scholarly journals Identification of Market Gap as a Chance for Enterprise Development—Example of Polish Raw Materials Industry

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4678
Author(s):  
Marta Sukiennik ◽  
Barbara Kowal ◽  
Patrycja Bąk

The raw materials sector plays a key role in the Polish economy. The mineral raw material industry encompasses many different, sometimes highly specialized activities, such as exploration, mining, hauling, mineral processing, metallurgy and metal refining, as well as risk assessment, management (environmental, financial, legal) and marketing. The purpose of the article is to identify the market gap for business for entities or individuals in the mineral resources sector in Poland. Taking into account the European Union regulations which enforce the closure of hard coal mines in Poland by 2050, it is reasonable to identify such a gap in the raw materials area, especially since the current situation may turn out to be a new revival of the raw materials market after the pandemic period. Based on the NACE classification, a key area was identified, which is dedicated to potential entrepreneurs in the mineral resources area. Based on an internal analysis, the sectors directly related to the RM field in Poland were distinguished. Narrowing down the analyzed sections, leading areas were indicated that offer significant employment opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people who will be made redundant (often in groups) as a result of the phasing out of hard coal mining in Poland. As part of the article, the identification and analysis of key trends that have a significant impact on the functioning of companies, the industry, the region or the country, as well as threats, challenges and opportunities that may arise in the near future, was carried out. What is more, a number of scientific, research or development projects implemented in the area of mineral raw materials in the years 2010–2019 were analyzed. The authors present an innovative approach to defining the gap in the mineral raw materials sector in Poland in what regards conducting business activity, as well as an in-depth analysis of the sector in terms of enterprise development opportunities (creation of new start-up companies) and its directions. It should be mentioned that the presented research is the first attempt to analyze this issue in Poland.

Author(s):  
Jakob Kløve Keiding ◽  
Per Kalvig ◽  
Claus Ditlefsen ◽  
Steen Lomholt ◽  
Peter Roll Jakobsen

Aggregates and other mineral raw materials are important prerequisites for the continual development of the infrastructure and economic growth of a country. Th e production of these raw materials in Denmark amounted to c. 4.5 m3 per capita in 2012, which was 57% higher than the average in EU and EFTA countries (UEPG 2014). In this perspective, it is essential to locate and assess the Danish mineral resources in order to plan future exploitation, especially in densely populated regions where both spatial competition for landuse and demands for raw materials are high. Here we present the methods used in a recent resource evaluation that for the fi rst time includes Danish resources both on land and at sea and summarises some of the main fi ndings of this analysis.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Žvab Rožič ◽  
Nina Valand ◽  
Helena Gabrijelčič Tomc ◽  
Jože Guna ◽  
Žiga Fon ◽  
...  

<p>Application RockCheck (original version KamenCheck in Slovenian) was developed as an e-learning material, which can be used for teaching and learning geological contents in formal and non-formal education. Our aim was to create the teaching aid that will contribute to the improvement and quality of teaching and learning of basic geological contents within natural science subjects. It was created to be used in classrooms, as an additional motivation tool combined with active learning methods, and also in challenges for lessons in nature. Since the application uses the approach of experimental and observational based learning no pre-existing knowledge is needed, and users can determine names of typical rocks only by following the app's instructions.</p><p>The application consists of three main chapters  whose contents are interrelated. The main chapter presents the Rock key where through a simple decision key, by answering the question with yes or no, the user identifies the name of the individual rock. The application enables independent research by observing and experimenting with using simple tools. The other two chapters, Encyclopaedia and School of rock, help the user to enable further learning about rocks in general, about their appearance, formation and usage as well as help to understand geological concepts and procedures. The contents of the chapters are cautiously connected with the links. The last two chapters are a crucial support for planning and teaching the geological contents and present also the good base for preparing active learning challenges. All contents within the application were carefully designed and based on learning objectives of the Slovenian curriculum.</p><p>As an important project upgrade the interactive and experimental workshop was created which provides an insight to use the application as a learning aid. The workshop provides the examples and concepts of how the teachers through experiential learning can teach geology and thus increase the understanding and sustainability of knowledge. In order to actively involve the participants in the learning process, the workshop covers a variety of challenges that are addressed through different teaching methods. Besides, the special interactive learning sheets were created, which were designed with a specific goal and level. We also created a  board game called RockGame. It uses the RockCheck app for solving challenges and answering questions in the game. The main aim of the RockGame is to raise awareness about the topic of raw materials. Trough gamification pupils learn about geologist’s role in the raw material value chain. We did so by including the connection between minerals, rocks, raw mineral resources and final products in the game.</p><p>The application was made within the student project StoneKey (call "On the creative path to knowledge 2017-2020"). The project involved 9 students of different degrees and study programs, three teaching mentors and a working mentor from the company DigiEd. The project was co-financed by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union from the European Social Fund.  The application was later upgraded and translated within the EU project RM@Schools 3.0. funded by the European Institute of Innovation and technology.</p>


