Massive growth in the global demand for mineral resources is expected to occur as the global population continues to grow and standards of living in emerging economies continue to rise. Europe is largely dependent on other countries for raw materials, putting the economy at risk due to increasing competition for scarce resources. From the environmental perspective, the mining industry is highly intensive in its use of water and energy, and it is also an important emitter of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. Public investment in this sector during the last 20 years has been minimal, and research and innovation is urgently needed to identify new sources and technologies to meet future demand.
The foresight workshop aims to identitfy key challenges facing security of supply in critical minerals and metals, to identify possible innovations that could provide the basis for solutions to challenges identified in the previous session, and to identify the key actions that should be taken to realize the potential technological breakthroughs and other innovations
Copies of the final report can be downloaded from the FarHorizon project website: