AGH University of Science and Technology

On 5-6th December 2019, the international workshop on the subject of “Skills and requirements in the mining and metallurgy regions” was held as part of the MIREU project at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Poland.

The aim of the workshop was to investigate which skills will be required by the mining and metallurgy industry in the future. The main goal of the meeting was not only related to the university curriculum offer or to discuss the present and future expectations of the mining and metallurgical industry, but to establish a detailed analysis of the influence of the industrial revolution 4.0 and the progressing automation and digitisation of production processes on past, present and future skills. Moreover, by taking into consideration future and present challenges, the strong influence of "soft" skills was analysed. The workshop’s discussions also discussed the set of skills of representatives of administrative and regulatory bodies who may influence the future course of mining and metallurgy activities.

The workshop participants included mining and metallurgy industry representatives, university speakers, MIREU and other international projects partners, as well as alumni and doctoral students from the EIT RawMaterials Alumni programme.

The Dean of the Faculty of Mining and Geoengineering, Professor Marek Cała, opened the workshop by welcoming all the guests to the workshop. In his speech, Dean Marek Cała emphasised the dynamic changes which are now taking place both in the mining and metallurgy industry, as well as in the higher education system. Moreover, Dean Marek Cała referred to the 100 years of tradition, history and development at the AGH-UST and the Faculty of Mining and Geoengineering. By doing this, the Dean emphasised the importance of the topic of the workshop on present and future challenges to the raw material industry. He also highlighted the necessity of constant adaptation of universities to the market changes and expectations.

The more detailed curriculum offered by the Mining and Geoengineering and the Non-Ferrous Metals Faculties, as well as models of cooperation with industry, were presented by Vice-Deans: Zbigniew Niedbalski and Beata Leszczyńska-Madej. Furthermore, Natalia Kowalska presented the aims and results of the RawD Trip Copper story summer school pilot program. Natalia Kowalska also included other initiatives under the KIC Raw Materials programme, in which students from around the Europe were involved.

Marco A Konrat Martins, a representative of the INTERMIN (International Network of Raw Materials Trainings Centers) international project presented the impact of mining and metallurgy industry developments in the short, medium and long-term on the employee competences. Moreover, Kontrat Martins included information on mapping of mining skills and knowledge in the EU. He pointed out that present and future challenges, like the constant digitisation of the mining and metallurgy industry, environmental influences, social acceptance, reaching for secondary deposits, as well as space and deep sea mining, require and will require tailor-suited knowledge and skills. Laurence Lamm from EIT RawMaterials presented the methodology for assessing gap areas in competences and skills. She emphasised the need to combine "hard" and "soft" skills in companies.

The second part of the workshop focused on the assessment of innovations, which have derived from the industrial revolution 4.0, as well as how the industrial revolution 4.0 has influenced skills and competences of employees in the mining and metallurgy industry. The impact of automation in the mining industry was presented by Waldemar Rączka (AGH-UST). Representatives of a mining company - Piotr Poks from KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. - and a metallurgical company - Gabriel Gilis from ArcelorMittal Poland - discussed how innovations affect the competences of employees and demonstrated training standards in their companies. Moreover, they identified challenges which their plants will have to face in the future.

The third part of the workshop was dedicated to the subject of skills, soft skills and competences of public administration bodies. Anna Ostręga and Zuzanna Łacny from AGH-UST presented the results of a research on the skills and education backgrounds of public administration representatives who participate in planning, licensing and issuing environmental and reclamation decisions. Joni Kivipelto, representative of the Finnish Ministry of Economy and Labor, described the assumptions and results of the Mine Specialisation Programme. This Finnish programme has been active since 2015 and has been addressed to representatives of the mining industry and administrative bodies. The programme was developed with the help of mining representative from the R&D sector. It has, for example, focused on improving the cooperation model between mining supervision representatives and decision-making bodies, as well as on the environmental safety of the mining operation activity. Joanna Pyrkosz-Pacyna, representative of the Faculty of Humanities at AGH-UST, replied in her presentation to the question "Soft skills - necessity or current trend?". She presented the results of her research, which was carried out at the request of one of the Polish City Councils. The subject of the study were requirements in relation to the "soft" skills which were imposed by business and industry. Moreover, Pyrkosz-Pacyna included information on "technical" and "non-technical" skills required by the Canadian mining companies.

