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UNEXMIN at the Raw Materials Week 2019 – a success story

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The UNEXMIN project was chosen to be represented during this year Raw Materials Week, one of the most relevant geoscientific events, bringing together people from different parts of Europe, to discuss the state of the mineral raw materials in Europe.

UNEXMIN was represented in two different ways. First, with a presentation given by the project coordinator, Norbert Zajzon, during under session 1 “Raw materials extraction”, a talk that was inserted onto the topic “Horizon 2020 Technology Success Stories”. As referred previously, UNEXMIN is currently seen by EASME as a successful story in the mineral raw materials group. Second, the UX-1 robot, that same robot that dived in 5 different test sites around Europe, was showcased during the first day of the event, the 18th of November.

Both dissemination activities developed by the UNEXMIN partners during the Raw Materials Week 2019 proven to be very effective to reach one of UNEXMIN’s main stakeholders group: the raw materials and geoscientific communities. Comproving this statement is the number of people that visited the UNEXMIN stand, talked to UNEXMIN staff on duty and that took pictures with the UX-1 robot. A number of business contacts were also made, taking into consideration the future of the UNEXMIN technology, which will see further light with a new technology upscalling project and with UNEXMIN GeoRobotics, a joint company that will exploit the service to the market.

The UNEXMIN team would like to thank EASME and DG Grow for this special invitation and hope that in the future the project can be, once again, showcased to the raw materials public.

Photo credit: Raw Materials Week

The UX-1 robot will be presented at the Raw Materials Week 2019

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The UNEXMIN project might be over, but communication and dissemination activities are still going on. UNEXMIN was invited by the Raw Materials Week 2019 organizers to make a presentation on the project as well as displaying one of the UX-1 robots that represent the technology line developed over the past 4 years.

The UNEXMIN talk will be inserted onto the topic “Horizon 2020 Technology Success Stories” under session 1 “Raw materials extraction” and the UX-1 robot will be displayed just next to the registration desk. These events will be held on the first day of this weekly event, on Monday 18th. Norbert Zajzon will make the presentation about UNEXMIN and project representatives will be showcasing the UX-1 robot during the whole day.

If you are present in the Raw Materials Week 2019 do not forget to come and meet the UNEXMIN team while learning more about the results and outcomes of this innovative Horizon 2020 project and how this technology can help to shape the future of the raw materials exploration and exploitation activities in Europe.

The UNEXMIN Final Conference is next week!

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After 4 years of hard work the UNEXMIN project is finally ready to show its results and outcomes. The UNEXMIN Final Conference will be held in Brussels on the 26th of September 2019. Registration is free!

Please come and meet the team and its work – including one of the UX-1 robots!

Find more information on the event, including registration, below!

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About the event

The EU-funded UNEXMIN project is developing a technology capable of autonomous exploration and mapping of flooded underground mines. This technology has the potential to reduce Europe’s import dependency of mineral raw materials which are critical for the energy transition.

The programme will include high-level discussions on raw materials policies, on how the UNEXMIN project supports both the policies and European industrial innovation, and on the capabilities and future application of the exploration system.
Meet the UX-1 robot during our demo session!

We have identified a perfect venue for the robot demonstration: NEMO 33 hosts the world’s deepest diving pool and you will be able to watch comfortably the robot in action during the afternoon coffee break. The robot will be launched from the pool on the first floor and then cross a system of different tunnels. You will be invited to have a look at the control room, ask questions, and see the robot in action through the windows on the ground floor.

Why should you attend?

The conference will provide a unique opportunity to discuss the UNEXMIN project overall and its specific fields of work, including minerals exploration, raw materials exploitation, and robotics and ICT development, with cross-cutting discussions that aim at demonstrating the impact that UNEXMIN can have on the European landscape.
The event is particularly relevant for EU policymakers, academics, mineral exploration and exploitation companies, cave exploration companies, SMEs focussing on geological consultancy and minerals surveying, and robotics and ICT experts from private and public institutions.
Programme

Several high-level speakers have confirmed their attendance and you can discover the full programme here below:

Morning session: setting the political context: the future of mining in Europe

  • European policy context – Daniel Cios (European Commission, Policy Assistant, DG GROW)
  • Aim of the call for proposals – Marcin Sadowski (EASME, Head of sector – Raw Materials)
  • Future of exploration in mining – Helmut Mischo (TU Bergakademie Freiberg)
  • UNEXMIN – aim and outcomes – Norbert Zajzon (UNEXMIN, project coordinator, University of Miskolc)
  • ROBOMINERS H2020 project – Claudio Rossi (ROBOMINERS, project coordinator, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid)

