EDITORIAL

Sustainable production and consumption of mineralresources—introduction

Joanna Kulczycka & Corina Hebestreit

Received: 23 May 2012 /Accepted: 18 November 2012 /Published online: 19 December 2012# Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

Abstract The European mining industry has a long traditionproviding many regions with growth and employment. How-ever, now in the European Union, consumption of manyminerals and especially metals considerably exceeds the EUmining industry’s internal supply capability. In the last years,it was pointed out in many EU documents that securingreliable and undistorted access to raw materials is becomingan increasingly important factor in the EU’s competitivenessand hence crucial to the success of the Lisbon Partnership forgrowth and jobs. Therefore, the European mining industry isfaced with a major challenge which is creating appropriateecological, economic and social conditions, referring to theidea of “growth through opportunity”. In the paper, challengesconnected with sustainable production and consumption ofmineral resources in the EU has been presented.

Keywords EUmining industry . Sustainability . Mineralresources

The concept of sustainable production and consumption wasdeveloped at the beginning of 1990s. Its main objective isthe efficient production and use of natural resources, theminimisation of wastes, and the optimisation of productsand services. Sustainable production and consumptionintends to provide the use of goods and services that respondto basic needs and bring a better quality of life, while

minimising the use of natural resources, toxic materialsand limiting emissions of waste and pollutants over the lifecycle so as not to jeopardise the needs of future generations(Sustainable Consumption Oslo, Norway 19–20 January1994, Symposium). Proposed changes to existing patternsof production and consumption have been emphasised in thework of the United Nations, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and European Union (EU)among others. In the 2009 Monitoring Report on the EUSustainable Development Strategy, it was stated that whilethe changes observed since 2000 in the field of sustainableconsumption and production are quite ambiguous, someprogress has been achieved regarding the breaking of thelink between environmental degradation and economicgrowth, particularly in the case of waste and air pollution.However, consumption patterns, mainly those related to ener-gy consumption, are clearly showing adverse effects. The DGEnterprise and Industry report, published in June 2007, alsodraws attention to the dependence of European countries’economies on imports of metals and fossil fuels and to thenecessity of seeking new solutions to ensure more efficient useof mineral resources by the different sectors of industry. TheEU’s resource security problem was signalled in the Commis-sion Communication dated 4 November 2008 entitled The rawmaterials initiative: meeting our critical needs for growth andjobs in Europe (COM(2008)0699). It pointed out that securingreliable and undistorted access to rawmaterials is becoming anincreasingly important factor in the EU’s competitiveness andhence crucial to the success of the Lisbon Partnership forgrowth and jobs. In addition, the Commission recently pub-lished the Communication of 26 January 2011 entitled Re-source-efficient Europe—the necessity of increasing theefficiency of use of resources. This report drew attention tothe Flagship initiative under the Europe 2020 Strategy (COM(2011)21) the necessity to increase the efficiency of use ofresources by technological improvements, a significant transi-tion in energy, industrial, agricultural and transport systems,

J. Kulczycka (*)Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of the PolishAcademy of Sciences, 7 Wybickiego St.,31-261 Krakow, Polande-mail: kulczycka@meeri.pl

C. HebestreitEUROMINES, Avenue de Broqueville 12,1150 Brussels, Belgiume-mail: hebestreit@euromines.be

Miner Econ (2013) 25:53–54DOI 10.1007/s13563-012-0026-9

and changes in the behaviour of producers and consumerswere pointed out. Many other documents pay special attentionto the increasing role of recycling and the use of secondaryresources that are vital for increasing the security of supply ofthe mineral resources necessary for the EU economy. In par-ticular, the report of the ITRE Committee of the EuropeanParliament on a successful European strategy for securingresources of 25 July 2011 (A7-0288/2011) calls upon the EUCommission to adopt guidelines on research and innovation onsustainable methods of exploration, extraction and processingof mineral resources, product life cycles and product recycling(an approach “from cradle to cradle”), the substitution of somecritical resources and the effective management of resources.The report argues that these may reduce European dependenceon monopoly suppliers and imports from outside Europe. It isimportant to maintain a reliable market access to mineralresources, independent from periodic disturbances, not onlyfor primary, but also for secondary resources (e.g. from wasterecovery). Lately, on 29 February 2012, the CommissionCommunication on making raw materials available forEurope’s future wellbeing. Proposal for a European InnovationPartnership on Raw Materials (COM(2012)82) has been pub-lished. This EIP will contribute to the mid- and long-termsecurity of sustainable supply of raw materials (includingcritical raw materials, industrial minerals and wood-basedmaterials) that are required to meet the fundamental needs ofa modern resource efficient society. It is an essential contribu-tion to the competitiveness of European industries, to increasedresource efficiency in the EU, and to the development of newEuropean-based recycling activities.

The European mining industry, which is integrating thesesocial aspects and maintaining high environmental stand-ards, is exposed to competition from countries whose rapiddevelopment is based on their own natural resources. There-

fore, it is rational that the market should not only use primaryresources but also secondary ones (e.g. from waste recovery)to maintain reliable access to the market for mineral resour-ces independent from periodic disturbances. However, thesearch for new mineral deposits should not be abandoned,because a supply limited to recycling and the re-working ofold deposits cannot satisfy the growing needs of the EU andworld economies. During the search and exploration for newdeposits, one cannot forget about the significant spatial con-straints imposed to meet environmental protection standards(EU Natura 2000 Directive) and the associated conflicts inpolicy objectives. It should be remembered that the miningindustry forms the foundation for the development of manysectors of the economy, and also maintains the economicposition of societies. Increasingly difficult conditions gov-erning access to mineral deposits require the development ofautomation and robotics for many technical processes. Inaddition to improving the manufacturing process, miningcompanies are increasingly implementing the concept ofcorporate social responsibility, looking for solutions thatcontribute both to their economic development and also todemonstrating respect for people, communities, nations andthe environment. Having regard to that it is also necessary todevelop a compromise between the rational management ofmineral resources and environmental resources and to takeglobalisation and international competition into account. TheEuropean mining industry is faced with a major challengewhich is creating appropriate ecological, economic and so-cial conditions, referring to the idea of “growth throughopportunity”. All these aspects had been discussed on inter-national conference organised under Polish presidency enti-tled Sustainable production and consumption of mineralresources – integrating the EU's social agenda and resourceefficiency on 20–22 October 2011 in Wroclaw.

54 J. Kulczycka, C. Hebestreit