AGEMERA partners hold GA meeting in Salamanca

AGEMERA partners hold GA meeting in Salamanca

The project team reunited in the charming Spanish city to look at the progress that has been made and set up for success in the second half of the project 

For the AGEMERA team, it's always a pleasure to get together and leave the rigidity of laptop screens and Zoom meetings behind - and when the backdrop is one of a kind, what is not to enjoy? 

Between 12 and 14 March, we reunited in Spain at the invitation of our colleagues from IGEOGeosciencies Barcelona, and Lithica, as well as the University of Salamanca (who kindly provided us with the venue), for a packed programme consisting of project updates, free discussions, lectures, special activities with students, and even a mine visit. This was the third in-person meeting of the team in its entirety (with bilateral meetings taking place separately for the fieldwork, events, and more). 

On the first day, we assembled in the premises of the University of Salamanca, in its centuries-old Aula Salinas (the oldest in the Spanish-speaking world!) and each work package had the opportunity to present the current status of their tasks, key achievements, and priorities for the future. After, we were incredibly honoured to assist in an excellent 1-hour presentation by Professor Juan Gómez Barreiro, who introduced us to the geological characteristics of the area, provided a thorough and often humorous explanation as to why regional geology is so important ("you cannot trust the data as they come out, without putting it into context") and dived into its gold mining history, going back as far as the Roman times. 

Later on in the afternoon, we took part in two workshops, devising practical strategies to help us communicate the project results to wider audiences and maximise the project's impact, especially as now results have started to pour in. We finished it off with a networking dinner where we not only indulged in jamón ibérico, but we also strengthened our friendships, told stories from our past projects, and anecdotes from our home countries. 

The second day was just as busy, but kept us energised all throughout, especially since we've had a fantastic Living Library experience with students from the university, youngsters who were curious about our field and expressed their desire to learn more about critical raw materials and the developments in non-invasive technologies as a means for responsible sourcing. We were also lucky to have Maarit Jokela teach us more about intellectual property management and patenting and took part in a series of round table discussions to explore AGEMERA's research visits, outputs, risk assessment, and resourcing, to identify potential challenges, but also what has worked in our favour so far. Last but not least, we concluded the day with a coveted visit to the library of the University of Salamanca, hosting many valuable manuscripts and incunabula. 

Finally, on the last day of our meeting, we had the fantastic opportunity to check out the Barruecopardo tungsten mine ran by the Spanish company Saloro. Tungsten is a metal with unique properties used in a wide range of industries, from metallurgy to electronics, defence and aerospace. However, at the moment, China is the biggest exporter of tungsten, which is why this metal has been included on the European Commission's official critical raw materials list. 

At the mine, we became familiar with their operations and the efforts they are putting into preserving the natural environment in the area. In fact, the company's environmental specialists are working closely with the Provincial Environmental Administration of the Junta de Castilla y León in Salamanca to ensure the protection of the fauna in the area. 
After this comprehensive presentation, we went to see the open pit and how tungsten is produced. Firstly, the ore is crushed to liberate the mineral containing tungsten. This mineral is then passed through a gravity concentrating process and gets separated with the help of recycled water. The clean mineral is then dried, packed, and prepared for sale. 


The mine visit concluded our fourth General Assembly meeting. A huge "Thank you!" goes to the organisers for the impeccable organisation and hospitality (and sneak peek into the Spanish way of life). We cannot wait to start making (more) things happen! 

Posted on

Read more news

  • AGEMERA workshop in Sofia (17 Sept): Final agenda

    Join the AGEMERA workshop in the Bulgarian capital to learn more about the novel geophysical methods used in identifying and leveraging the potential of critical and strategic raw materials and meet experts on the field 

    Read more
  • AGEMERA partners go to Alicante for EUROCK 2024

    Our Polish colleagues lost no time this summer - in fact, they took part in two major events in July where they presented our work on data processing, fusion, and sharing (data that we collected in our field work)

    Read more
  • AGEMERA present at the 11th International Conference on Sustainable Development in the Minerals Industry

    One of our partners joined the conference in Torino to present the questionnaires we developed and conducted in five countries to gain a better understanding on local perceptions of mining and mineral exploration

    Read more
  • AGEMERA partners meet in Tallinn

    The partners working on raising awareness of critical raw materials and assessing local acceptance of mining in our regions of focus met in the Estonian capital to plan for the months ahead and identify potential challenges 

    Read more
  • Polish partners take AGEMERA to two different events

    Representatives from our KGHM Cuprum have joined two separate events in June, an opportunity they used to promote the project and its preliminary results 

    Read more
  • AGEMERA partner discusses Bulgaria's potential for critical raw materials in local interview

    Irena Peytcheva talks about the current state of affairs in the Bulgarian raw materials sector and draws attention to the challenges that need to be overcome to assess critical raw material potential in the area

    Read more
  • Kicking off another round of fieldwork in Zambia

    This year's highlights from our work in Zambia include a university talk, geological exploration and geophysical surveys in incredibly picturesque areas 

    Read more
  • Advancing digital education: AGEMERA micro-credential presented at the Mining Forum in Berlin

    The online course on critical raw materials developed in our project was introduced to key players in the mining industry

     

    Read more
  • AGEMERA industry partner joins environment-focused conference in Etropole, Bulgaria

    One of our industry partners, Asarel-Medet, a Bulgarian company activating in copper extraction and production, has recently taken part in a national conference on the topic of responsible mining and took advantage of the opportunity to present AGEMERA's mission and role in the twin transition

    Read more
  • AGEMERA in the Sofia Science Festival

    Our Bulgarian partners joined the Sofia Science Festival in May and boosted our visibility among new audiences 

    Read more