2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-118
Author(s):  
Olimpia Kozłowska ◽  
Marta Sołomacha ◽  
Iwona Walentek

Abstract Upon accession to the European Union, economic growth became accelerated in Poland, resulting in a boost in infrastructure development. This led to a marked growth in demand for natural sand-gravel aggregates and other raw materials used in road construction. To meet the demand for suitable raw materials, the Ministry of Environment commissioned the Polish Geological Institute–National Research Institute to start a re-evaluation of earlier raw material prognoses assessments in order to delineate prognostic areas for development of new resources. The re-evaluation has been conducted by the PGI-NRI within the frame of the compilation of the Geoenvironmental Map of Poland at the scale of 1:50 000, making it possible to identify potential conflicts with land-use plans as well as already established NATURA 2000 and other natural heritage conservation designations and more or less continuous built up areas which preclude or at least impede exploitation of mineral raw materials. The analyses also covered economic factors related to costs of transport and the current economic criteria of mineral resources and reserves. At the first stage of the project (between 2008 and 2012) the re-evaluation was conducted in 432 prognostic areas with a total area of over 33 thousands of hectares. According to the current economic criteria of sand-gravel aggregate deposits there were estimated resources of over 5 mld tons, of which around 3 mld tons of aggregates were suitable for road investments and over 2 mld tons of aggregates were suitable for construction. The work has made it possible to re-evaluate the occurrences of natural aggregates in the vicinities of urban centers and along corridors delineated for selected planned motorways and expressways as well as those under construction. The study was compiled especially for business entities involved in construction projects or the exploitation of mineral resources and state administrative units as a tool to support land-use planning and management at the level of individual communes, counties (poviats) and voivodeships. Re-evaluated prognostic areas data are gathered in spatial database and are available through WMS service on the Geoenvironmental Map of Poland portal (emgsp.pgi.gov.pl).


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (19) ◽  
Author(s):  
Damir Baraković

Mineral resources as natural resources constitute the backbone of the development of the nationaleconomy of each country, and their valorization should be classified into its strategic developmentplans. Polyvalent industrial branches of the economy today are unthinkable without adequate supply ofraw materials, analysis of raw material base, their preparation and processing, technology of breedingand possible application.Due to the geological structure of the municipality of Gračanica, carbonate raw materials are one of themost important non-metallic mineral raw materials. In the territory of the municipality of Gračanicathere are numerous areas with deposits of carbonate raw materials (architectural and constructional andtechnical-construction stone), among which the "Sklop" deposit occupies the most important place. Thispaper presents the geological characteristics, types of carbonate raw materials, deposits, reserves,quality and potentiality.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Stavroula Giannakopoulou ◽  
Fotini Chalkiopoulou ◽  
Katerina Adam

The mineral raw materials’ resource efficiency is currently recognized in Europe as the way for the future development of the European mining economies. With this aim, a West Balkan Mineral Register was created in the EIT Raw Materials RESEERVE Project, including Primary and Secondary Raw Materials of six Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (ESEE) countries, i.e., Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. Within the Project, a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) and Gap Analysis was also performed for the development of the raw material sector in the region. This paper summarizes the main strengths to be exploited, i.e., the significant geological potential, the presence of critical raw materials (e.g., Sb, Co, REEs) in primary and secondary raw materials, and the challenges to address, i.e., compliance of resources/reserves classification with international standards, integration of state’s mineral policy with spatial planning strategies, improvement of the business environment, capacity building of the raw materials workforce and enhancement of the public acceptance of the sector, in order to achieve the sustainable development of the mineral resources of the six ESEE countries. These opportunities comply with the objectives of the EU Raw Materials Initiative and are expected to contribute in the further enhancement of those economies in transition for the upcoming years.


