WP2,Minerals and Mining subgroup Anders Jonsson County Board, Ume Ola Torstensen, County of Nordland

1
WP2,Minerals and Mining subgroup Anders
Jonsson County Board, Umeå Ola Torstensen,
County of Nordland, Bodö Jouni Pihlaja, Geol.
Surv.Finland, Rovaniemi Lennart Widenfalk,
Luleå Univ. Technology

• Towards a Sector Programme for Industrial and
  Economic Development of the Region.
• Many steps are taken within the individual
  countries but together we can be stronger

2

• The Mineral and Mining Sector concerns
• Industrial Minerals
• Aggregates
• Dimension Stone
• Ores
• The actors are
• Exploration companies
• Extractive industries
• Equipment suppliers
• Research institutes
• Universities
• Authorities

3
A few aspects on the industry, local and economic
development

• Exploration will not in itself generate big
  incomes
• Mining and exploitation will give important
  incomes locally
• Wages to employees, incomes to suppliers
• Infrastructure that will remain after a mine
  closure
• Taxes and fees locally and nationally
• Smelters are few and are such big investments
  that they will probably remain where they are
  just now

4

• The Mineral and Mining Sector of the Barents
  region is characterized by
• Hard rock technology often steep and deep bodies
• An environment sensitive to mine waste and fumes
• Very varying legislation
• International markets and competition
• These characteristics form the basis for a
  sector programme

5

• The sector programme we propose contain
• Cooperation within legislation
• Some specified R D projects
• Some more general and wider projects within
  mining
• Development and strengthening of SMEs cooperation
  within the equipment and technology suppliers
  area
• Education

6
Legislation varies from country to country and
may be a great hinder for investments in
exploration and exploitation. The changes of the
mining acts of Finland and Sweden the last
decades has been very successful.

• We propose a project with seminars for clarifying
  the legislations for interested groups. Maybe an
  important task for a Barents organisation.
• We also propose a similar project that looks at
  the legislation for environmental issues related
  to mining.

7

• Some specified R D projects
• The development of vermiculite to an effective
  absorbent of oil spill (interest from all
  countries)
• The development of the technology for mine
  closures
• Exploration methods for orogenic gold deposits
• A promotion project for dimension stone like the
  just finished PNASTINA project. An extension in
  Sweden, Finland and Russia. (www.pnastina.se)

8

• Some more general and wider projects within
  mining
• The mining environment. The development of safe
  deposition of mine waste. Monitoring of waste
  dams.
• Open cast mining turning into underground mining
• Exploration technology for deep seated deposits
• Promotion project for metal mineralizations in
  under- explored areas. (Similar to the Pnastina
  project)

9
Development and strengthening of SMEs within the
equipment and technology suppliers area

• Cooperation between suppliers of equipment and
  technology has started as a cooperation between
  Minerals Mines Centre of Competence, Barents
  Business School, (both in Västerbotten) and Luleå
  University of Technology. One seminar in Kirovsk,
  2004, and one in Norrbotten and Västerbotten in
  December 2005
• Participants were Swedish and Finnish suppliers,
  representatives for Russian mining industries and
  Swedish mining companies LKAB and Boliden
• Very successful outcome and this is a project
  that is worthwhile an active support.

10
Efficiency and competitiveness are key words for
the survival and growth of the minerals and mines
sector. The solution for the future is education

• Each country, oblast and republic have
  universities that can cooperate in education.
• In mining and metallurgy some educational
  cooperation has taken place between Luleå,
  Helsinki and Trondheim.
• In mining and applied geology cooperation between
  Luleå Univ. of Technology and Murmansk State
  Technical University in Apatity started in the
  late -90ies.

11
Educational system Going towards
Bologna Bachelors 3 yrs - Mainly in
Swedish Masters 2 yrs (Bachelor) PhDs 4yrs
changing to 3 yrs after the MSc International
Masters SAGM, School of Applied Geosciences
and Mining from 2002 Started in cooperation
with MSTU Rock and soil Engineering From the
fall 2006 Exploration Environmental
Geosciences from 2005 Mineral Processing
Metallurgy from 2005
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