Mining & Metal 1
THE X-MINE PROJECT The X-Mine Project Streamlines
Exploration and Extraction Stefan Sädbom, Senior Exploration Geologist and chairman of Lovisagruvan and Orexplore, talks about the X-Mine research project, where both Lovisagruvan and Orexplore are partners. The project focuses on using real-time mineral X-ray analysis to make mining more efficient and sustainable. Stefan Sädbom, Senior Exploration Geologist and Chairman of Lovisagruvan By alarik Haglund PHoto orexPlore Stefan Sädbom wants to start by giving some background on why the X-Mine project exists and why the European Union, who finances the project through the research and innovation framework programme Horizon 2020, believes it’s important. “People use more metals than they did a hundred years ago. A large amount of these metals can be recycled. You can’t destroy an element once it’s been created. This also applies to the metals used in devices like smartphones,” says Stefan Sädbom, but he also adds that the recycling has to be worth paying for. “Right now, it can actually be cheaper to buy some of the elements needed to build a smart24 MINING § METAL phone from a mine than to recover them from secondary sources,” reveals Stefan Sädbom. With a growing global population, increased per capita use of metals and a less than perfect recycling system, Stefan Sädbom points out that we still need to mine primary metals, derived directly from ore. “New discoveries of metals are harder and harder to make, the grades are often lower and the ore bodies are often deeper, explains Stefan Sädbom. Dependence on Import Stefan Sädbom also adds that while the European Union consumes almost 25 percent of all mineral raw materials produced on earth, we only produce between three and five percent. “This dependence on import makes our manufacturing industry vulnerable,” comments Stefan Sädbom. “The only way to become more self-sufficient is to be more efficient in recycling and to develop more of the mineral deposits that actually do exist in Europe.” He says the first step is to explore and make an inventory of where metals exist and then decide where the societal gain of mining is largest compared to preservational values. “Metals aren’t evenly distributed across the earth,” explains Stefan Sädbom. “For example, Sweden is one of Europe’s largest producers of