The purpose of the article is using the data of Geoinform of Ukraine on the current state of the mineral resource base of the country, to regionalize its territory by combining explored mineral deposits and production-territorial complexes formed on their basis with a mineral raw material orientation. Research results. The article is written in the context of the constructive-geographical direction of studying the geography of mineral resources, which has been developing in the last decades in Ukraine. In particular, three approaches to regionalization of territorial combinations of mineral deposits are compared and analyzed: geological, economic-geographical and mining, which will contribute to their interconnection in characterizing the mineral-raw materials complexes of individual regions. The authors’ own interpretations of discussion definitions of mining terminology are proposed. Based on the results of previous studies and taking into account the current state of the mineral resource base, economic-geographical and mining zoning of the territory of Ukraine has been carried out for groups of explored mineral deposits. Within Ukraine, four mineral resource zones are allocated: Prydniprovsko-Pryazovska, Eastern Ukrainian, Donetsko-Slovianska and Prykarpatska, as well as several territorially separate structures: Zakarpatskyi, Lvivsko-Volynskyi, Podilskyi, Kerchenskyi, Krymskyi macrodistricts, Zhytomyrskyi and Pobuzkyi districts. A detailed description of the mineral and raw material specifications of these structures and their constituent parts, the features and prospects of their exploitation, the formation of territorial-production complexes of mineral and raw materials orientation are submitted. Scientific novelty. For the first time, various approaches to the regionalization of territorial groupings of mineral deposits and mining territories are compared, the basic definitions of mining regionalization are presented, and on this basis their own variant of zoning the territory of Ukraine on mineral resources is proposed. Practical value. The economic, geographical and mining zoning of the territory of Ukraine according to the forms of concentration of mineral deposits and mining areas will help create the scientific basis for optimizing the structure of the mining industry, ensuring the effective use of mineral raw materials, and developing the country's raw material complex.


2021 ◽  
pp. 34-40
Author(s):  
Guenter TIESS ◽  
Iryna SOKOLOVA ◽  
Serhii KLOCHKOV

The paper analyzes the changes in commodity market distortions, competing land use types, raw material demand for development, and rapid diffusion of key enabling technologies meeting the requirements of constant, dynamic development of major European industries. The author gives the relationship between the dynamics for mineral resources consumption growth, and changes in the conditions of production of these resources. Contains a critical review of methods for predicting the mineral resources dependency, including an estimated forecasting method based on guidelines for the evaluation of needs for natural resources and their substitutes.    One of the principles is comprehensive and integrated resource recovery. In a nutshell, this new approach argues that any operation should disturb a mine site only once and extract all useful materials using an optimised integrated flowsheet. This principle also requires that all by-products and residues are (re)used and that by-products and tailings at the end of life to be ‘future-proofed’, i.e. they should retain their ability to continue to be of value into the distant future where technology/economy may make feasible their use.    It is noted that access to and affordability of mineral raw materials are crucial for the sound functioning of the EU’s economy. A new 2020 list of critical mineral raw materials is presented and ways to compensate for the CRM deficit are described in detail.    Separately noted that the mineral policy is needed to be meticulously treated to facilitate company investment security, streamline permitting and access to minerals in a line with the European Green Deal, the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Bioeconomy Strategy and the European Industrial Strategy. Concerning, the latest steps towards Europe economically resilient by a framework for raw materials and the Circular Economy – creation of European Raw Materials Alliance recognized as particularly effective.    Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management represented as a robust, fit-for-purpose international standard for the safer management of tailings storage facilities.    The argument is given that since the land issue is one of the most delicate in a densely populated areas heavily dependent on agriculture, housing, infrastructure or other nonmineral development, a fair and equitable distribution of land is important for a mineral perspective.    There is also the need for strategic and open network between political, industrial and local communities through the exchange of information to enhance knowledge, experience and skills between stakeholders. Social acceptance of that idea is a fundamental element that must be addressed to develop a confl ict-free area for mineral development activities.    The conclusions indicate that we would like to emphasize that the main task of today is to create an effective system for monitoring the movement of raw materials along the entire added-value chain. The ability to quickly identify and respond to challenges in mineral policy will provide leadership in EU strategic technologies and industries. This process has already started with the creation of the European Raw Materials Alliance ERMA. State institutions, businesses, scientific institutions, and civil society in the close dialogue are able to ensure sustainable development and security of civilization as a whole. 


