oa Smart Exploration: Innovative ways of exploring for the raw materials in the EU

Europe has a favourable geology for a wide variety of commodities necessary for improving our modern life sustainably and environmentally friendly. The Smart Exploration initiative answered one of the seven societal challenges offered by the European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials on new solutions for sustainable production of raw materials – new sensitive exploration technologies. The project involves 27 partners from nine European countries comprising of 11 research institutions, 11 small and medium enterprises and 5 stakeholders. It primarily focuses on developing cost-effective, environmentally friendly tools and methods for geophysical exploration in highly challenging brownfield areas to meet the ever-increasing community (social acceptance) and environmental issues, as well as reduce the return time (from exploration to production). The aim is to not only generate new technological and methodological markets, but also to create results that will also allow for improved exploration in the EU countries and beyond. Planned prototypes and their potential to impact the market as well as methodological developments will be introduced. Furthermore, the value of legacy data through the use of both traditional and innovative approaches, reviving these datasets and illustrating their potential for deep (+500 m) targeting of mineralized bodies will be discussed.