter Goerke-Mallet, Forschungszentrum Nachbergbau (FZN), Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola (THGA), Bochum/Germany
Sustainable Mine Water Management as a Perpetual Task – Mine Water Management in Hard Coal Post-Mining
Water provinces in the Ruhr region and flow paths of the Lohberg water province. Source: RAGWith the end of hard coal mining in Germany in 2018, the operational need for underground water management ceased to exist. Since then, RAG Aktiengesellschaft, Essen/Germany, has been pursuing the goal of optimising mine water management in an ecologically and economically sustainable manner. The focus is particularly on protecting the surface, improving the ecology of the receiving waters and, depending on the region, protecting the groundwater resources used for drinking water production.
Authors: Tobias Heubach M. A., Christine von Kleinsorgen M. Sc., Dipl.-Ing. Markus Roth, RAG Aktiengesellschaft, Herne
DIHK plenary session, November 2024, November 2024. Photo: Werner Schuering/DIHKIf post-mining in Germany is viewed as a special economic sector, it is, like any other sector, embedded in the respective economic policy framework and measures, but also has specific economic policy concerns arising from its constraints and interests. These are measured here against the current economic policy positions of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), Berlin, which are appropriately formulated from a location- and region-specific perspective …
Author: Prof. Dr. rer. oec. Kai van de Loo, Forschungszentrum Nachbergbau (FZN), Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola (THGA), Bochum/Germany
Creation of a standard: submission of a proposal, consensus building, public commenting and publication by DIN. Source: DINThe German Institute for Standardisation (DIN), Berlin, is the independent platform for standardisation in Germany and worldwide. As a partner for industry, research and society as a whole, DIN plays a major role in helping innovations – also in mining and the raw materials industry – to reach the market in areas such as the digital economy or society, often within the framework of research projects.
Author: Deutsches Institut für Normung e. V. (DIN), Berlin/Germany
International Standardisation in Mining – Transitions, Challenges and Future Prospects
Member countries ISO/TC 82 (participating and observing countries). Source: ISO/TC 82 „Mining”International standardisation in mining is undergoing profound change. Historically dominated by dimensional standards, the focus today is on safety standards, digitalisation, automation and cyber security. International cooperations between standardisation organisations and interdisciplinary expertise are crucial to addressing complex requirements such as battery safety and AI integration. New EU regulations – including the Machinery Regulation, Cyber Resilience Act and Battery Regulation – are driving the adaptation of existing standards and the development of new ones. In addition to technological and regulatory challenges, standardisation requires the promotion of young professionals …
Author: Dipl.-Ing. Jörn Lehmann, VDMA e. V., Frankfurt/M./Germany
International Standardisation for Abandoned Mine Management and Post-Mining: Current Developments
Organisation of ISO/TC 82 Mining and SC 7 with links to other ISO Committees (selection). Source: ISO/TC 82/SC 7 (2025): Sustainable mining and mine closure.Abandoned (legacy) mines globally impact the perception and reality of mining as a sustainable extractive industry. It is only when mine landforms are safe, stable and non-polluting that they have the potential to provide the foundation for sustainable post-mining land uses including being returned to earlier uses or being used for new and even multiple uses. However, the starting point for mining legacies is a degraded biophysical state, perhaps dangerous and where land-connected people and communities have been disconnected and had livelihoods disrupted. The ISO 24419 “Managing mining legacies” standard is a relatively new standard which details how to take negative legacies and create beneficial post-mining uses and social reconnections. Developed in two parts, this standard was informed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). This context ensured the many and varied dimensions of …
Authors: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Goerke-Mallet, Forschungszentrum Nachbergbau (FZN), Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola (THGA), Bochum/Germany, Dr. Corinne Unger, FAusIMM and AusIMM Representative on ISO/TC 82/SC 7 Mirror Committee and Research Fellow, Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane/Australia, Tania Laurençont, Chair Australian Mirror Committee ISO/TC 82/SC 7 Convenor Sustainable Mining and Mine Closure – Social Aspects ISO AWI 8238, Adelaide/Australia
Knowledge transfer in mining. Source: WedigFrom 15th to 19th September 2025, the TU Bergakademie Freiberg in Freiberg/Germany held the conference “Future Open-Pit Mining”. The conference program focused on digitalization, robotics/artificial intelligence (AI), economic optimization, ecological and social challenges, public acceptance/recruitment of young professionals, modern education, research/development and internationalization. On the occasion of this event, the author gave a lecture on the topic “Interaction between Economy and Science” …
Author: Dr.-Ing. Martin Wedig, Vereinigung Rohstoffe und Bergbau e. V. (VRB), Berlin/Germany
Ethics in Mining: Practice Learning for Future Mining Professionals
Historical sulphur mine Paliorema on Milos. Photo: privat, 2025The mining sector is characterised by complex ethical challenges in which technological, economic, ecological and social aspects are intertwined. As decision-makers, raw material engineers play a central and responsible role. The project “Ethik im Rohstoffsektor” aims to integrate ethical reflection into engineering education in a sustainable way. International, practice-oriented case studies, such as the …
Authors: Nina M. Küpper M. Sc., Univ.-Prof. Dr. Bernd G. Lottermoser, Institute of Mineral Resources Engineering (MRE), RWTH Aachen University, Aachen/Germany, Prof. Dr. Matthais Schmidt, Dr. Anna S. Hüncke, Sören E. Schuster PhD, Berliner Hochschule für Technik (BHT), Berlin/Germany