The workshop ended with a panel discussion led by Laurence Lamm and Andrzej Biessikirski. Based on the discussions, recommendations on requirements for academia and aspects linked to skills in mining, metallurgical industry and in administration bodies, have been elaborated. The set of recommendations on the cooperation model between academia, vocational schools and industry will be included.

The workshop participants also took a part in the St. Barbara’s Day event. The mining fest took place on 6th December 2019. St. Barbara’s Day was a great opportunity to learn about Polish mining traditions and to make new contacts and network with representatives of the mining industry and R&D units.

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Framework Conditions for Mineral Raw Materials Exploitation

AGH University of Science and Technology

Thu, 23/01/2020 - 16:00

Public / Private

Public

Mine closure and tourism

Ryan Titley — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 11:02:40 +0000

Mine closure and tourism Ryan Titley Thu, 19/12/2019 - 12:02

Background

The 2nd MIREU SLO Workshop with the theme ‘SLO and Regional Development Perspectives’ took place in Leoben, Austria on 24-25 October 2018. This workshop was the second in a series of stakeholder workshops organised in the MIREU project. The main objective of this workshop was to explore the linkages between social license to operate (SLO) and regional development.

The second day of the workshop was concluded with four parallel breakout sessions on topics related to specific regional questions. One of these topics was ‘Mine Closure and Tourism’, which refers to the potential of post-mining areas for tourism development.

Breakout Discussion

Post-mining areas often offer huge potential for tourism development. The tourism industry is experiencing a stable, moderate growth despite periods of economic downturn. Industrial tourism has boomed in recent years and the number of post-mining sites on the UNESCO list is constantly increasing. These facts make us think about post-mining areas in the context of tourism. However, it is important to remember that appropriate reclamation must be done and that the selected industrial heritage - infrastructure, geological phenomena, new landscape, biodiversity and tradition, should be protected. Post-mining tourism can thus help gaining social acceptance for mining activities.

The discussion in this breakout session focused on the enabling factors and conditions and the barriers for post-mining tourism, as well as how post-mining tourism links and contributes to SLO and to the regional development.

Some of the enabling factors discussed amongst the participants are the uniqueness of post-mining sites, such as the landscapes, the traditions and the possibility to present mining methods. The presence of a tourism industry in the region, which can be supplemented with new attractions, also help enabling post-mining tourism as well as a research institution which can develop a tourist project in the post-mining area. It is also beneficial if the land use documents contain the relevant provisions for such a project and that the post-mining area fulfils all safety conditions. Barriers for the development of post-mining tourism could according to the participants constitute of a lack of resources or political will to develop a post-mining area into a tourist attraction; unregulated ownership of the post-mining area; occurrence of prospective mineral deposits near the post-mining area; or a lack of acceptance from the local community for tourism development.

How can post-mining tourism then contribute to SLO? The participants found that post-mining tourism can help improving the image of mining activities and can contribute to people’s understanding of the life cycle of a mine. Land reclamation in mining areas also build legitimacy and social trust. Post-mining tourism also contributes to the regional development, as tourism can bring long-term revenues to the region together with jobs and livelihood. The regional identity can also be strengthened, and the increased tourism may diversify local businesses and make them more resilient. The region can also benefit from selling know-how and innovation in the scope of reclamation.

Picture: A post-mining site in the village of Bobrowisko in Poland, which was used for sand and gravel extraction, was reclaimed and covered by natural succession and has recently been transformed into a tourist attraction. The architects are 55Architekci.

