An EU project that aims to improve ways of measuring and assessing the sustainable use of natural resources could one day have a major impact on the European and even the global mining industry.
The project's main objective is to come up with a better approach to Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), a concept that has been around for about 30 years but which has focused too much in the past on extraction of natural resources, according to Euromines deputy director Johannes Drielsma.

Sustainable management of primary raw materials is now more than ever on the European agenda, 
thanks to concerns about responsible resourcing of the metals and minerals we need and an increasing awareness of potential impacts related to mining operations.
SUPRIM Newsletter is now available. Learn more about the latest development and first results of the SUPRIM project.

Euromines’ latest publication 'Providing Metals and Minerals for Carbon Neutrality' is now available. In past years the extractive industry has radically progressed in productivity and energy efficiency and is still implementing new solutions aiming at further reducing the energy consumption/unit and improving carbon-intensive operations. As the world shifts to a low-carbon future, mining companies explore methods of decarbonisation in order to efficiently and effectively fulfil the continued increasing demand for resources.

Euromines member LKAB has partnered with SSAB and Vattenfall to create HYBRIT, a joint venture company that is working to be the first in the world to create fossil-free steel at the industrial level. Construction will soon begin on a world-unique test facility which is a key component of HYBRIT. In the plant, fossil fuels will be replaced with biofuel to achieve fossil-free production of iron ore pellets. The aim of the HYBRIT initiative, which is supported by the Swedish Energy Agency, is to develop a process for fossil-free steelmaking by 2035.