Imagine trying to find a needle in a haystack without disturbing the hay. This project uses smart computer models and gentle scanning tools to find critical minerals deep underground without digging huge holes. It also creates a guidebook to help mining companies talk to locals so that communities actually want the projects in their backyard.
European mining is stalled by high exploration risks and strong public opposition. Companies lack the tools to find minerals without causing environmental damage or facing community backlash.
A suite of toolkits including a machine learning geological prospectivity workflow, a Social Acceptance index, and a multimodal interactive platform for regional assessment.
If you are a mineral exploration firm dealing with high costs of failed drilling sites — this project developed a machine learning-based geological toolkit that identifies viable ore deposits with a minimal environmental footprint. This reduces the risk of expensive, unsuccessful exploration holes.
If you are a regional planning authority dealing with public protests against new mines — this project developed a Social Acceptance index and a Shared Value index. These tools help you identify regions more suitable for exploration based on community values and socio-economic factors.
If you are a sustainability consultancy dealing with vague ESG reporting for extractives — this project developed a data-driven platform that combines geological potential with social indicators. This allows for quantitative assessments of a project's social and environmental viability.
Based on available project data, the results will be freely available via a web-based interface, though specific commercial licensing costs for the toolkits are not listed.
The workflow was validated in 3 European sedimentary basins, including successful deep subsurface imaging at 1.6 km in Ireland.
Based on available project data, the results are intended to be freely available via an engaging web-based interface to support decision making.
The project provides evidence-based knowledge to support the UNFC and UNRMS, helping companies align with international reporting standards.
Based on available project data, the project period ran from 2022 to 2025, but specific implementation timelines for individual companies are not provided.
The consortium is heavily industry-weighted with 12 industrial partners (63% ratio), including 6 SMEs. This high level of private sector involvement, spanning 7 countries, suggests the outputs are designed for immediate commercial utility rather than purely academic interest.
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Contact us to access the Social Acceptance and Geological toolkits.
