EU

Thierry Salmona, President of the European Industrial Minerals Association, describes how

the industry is an integral part of the Europe 2020 strategy…

A mineral requirement

192

Every morning when you wake up, it probably never

crosses your mind that your alarm clock is powered

by batteries containing minerals (graphite), and is

probably made of mineral-based (calcium carbonate)

composite plastics. Nor are you particularly interested –

especially at that time of day – by the fact that your home

is built of (clay) bricks and (silica) blocks. Additionally, the

fact that the paint covering the bedroom walls is made of

minerals (calcium carbonate, kaolin, talc), as is the

sanitary-ware and floor and wall tiles in your bathroom

(ball-clay, kaolin, feldspar, silica), no doubt seems of little

importance. Although your toothpaste contains very

carefully engineered minerals (precipitated calcium

carbonate) to give it the right level of abrasion, texture and

softness, you just see it as plain old toothpaste. Finally,

when you dress, it’s highly unlikely that you give a thought

to the minerals (zeolite) in the detergent that softened the

water in the washing machine.

This is the fate of industrial minerals: they are the

unsung heroes of our daily lives; nobody notices them but

life wouldn’t be the same without them. Minerals

contribute to the growth of our economy by being

amongst the most indispensable materials, present in

nearly every manufactured product. In the EU, for

example, €1.5trillion of manufacturing added value

depends directly on minerals.

With the exception of graphite and fluorspar, no

industrial minerals have been listed by the European

Commission as a critical raw material, despite being

essential to our economy. Imagine a region where no

aggregates could be mined or no clay extracted: the cost of

construction would skyrocket and jeopardise the local

economy. For example, consider the Europe 2020 strategy

outlined by the Commission, and think of the minerals

that it will require. Even though the strategy doesn’t

mention minerals, it is split up into seven flagships, all of

which require them:

Innovation: electric cars, for example, will require graphite

for their batteries, and talc or other minerals for their

plastic components, not to mention the sophisticated

electronic devices that will require many minerals, such as

rare earths.

Youth on the move (education): this will require paper;

computers; and the all important sneakers, the soles of

which have clay and other minerals to thank for their

mechanical properties.

Digital society: a mobile phone contains up to 40 minerals,

a personal computer up to 60.

Resource efficient Europe (climate, energy and mobility):solar energy needs quartz pebbles for silicon, high purity

quartz for crucibles, silicon carbide for sawing wafers, and

silica for glass encapsulation. Wind turbines need many

minerals, from rare earth for their magnets to fibreglass

(silica, clay) to fill the blades. Fossil fuels, meanwhile, need

lime and limestone for pollution reduction.

An industrial policy for the globalisation era (competitiveness):because they are present in so many everyday products, as

well as having a key role to play in the development of

innovative and technological solutions, minerals are a

prerequisite for competitiveness. Whilst they represent

only a small proportion of the finished products in which

they are contained, the recent situation of rare earths

shows that this may rapidly become a critical issue.

An agenda for new skills and jobs: this will obviously

increase demand for training and education, requiring more

schools, paper and computers, all dependent upon minerals.

European platform against poverty: 80 million people in

Europe live below the poverty threshold, and 100 million

people are homeless. Fighting poverty will require

housing, which means aggregates, mortars and bricks all

containing silica will be needed on a large scale.

Minerals are mined. The general public often associates

mining with environmental disruption. Minerals are also a

natural resource, and therefore are not renewable. So, an

important issue for not only policymakers, but also for the

public, is how minerals support the overall sustainability

of our economies. I would like to focus on two examples to

show how minerals not only contribute to the growth of

our economy, but also to its sustainability, and the

contribution of the minerals industry to the preservation

of biodiversity, as well as the recycling of minerals.

The minerals industry has long been involved in many

initiatives aimed at promoting biodiversity, such as the

Countdown 2010 initiative and the Natura 2000 guidelines

for the non-energy extractive industry. The sector is

committed to the promotion and exchange of good

practices, with more than 200 case studies accessible

through the European Minerals Day website. The industry

also approaches biodiversity from a scientific standpoint

and cooperates with specialists to develop scientific

evidence. Moreover, in many cases, mineral quarries – far

Public Service Review: European Union: issue 22

ENVIRONMENT

193

from destroying biodiversity – provide new habitats for

rare species. Biodiversity preservation plans are often part

of the rehabilitation plan that is now mandatory before a

mining project is initiated.

As regards resource efficiency, the first condition is

resource availability: a missing resource is not an

efficient one. It therefore follows that resource efficiency

improvement will require easier access to resources. For

example, assume a given area of Europe is refusing to allow

quarries to open, for whatever reason. Construction and

industry will continue in this area with materials sourced

from other regions, with all the resulting inefficiencies that

long haul transportation implies for the economy.

The mining industry has a positive impact on resource

efficiency through continuous improvement programmes.

A well operated quarry yields higher volumes of useful

minerals, whilst at the same time using less energy and

less ore. The efficiency of materials has also greatly

improved: one example is the progression of the ratio of

magnesia per ton of steel production from 23kg to 10kg

depending on the operation.

Contrary to common belief, minerals can be, and are,

recycled: Kaolin in paper is recycled with the paper, talc in

polypropylene is recycled with the plastic, construction

and demolition materials are recycled into aggregates,

and so on. So, through these three mechanisms, minerals

contribute to resource efficiency, and they do so in

increasingly significant amounts. Recent case studies and

calculations were carried out, and studied minerals

recyclability is between 40-50%.

If we apply the criteria of resource efficiency, recyclability,

and environmental footprint, there is no doubt that minerals

are high sustainability materials. They are also resource

efficient, and industry is striving to make minerals ever more

environmentally friendly, meaning that substances that have

a stronger carbon footprint or environmental impact are

increasingly replaced. Minerals are recyclable. So, minerals

are highly sustainable. Therefore, when it comes to public

procurement, products incorporating minerals as functional

fillers (paint, plastics, rubber, adhesive caulks and sealants,

etc) or as the main constituents (ceramics, refractory,

abrasive materials) should be the obvious choice for

decision-makers. They are good solutions from both an

economical and an ecological standpoint.

The mineral industry is dynamic, encourages best

practices, contributes to EU sustainability efforts and

provides the necessary raw materials for the wellbeing of

European citizens – and it will help Europe to build a

sustainable future.

ENVIRONMENT

Public Service Review: European Union: issue 22

Thierry SalmonaPresidentEuropean Industrial Minerals Association(IMA-Europe)Tel: +32 (0)2 210 44 10secretariat@ima-europe.euwww.ima-europe.eu

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Solar energy needs quartz pebbles for silicon, high purity quartz for crucibles, silicon carbide for sawing wafers, and silica for glass

encapsulation

A well operated quarry yields higher volumes of useful minerals, whilstat the same time using less energy and less ore

© Reproduced with the kind permission of publicservice.co.uk Ltd 2011