BOLIDEN MINERAL AB

Their core work

Boliden Mineral AB is a major Swedish mining and smelting company operating base metal mines and smelters in the Nordic region. Within H2020, they contribute real-world mining operations and industrial testbeds for projects focused on sustainable resource extraction, mine waste recycling, and digital transformation of mining. Their participation provides consortium partners with access to active mine sites, operational data, and industrial-scale validation environments for technologies ranging from bioleaching and metal recovery to sensor networks and predictive maintenance.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Boliden's early H2020 work (2017–2019) centered on physical resource challenges: sustainable mining practices, mineral land-use planning, and advanced metallurgy for recovering critical metals from waste streams. From 2020 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward digitalization — sensor networks, predictive maintenance, drones, VR/AR, and automation in mining operations. The later projects also explicitly incorporate carbon neutrality and social acceptance, reflecting the mining industry's broader pivot toward green and digitally integrated operations.

Boliden is moving toward fully digitalized, carbon-neutral mining operations — future partners should expect interest in AI-driven automation, emissions reduction, and smart safety systems for underground and open-pit environments.

How they like to work

Boliden participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator, which is typical for large industrial companies that contribute operational sites and domain expertise rather than managing research logistics. With 198 unique partners across 27 countries, they are well-connected across European mining and raw materials research networks. Their consistent involvement in Innovation Actions (5 of 8 projects) signals a preference for near-market demonstration over basic research — they want to test and deploy, not just study.

Boliden has collaborated with 198 distinct partners spanning 27 countries, indicating deep integration into Europe's raw materials and mining research community. Their network covers Scandinavia, Central Europe, and Southern Europe, with strong ties to mining regions and technical universities.

What sets them apart

Boliden brings something most research partners cannot: access to active, large-scale mining and smelting operations in Sweden and Finland for real-world testing. They bridge the gap between laboratory research and industrial deployment, making them essential for any consortium that needs to validate mining technologies at scale. Their dual expertise in both traditional metallurgy (bioleaching, REE recovery) and modern digital mining (IoT, drones, predictive maintenance) is uncommon among industrial mining partners.

Highlights from their portfolio

• NEMO
  Largest funding (EUR 1.08M) — focused on near-zero-waste recycling of sulphidic mining waste for critical metals including rare earth elements.
• NEXGEN-SIMS
  Successor to SIMS, represents Boliden's evolution toward carbon-neutral, digitalized smart mining systems with integrated automation.
• illuMINEation
  Combines digital technologies (sensors, drones, VR/AR) with occupational safety — the clearest example of Boliden's shift toward smart mining.