2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 25-29
Author(s):  
Ctirad Schejbal

Abstract Supply chains in the mineral raw material industry take different forms depending on requirements, the placement of resources and points of consumption, and the nature of geological, morphological and botanical landscape type. Hitherto, in the context of montanistic tourism, the attention is paid primarily to the objects associated with the exploration and exploitation of mineral resources. Professionally and touristically, processes of transport of mineral raw materials and products of their processing can be interesting. Therefore, during the selection, development and implementation of montanistic tourism products, it will be useful to focus on these parts of a supply chain, especially if they are implemented in areas with high levels of geodiversity and biodiversity.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antje Wittenberg ◽  
Daniel P. S. de Oliveira ◽  
Javier González Sanz ◽  
Lisbeth Flindt Jørgensen ◽  
David Whitehead ◽  
...  

<p>Changes in our world mean that Europe is facing many pressing demographic and geographic challenges. A growing, aging population coupled with changes in population density are causing environmental stresses to our ecosystem that when coupled with climate change create challenges in sustainable food production and the use of natural raw materials. At the same time, the Fridays For Future Movement is calling out loudly for Future and Climate Justice, CO<sub>2</sub>-neutrality, resource efficiency and (almost) closed material loops. These issues are already expressed by the 17 UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) and widely shared through the Paris Agreement. The European Union and the National Governments have launched many frameworks and action plans such as the European Green Deal to achieve a carbon-neutral economy and clean mobility for example. Certainly, any of those transformations and any infrastructure developments will require sustainably produced mineral raw materials to deliver key enabling technologies and to meet the needs of the Industry 4.0 society. Moreover, improvements in buildings such as energy efficiency through insulation technologies, other infrastructure developments and the Europe’s cultural heritage preservation add to the increasing demand in mineral resources.</p><p>The demand for ever increasing volumes of mineral resources cannot be met exclusively by recycling and thermodynamics does not allow for fully closed material loops. Hence, a sustainable supply of raw materials will always require accessibility to mineral deposits and productive mines while the effects of competing land-use issues and NIMBY activism are increasing too.</p><p>The realisation of a low-carbon society and a self-concept of reliable sourcing increasingly require short feed strokes and local sourcing. A good understanding of mineral systems, mining sites, and remaining resources of historical sites will stay of utmost importance. The four <strong>GeoERA Raw Materials</strong> projects* EuroLITHOS, FRAME, MINDeSEA and Mintell4EU share expertise, information and focus on European on-shore and off-shore resources.</p><p><strong>EuroLITHOS</strong> gives specific attention to ornamental stone resources for which Europe has a long tradition in mining, processing and usage.</p><p><strong>FRAME</strong> designed to research the Strategic and Critical Raw Materials (SCRM) in Europe to gain new insights into reserves and resources taking into account new technologies and developments.</p><p><strong>MINDeSEA</strong> focuses on exploration and investigation of SCRM from seafloor mineral deposits in European waters. Identifying areas for responsible resourcing and information on management and Marine Spatial Planning in European Seas are in its core of action.</p><p><strong>Mintell4EU</strong> focuses on harmonizing data, utilizes the UNFC, providing spatial data and thematic maps. Updated electronic Minerals Yearbook and Europe’s Minerals Inventory are among the products.</p><p>Foresight and forecasting of the raw material supply potential of Europe will become more reliable through increased data quality and harmonization. Workshops and training courses will add to ensure an improvement of the European Raw Materials Knowledge Base. GeoERA Raw Materials projects create valuable, accessible and public data, and information for policy-makers and end-users of geological data and minerals information in Europe.</p><p> </p><p>[*] This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 731166</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7572
Author(s):  
Gigliola D’Angelo ◽  
Marina Fumo ◽  
Mercedes del Rio Merino ◽  
Ilaria Capasso ◽  
Assunta Campanile ◽  
...  

Demolition activity plays an important role in the total energy consumption of the construction industry in the European Union. The indiscriminate use of non-renewable raw materials, energy consumption, and unsustainable design has led to a redefinition of the criteria to ensure environmental protection. This article introduces an experimental plan that determines the viability of a new type of construction material, obtained from crushed brick waste, to be introduced into the construction market. The potential of crushed brick waste as a raw material in the production of building precast products, obtained by curing a geopolymeric blend at 60 °C for 3 days, has been exploited. Geopolymers represent an important alternative in reducing emissions and energy consumption, whilst, at the same time, achieving a considerable mechanical performance. The results obtained from this study show that the geopolymers produced from crushed brick were characterized by good properties in terms of open porosity, water absorption, mechanical strength, and surface resistance values when compared to building materials produced using traditional technologies.


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