The ROBOMINERS project: a promising tool for the re-evaluation of “non-economical” deposits. Aiming at the development of a joined European database of potentially suitable ore deposits for the utilization of the Robominers technology.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleni Koutsopoulou ◽  
Aikaterini Servou ◽  
George Aggelopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
National Level ◽  
Ore Deposits ◽  
Advanced Technology ◽  
Mineral Deposits ◽  
Innovative Technology ◽  
Exploration And Exploitation ◽  
Epithermal Deposits ◽  
European Database ◽  
The Creation

<p>The ROBOMINERS (Resilient Bio-inspired Modular Robotic Miner) project aims at developing new methods and technologies (prototype automation and robotics technology) to locate and exploit underground mineral deposits and is funded under the European Union’s Research and Innovation programme Horizon 2020. The project targets mineral deposits that are generally considered “non-economical” either because they are not accessible anymore for conventional mining techniques, or they have been previously explored but exploitation was considered uneconomic due to the small size of the deposits or the difficulty to access them (abandoned, small, ultra-depth deposits).</p><p> </p><p>The European Federation of Geologists (EFG) is part of the Robominers consortium and its role includes the collection of publicly available data at a national level on mineral deposits which are potential targets on the developed mining technology. The Association of Greek Geologists (AGG) is participating as an EFG Linked Third Party in the project aiming, among others, at the creation of a European database of potentially suitable ore deposits for the utilization of the Robominers technology.</p><p> </p><p>The creation of an ore deposits’ European database is a crucial procedure for the best possible design of exploration and exploitation applying the Robominers innovative approach. The AGG has contributed in the building of a database at a national level (for Greece), of the major and most important mineral deposits, according to the project requirements. A number of ore deposits in which Robominers advanced technology may provide a unique solution to mineral extraction, include porphyry and epithermal deposits and especially vein-like types, but volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS-type) and lense-like or layered orthomagmatic deposits can also be of high importance. From the above mentioned ore deposits the most abundant in Greece are epithermal deposits, deposits in hydrothermal veins, porphyry copper, as well as chromites in ophiolite complexes. Regarding the spatial distribution vein-type or metasomatic deposits are located mostly in Northern Greece (Western Macedonia and Thrace regions) while significant variable-mineralization deposits are related with the Attico-Cycladic belt volcanism (mainly Lavrion, Evia, and islands in the Aegean Sea). Finally, PGE bearing chromite deposits and bauxite deposits, located mainly in Central Greece, may also be significant for the project.</p><p> </p><p>The establishment of a joined European Robominers database is of great significance for the progress of the project since it will provide essential information on key outputs such as the deposit type and commodities, the host rock, and the spatial distribution of the project’s targeted ore deposits and will provide valuable knowledge regarding the future planning of the exploration and exploitation from the developed Robominers innovative technology approach.</p><p>Dr Eleni Koutsopoulou</p><p>Coordinator of the project</p><p>On Behalf of the:</p><p>Association of Greek Geologists</p><p>Didotou 26,10680, Athens, Greece</p><p>VAT ID: EL-999600130</p><p> </p><p> </p>

scholarly journals Research and Innovation in Exploration and Mining of Raw Materials: The ROBOMINERS Project

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Eleni Koutsopoulou ◽  
Aikaterini Servou ◽  
George Aggelopoulos ◽  
Konstantinos Laskaridis
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Mineral Exploration ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Mineral Deposits ◽  
Innovative Technology ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Horizon 2020 ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
European Database ◽  
The Creation

ROBOMINERS is a new project funded under the European Union’s Research and Innovation Programme Horizon 2020, which aims at employing a bio-inspired robot, focused on the prospect of mineral exploration and extraction within Europe. ROBOMINERS’ innovative approach combines the creation of a new mining ecosystem through the development of a bioinspired robotic miner prototype, able to explore and mine mineral deposits which are currently considered uneconomic due to their small size and difficulty of access. The main objectives of the project include the creation of a European database of potentially suitable locations for the deployment of this novel technology. The building of the pan-EU mineral deposits database is considered vital for the development of the project as it will provide essential information related to deposit type and commodities, spatial and temporal distribution, and location of exploration targets. Several deposits have been reviewed and examined in Greece as potential targets suitable for the ROBOMINERS technology, after considering the specific restrictions and requirements of the project. The main targets have been determined and arranged according to the different aspects required by the applicability of the ROBOMINERS innovative technology.

scholarly journals ROBOMINERS – Developing a bio-inspired modular robot-miner for difficult to access mineral deposits

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 99-108
Author(s):  
Luís Lopes ◽  
Balazs Bodo ◽  
Claudio Rossi ◽  
Stephen Henley ◽  
Gorazd Žibret ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Mineral Deposits ◽  
Innovative Technology ◽  
Modular Robot ◽  
The Future ◽  
Mining Methods ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Social And Environmental Impacts