Afternoon session I: Raw materials & mining

  • UNEXMIN processing and data analysis – Stephen Henley (RCI/4dcoders)
  • UNEXMIN field trials and geological interpretation – Gorazd Zibret (Geological Survey of Slovenia)
  • UNEXMIN Inventory of flooded mines – Isabel Fernández (European Federation of Geologists)

Afternoon session II: Robotics & functionalities

  • UX-1 robotic functions: testing and validation – Jussi Aaltonen (University of Tampere)
  • UX-1 multi robot platform – José Miguel Almeida (Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Tecnologia e Ciência)
  • UX-1 autonomy, mine exploration and mapping – Claudio Rossi (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid)

Round table discussion on mineral exploration, future and long-term initiatives with panellists: 

  • Massimo Gasparon (EIT Raw Materials)
  • Mike Buxton (TU Delft)
  • Uwe Restner (Sandvik)
  • Kiril Horoshenkov (Sheffield Robotics)
  • Yves Vanbrabant (RBINS)

Important: venue change

Address:
NEMO 33
Rue de Stalle 333
1180 Uccle (Brussels) I Belgium
GPS:   50°47’46’ North – 04°19’02’ East

Registration

Participation in this event is free but requires registration.
Full information is available at https://www.unexmin.eu/unexmin-final-conference
To register, please fill in the form at https://forms.gle/V64vHekSZVbTZmo59

Live-streaming

You would like to attend, but can’t make it to Brussels on 26 September? Don’t worry, parts of the event will be live-streamed via UNEXMIN’s Facebook channel! You can connect starting at 9:30 for the morning session, follow the pool demos online and join us again for the afternoon roundtable discussion. Stay tuned via  https://www.facebook.com/UNEXMIN/

Image: A 3D map of a flooded shaft in the Urgeiriça mine.
More images: https://www.unexmin.eu/image-gallery/

UNEXMIN presented at AIMS “Mines of the Future” 2019 in Aachen

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The UNEXMIN project was presented in the AIMS – Aachen International Mining Symposia- 2019 “Mines of the Future”. The current status and future of the project were presented to an audience of geologists, mining engineers and other geoscientific-related personnel from academia, research, industry and governmental bodies.

The first day started with three keynote talks about the sustainability of mining in the present and future, and on the current best practices. Six main sessions succeeded, with 4 to 5 presentations per session:

Science: Tailings & Mine wastes
Technology: Digitalisation
Science: Methods & measurements
Science: Mining challenges
Technology: Equipment & methods
Innovation: Modelling

The UNEXMIN project was introduced under session 5 – Technology: Equipment & methods. Entitled “Re-exploring flooded mines: the UNEXMIN unique robotic solution” the presentation focused on the current state and the future opportunities created by this innovative exploration technology.

On the second day, two parallel sessions kickstarted discussions: 1) Technology: Resource extraction and 2) Technology: New systems. A unique session on “Responsibility: Engagement and closure” ended the talks of the conference, right before the final panel discussion on the “Mines of the future need to be different from those of today!”.

It was great to have the UNEXMIN project represented in important discussions about the present and future of mining activities, spanning through all the value chain, from exploration to exploitation and even to mine closure and remediation.

The UNEXMIN technology will shape the future of mineral exploration!

UNEXMIN presented during EGU 2019

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The UNEXMIN project was once again present at the EGU General Assembly following the example of 2017. In this year’s edition, UNEXMIN was featured under the session “The New Roadmap for Mineral Exploration: Challenges and Innovative approaches“. The talk was held on the 8th of April before an audience of 60 geoscientists from all over the world to whom this innovative project was communicated.

UNEXMIN answered to the call to present “research contributions show case or assist elucidating a better understanding of novel and innovative approaches to the search of mineral deposits for the future in new environments (e.g., at depth, bottom of the oceans, frontier regions, regolith-dominated terrains…), spanning from economic, environmental and technical challenges to greenfields or browndfields technologies and methodologies”. Within this session, UNEXMIN was right at home.

UNEXMIN’s presentation, entitled “UNEXMIN: an innovative approach for mineral exploration in flooded mines” fitted perfectly under the aim of the session and contributed to discussion on this and other innovative mineral exploration techniques, both during and after the session. Interest in the UNEXMIN topic was translated into questions at the Q&A session that followed the presentation. The past, current and future state of the project and its related developments were discussed.

Albeit short, only 12 minutes, the presentation reached an important part of the project’s stakeholders, the geoscientific community, contributing to the dissemination and communication efforts that have been a project’s focus since the beginning. Future collaboration within the raw materials sector and, in particular in mineral exploration, was also discussed. UNEXMIN, together with other projects and initiatives, aims at strengthening the European raw materials sector and contribute to its policy.

It was a pleasure to be represented at EGU 2019 and the UNEXMIN project can only hope to be back in a next opportunity.