The European Commission has listed 30 raw materials that it considers to be of strategic importance, including the rare earth elements, lithium, cobalt, silicon, graphite, steel refiners like magnesium and vanadium and also fluorspar and coking coal. Most critical raw materials are needed for modern technologies such as heat and power generation, digitisation, space applications and defence. According to the Commission demand in his area is set to grow strongly, with the EU member states being almost completely dependent on imports, mainly from China, for 17 of these key resources …
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With my best regards // Mit freundlichem Glückauf
Dipl.-Ing. Andreas-Peter Sitte
Chief Editor Mining Report Glückauf, Essen
ISSUE 03/2023 // FOCUS OF THIS ISSUE:
New German Mining Projects for the Supply Security for Critical Raw Materials
Abandoned Mine Workings in Western USA – Legal, Organisational and Technical Challenges
Abandoned mine sites in the USA. Source: Bureau of Land Management (2017): Abandoned Mine Lands Site Inventory. https://www.blm.gov/programs/aml-environmental-cleanup/aml/inventory
here is an old saying that “mining is not a one-man operation”. This is borne out by the ongoing dialogue that is needed across the disciplines to manage the environmental issues associated with the mining life cycle at a local and wider level. Given the global nature of the mining industry we now need to develop a productive outcome by looking beyond national boundaries in order to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges that are facing countries other than our own.
Authors: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jürgen F. Brune, Mining Engineering Department, Colorado School of Mines (CSM), Golden, CO/USA, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Goerke-Mallet, Forschungszentrum Nachbergbau (FZN), Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola (THGA), Bochum/Germany
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A Turning Point in Resource Dependencies? Europe’s Access to Critical Raw Materials Must Be Kept Open
Critical raw materials are indispensable for the EU economy and a wide set of necessary technologies for strategic sectors such as renewable energy, digital, space and defence. Pictured is the Aguas Teñidas mining operation in the Iberian Pyrite Belt of southern Spain, producing silver and other trace metals from copper, zinc and lead concentrates. Photo: Sandfire Resources
he availability of strategic and critical raw materials is at risk. At the height of the 2020s, the European Union (EU) continues to remain dependent on imports from overseas, including many countries with a high geographical risk. In addition, the vast majority of non-metallic and metallic minerals are received from a few third countries, furthermore underlining the EU’s strategic dependencies. Two figures reflect the situation in 2020: the People’s Republic of China supplied 94 % of the global output of rare earth elements (REE) and …
Author: Stefan Nitschke M. Sc., International Defence Analyst and Consultant, Bonn/Germany
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The Tellerhäuser Project: Development of a Polymetallic Deposit in Saxony
Virtual mine created for illustration purposes. Source: Saxore
ne of the largest tin resources in the world, a rich mining tradition and good data availability going back centuries – all would seem to portend well for the Tellerhäuser project that Saxore Bergbau has launched in eastern Germany. The operation, which is based in the mining town of Freiberg, has been under way for several years and is being supported not only by local companies but also by experts from the nearby mining academy. Saxore is planning to develop a modern mine with a minimal ecological footprint …
Author: Dipl.-Ing. Christian Zinnecker, Prokurist, Mitteldeutsche Fluorit GmbH, Ilmenau/Germany
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Pöhla Ore Mine of Saxony Minerals & Exploration AG: Planning Status – Challenges – Preparatory Work
Pump chamber in the shaft. Photo: SME
axony Minerals & Exploration AG (SME AG), Halsbrücke/Germany, plans to put the Pöhla-Globenstein polymetallic skarn deposit, located within the Pöhla SME permit field, into use. The special feature is to plan, construct and commission a mine from scratch. In the specific case of the Pöhla ore mine, the main challenges were substantial water inflows with a high suspended solids content, to be discharged into the receiving watercourse after appropriate pre-treatment …
Authors: Dr.-Ing. Klaus Grund, Vorstand Bergbau und Technologie, Dipl.-Ing. Martin Jungnickel, Projektmanager Bergbau, Saxony Minerals & Exploration AG (SME AG), Halsbrücke/Germany
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Status of the KSL Project in Lusatia
Location of the Cu-Ag deposits at Spremberg-Graustein showing the ore fields (red), the planned site of the surface installations (green) and the licensed mining area (orange). Source: KSL Kupferschiefer Lausitz GmbH: Interne Unterlagen (Studien, Gutachten, Forschungsberichte, etc.), Spremberg 2009 – 2023.
Kupferschiefer Lausitz GmbH, Spremberg, was founded in 2007 as a Germany based subsidiary of MINERA S.A. and since then has been preparing the Spremberg copper deposit for mining. Since 2008 new data have been collected about the deposit which were discovered and partly explored since the 1960’s. This includes the development of concepts for mining and processing as well as their economic evaluation. Permitting is another major area of the business. The regional planning procedure (Raumordnungsverfahren – ROV) for the KSL project is currently being carried out in both Brandenburg and Saxony…
Author: Dipl.-Geol. Ralph Braumann, GLU Geologische Landesuntersuchung GmbH, Freiberg, KSL Kupferschiefer Lausitz GmbH, Spremberg/Germany
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The Fluorspar Project Gehren in the Association of the Fluorchemie Gruppe
Worldwide expected demand forecast of acid grade fluorspar and metspar until 2050. Source: imformed.com / Euston Witbooi
luorite, also called fluorspar within the mining community, is an industrial mineral that is unknown to many, but plays an important role in many applications today. As the main natural occurring fluorine containing minerals it is part of the 30 critical materials of the EU that are still heavily relying on imports from countries outside the EU. The Fluorchemie Gruppe (FCG) uses fluorspar exclusively in the form of acid spar (> 98 % CaF
2) for producing hydrofluoric acid (HF) and relies on imports for its annual production of around 24,000 t of HF. Some of it is already fulfilled by another group owned mine in the German state of Saxony …
Author: Dipl.-Ing. Christian Zinnecker, Prokurist, Mitteldeutsche Fluorit GmbH, Ilmenau/Germany
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Planning for Mining Requirements
Mining of the primary raw material lignite in the Rhenish coalfield. Photo: Frenz
ining law is explicitly linked to spatial planning law in section 48(2) second sentence BBergG (BBergG – Federal Mining Act), and the latter is of major significance for operating plan approvals under mining law. The INSTRO reform report calls for greater consideration of spatial planning concerns – rightly so? This leads to the fundamental question: To what extent should and may raw material extraction be planned at all in view of the climate protection requirements and the pending implementation of the EU Building Efficiency Directive, which is currently under revision?
Author: Prof. Dr. jur. Walter Frenz, Maître en Droit Public, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen/Germany
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Low Carbon – High Damage? Renewable Energies and Rare Earth Elements
Tailings ponds used in rare earth mining contain a variety of toxic chemicals and radioactive elements. Photo: Kevnmh/Wikimedia Commons
chieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5 °C will require massive investment in renewable energy. The transition to a decarbonized energy system will lead to a huge increase in demand for minerals, especially metals, rare earth elements (REE) and lithium, making the energy sector a major force in commodity markets. More mining is necessary than ever. The world mining production will increase the risk of high damages if the minerals will not be mined as sustainable as possible. Especially mining and processing REE to build …
Authors: Dr.-Ing. Olaf Drusche, Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola (THGA), Bochum/Germany, Prof. Dr. rer. pol. Jürgen Kretschmann, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen/Germany
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