Abstract. Within the ROBOMINERS project an innovative technology for the future exploitation of small and difficult to access mineral deposits is being studied. The project has two main objectives. First, the development of a bioinspired reconfigurable robotic miner prototype, able to navigate, explore and mine selectively with a certain degree of autonomy. The robot-miner will be able to work under different conditions, making the exploitation of many mineral deposits economically feasible, while reducing social and environmental impacts associated with conventional mining methods. The second objective is the creation of a vision of a new mining ecosystem, its function, parts, research roadmaps and visions for years 2030 and 2050, including creation of novel ideas from other sectors, particularly robotics. The robotic ecosystem concept will be tested in representative sites across Europe with simulations, showcasing the different mining environments and conditions where it can be applied.

scholarly journals The Role of Spatio-Temporal Information to Govern the COVID-19 Pandemic: A European Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 166
Author(s):  
Hartmut Müller ◽  
Marije Louwsma
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
National Level ◽  
Temporal Information ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Heavy Burden ◽  
Spatio Temporal

The Covid-19 pandemic put a heavy burden on member states in the European Union. To govern the pandemic, having access to reliable geo-information is key for monitoring the spatial distribution of the outbreak over time. This study aims to analyze the role of spatio-temporal information in governing the pandemic in the European Union and its member states. The European Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) system and selected national dashboards from member states were assessed to analyze which spatio-temporal information was used, how the information was visualized and whether this changed over the course of the pandemic. Initially, member states focused on their own jurisdiction by creating national dashboards to monitor the pandemic. Information between member states was not aligned. Producing reliable data and timeliness reporting was problematic, just like selecting indictors to monitor the spatial distribution and intensity of the outbreak. Over the course of the pandemic, with more knowledge about the virus and its characteristics, interventions of member states to govern the outbreak were better aligned at the European level. However, further integration and alignment of public health data, statistical data and spatio-temporal data could provide even better information for governments and actors involved in managing the outbreak, both at national and supra-national level. The Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE) initiative and the NUTS system provide a framework to guide future integration and extension of existing systems.

Temporo-Spatial Distribution and Evolution of Ore Deposits in the West Sector of the Northern Qilian Mountains

1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
MAO Jingwen ◽  
ZHANG Xiaoyu ◽  
ZHANG Zhaochong ◽  
REN Fengshou ◽  
ZUO Guochao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Ore Deposits ◽  
Qilian Mountains ◽  
The West

scholarly journals Feature space of the Atasu type deposits (Сentral Kazakhstan)

2020 ◽  
pp. 5-10
Author(s):  
N. S. Askarova ◽  
A. T. Roman ◽  
V.S. Portnov ◽  
A.N. Kpobayeva
Keyword(s):  
Feature Space ◽  
Ore Deposits ◽  
Mineral Deposits ◽  
Complex Composition ◽  
Lower Carboniferous ◽  
Geological Factors ◽  
Close Time ◽  
Different Depths ◽  
Geological Formations ◽  
Visean Stage

Purpose. Studying geological formations of the Atasu type deposits to identify prospecting criteria. Methodology. Analysis of literature and fund materials, comparative analysis of geological factors characteristic of stratiform ores, stage formation and metamorphism. Findings. The main features characteristic of the deposits of the Atasu type have been formed: their belonging to the lower strata of the Upper Famennian, Upper Devonian to the Visean stage of the Lower Carboniferous; complex composition of ferromanganese and polymetallic ores formed in three hydrothermal stages (sedimentary, metasomatic and vein ones), stratiform, lenticular, localized near volcanic edifices. Originality. The main geological criteria have been established that determine the belonging of the Uspensky ore belt in Central Kazakhstan deposits to the stratiform deposits of the Atasu type formed at different depths in continental rift valleys. The criteria include the age interval of the formation of ore deposits of the stratiform type, hydrothermal staging of mineralization (sedimentary, metamorphic, metamorphic (hydrothermal, dislocation multistage and dynamothermal)); localization of folded and post-folded subvolcanic intrusions near former volcanic edifices. Practical value. The main prospecting geological criteria (features) established for the Atasu type deposits can be used to form a feature space for predicting the areas of mineral deposits localization of the Uspensky ore belt of Central Kazakhstan formed in close time periods, in similar geological-geochemical, thermodynamic and geodynamic conditions.

scholarly journals Integrating Risk Reduction, Urban Planning and Housing: Lessons From El Salvador

2006 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-83
Author(s):  
Christine Wamsler
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
El Salvador ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
National Level ◽  
Integral Model ◽  
Emergency Relief ◽  
Developmental Context ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Legal Frameworks