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Social License to Operate

Tue, 19/03/2019 - 09:00

AGH University of Science and Technology

Public / Private

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MIREU workshop on skills requirements in mining and metallurgy industry

Ryan Titley — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 13:37:13 +0000

MIREU workshop on skills requirements in mining and metallurgy industry Ryan Titley Thu, 02/01/2020 - 14:37

The aim of the workshop is to exchange experiences between representatives of universities, mining and metallurgical industry, administration and regulatory bodies in the scope of future skills that will be required by the mining and metallurgical industries. Industrial revolution 4.0, environmental restrictions as well as the needs to combine soft and hard skills both by mining and metallurgy staff as well as also administrative staff will be discussed. The objective of the workshop is to identify common recommendations for future skills requirements, that will be presented to the European Commission. The recommendations will also be the basis for further joint activities in the form of projects, clusters, workshops, training, etc.

In addition, workshop participants will take part in the celebrations of St. Barbara at AGH. It will be an opportunity to establish new contacts with the mining industry (about 900 participants) and get acquainted with mining traditions, thanks to which the continuous contact of the university and industry is maintained.

Please find the draft agenda and information on registrations attached.

Comments

Framework Conditions for Mineral Raw Materials Exploitation

AGH University of Science and Technology

Event Date

Thu, 05/12/2019 - 09:00 - Fri, 06/12/2019 - 16:30

Public / Private

public

Document

MIREU workshop on skills requirements in mining and metallurgy industry_2020-01-02_2203.pdf

Future of EU mining regions collaboration

Hilary Webb — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 14:49:45 +0000

Future of EU mining regions collaboration Hilary Webb Fri, 26/02/2021 - 15:49

The Industrial modernisation S3P Mining industry and the CoMMER (ERRIN Task Force on Raw Materials) invite you to an online roundtable discussion on the future of the EU mining regions collaboration. It will be an opportunity to learn more about the initiatives supporting the networking of mining regions.

The online roundtable will take place on 4th March 2021 from 13:00 - 15:00 CET.

During the session, the S3P Mining Industry and the task force will be introduced as two sides of the same coin having a common objective to develop responsible EU mining. In addition, we will have an introduction to the H2020 project SCRREEN2 - Solutions for Critical Raw materials - a European Expert Network 2.

The meeting will the share aims and current status of these collaborations and to invite you to a brainstorming session exploring the good practices supporting and strengthening the EU mining regions collaboration. A more detailed agenda and instructions will be shared with registered participants from 1st March 2021 onwards.

Please register here before 18:00 CET on 3rd March, the link to join the meeting on Microsoft Teams will be sent on the morning of 4th March.

Agenda

The roundtable will be moderated by Ryan Titley, Director of Projects, ERRIN

13.00 - 13.05	*Opening and introduction*, Ryan Titley, Director of Projects, ERRIN
13.05 - 13.25	*Industrial modernisation S3P Mining industry – Supporting the development of the EU Regional Innovation Hubs of Responsible Mining & Metallurgy Business Solutions*, Ilkka Nykänen, partnership coordinator, Business Joensuu, North-Karelia, Finland and supported by the partners
13.25 - 13.45	*CoMMER, ERRIN Task Force on Raw Materials – supporting the regions in project making, policy shaping, partnering, and profiling,* introduction and background Juha Kaija, Geological Survey of Finland – GTK, MIREU project manager, and commented by the Brussels regional offices’ representatives
13.45 – 14.00	*CoMMER and SCRREEN2 - Synergies for improving the raw materials awareness across the EU regions,* W. Eberhard Falck, Vice-President, International Raw Materials Observatory
14.00 – 14.45	*Open roundtable* – moderated by the Ryan Titley, Director of Projects, ERRIN What are your expectations from the European regional collaboration? How the regions can operationalise their role in the implementation of the responsible mining and metallurgy industries? How to maximise the EU investments to develop sustainable regional and interregional mining ecosystems? How can regional cooperation promote a competitive mining & metallurgy sector and sustainable solutions? How the existing platforms Mining industry S3P and CoMMER can support each other?
14.45 – 15.00	*Conclusions and next steps,* Mika Riipi, County Governor, Lapland, Finland