EO-MINERS: Monitoring the environmental and societal impact of the extractive industry using Earth Observation

The growing demand for mineral and energy resources over the last decade has placed the extractive industry under increasing pressure to monitor and reduce the environmental and societal impact throughout the life-cycle of mining operations. Despite the mounting pressure, the industry is still facing the challenge of how to define targets for, and monitor, the impact of mining. In 2010, the EU-funded EO-MINERS project (Earth Observation for Monitoring and Observing Environmental and Societal Impacts of Mineral Resources Exploration and Exploitation) was set up in an effort to help address this issue, specifically through the application of Earth Observation (EO) data. Furthermore, the aim was to help facilitate and improve interaction and dialogue between the mineral extractive industry and society in view of its sustainable development, while improving its societal acceptability. One of the primary project objectives was to develop novel yet objective EO products contributing to a constructive “trialogue” involving stakeholders such as industrialists (mining companies), regulatory bodies and the civil society. EOMINERS is scheduled to run until October 2013.