Increasingly, attention has been given to the need to mainstream risk reduction in development work in order to reduce the vulnerability of the urban poor. Using El Salvador as a case study, the paper analyses the mainstreaming process in the developmental disciplines of urban planning and housing. The overall aim is to identify how the existing separation between risk reduction, urban planning and housing can be overcome and integration achieved. Since Hurricane Mitch in 1998, and especially after the 2001 earthquakes, not only relief and development organisations, but also social housing organisations have initiated a shift to include risk reduction in their fields of action in order to address the underlying causes of urban vulnerability. The factors that triggered the process were: 1) the negative experiences of organisations with non-integral projects, 2) the organisations' increased emphasis on working with municipal development, 3) political changes at national level, and more importantly, 4) the introduction and promotion of the concept of risk reduction by international and regional aid organisations. However, required additional knowledge and institutional capacities were mainly built up independently and internally by each organisation, and not through the creation of co-operative partnerships, thus duplicating efforts and increasing ineffective competition. Whilst positive experience has been gained through the implementation of more integral projects, the creation of adequate operational, organisational, institutional and legal frameworks is still in its initial stage. Unfortunately, four years after the 2001 earthquakes, emergency relief funding for post-disaster risk reduction is coming to an end without the allocation of resources for following up and consolidating the initial process. Based on the findings, an integral model is proposed which shows how mainstreaming risk reduction in urban planning and housing could be dealt with in such a way that it becomes more integrated, inclusive and sustainable within a developmental context.

scholarly journals The Method of Cluster Drilling in the Western Ural as the Beginning of the Technical and Economic Revolution in the World Drilling

TECHNOLOGOS ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 47-57
Author(s):  
Neroslov Alexey
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Oil Industry ◽  
Advanced Technology ◽  
Innovative Technology ◽  
Drilling Process ◽  
Directional Drilling ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
The World ◽  
The City

In 1943, at the height of the Great Patriotic War, the new revolutionary drilling technique with high efficiency was used in Krasnokamsk oilfield of Molotov (Perm) Oblast for the first time in the world – the cluster turbodrilling method. The development of oil industry in Prikamye in the 1940s was associated with certain complications. The main deposits of the Krasnokasmk oilfield discovered before the war turned out to be located due to a number of reasons within the area of industrial and residential construction of the city of Krasnokamsk and under the Kama river and the Paltinskoye swamp close to the city. Conventional drilling methods could not be used for their development. The way out was to use the method of directional drilling that was little known at that moment. The development of the innovative technology in Krasnokamsk oilfield in 1942 was largely due to the involvement of the specialists of the Experimental Turbodrilling Bureau evacuated from Baku. Directional drilling which involved the deviation of the bottom hole (the ultimate lowest point of the well) from the wellhead (the initial uppermost location) by several hundred metres opened up broad opportunities for developing hard-to-recover oil deposits while significantly accelerating and ensuring cost savings of the drilling process. The directional drilling served as the basis for the development in Prikamye of an advanced technology of cluster drilling when several directional wells with different azimuths were drilled from a small well pad. In 1943–1944, cluster drilling was tested and successfully used in Krasnokamsk oilfield. The cluster drilling comprised an entire range of innovative solutions including the movement of assembled drilling rigs without dismantling power equipment. Also, it resulted in the reduction of total labour costs, scope of construction and assembly works, costs of building oilfield roads, power lines and pipelines, and transportation costs. People’s Commissariat of Oil Industry of the USSR initiated a large-scale rollout of the advanced method of cluster drilling in the largest oil-producing regions of the Soviet Union – Azerbaijan and the North Caucasus, and the area of the “second Baku” – Bashkiria, Tatary, and Kuybyshev oblast. The transition to the advanced and cost-saving technology of cluster drilling laid the foundation for the technical and economic revolution of the world drilling practices.

Detecting Submarine Groundwater Plumes in the Salalah Area: a Radon Tracer and Numerical Integral Plume Model Approach

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Hajar Al Balushi
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Submarine Groundwater Discharge ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Meteoric Water ◽  
Groundwater Discharge ◽  
Sultanate Of Oman ◽  
Exploration And Exploitation ◽  
Submarine Groundwater ◽  
Hydraulic Gradients ◽  
Model Approach

The inflow of fresh or brackish groundwater into the sea is referred to as Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD). The SGD is enforced by a terrestrial component whichmainly depends on freshwater extraction and recharge by meteoric water and on aquifer permeability. And a marine component that is mainly controlled by the spatial distribution of outflows and water depth (hydraulic gradients between land and sea). This study is motivated by the importance of freshwater in arid regions and, in particular, by the continuous challenges posed by the exploration and exploitation of fresh water sources inthe Sultanate of Oman. Moreover, there is a lack of studies on SGD phenomena alongthe 1000 km coastline in the South of Oman. The objective of this study is to develop a method to detect SGD spots in the offshore region, autonomously, and understanding thehydrodynamics of the discharge seepage for future backtracking, quantification and coastaland groundwater management. The study area Salalah, Dhofar Governorate, South of Oman is known to have a high natural groundwater recharge during the monsoon seasonand a karstic coastal seafloor, which results in a high potential of submarine groundwater discharge spots.

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