Innovative, Non-Invasive and Fully Acceptable Exploration Technologies
The future of raw material exploration in the EU
Dialogue & Inclusion
INFACT is based on nurturing a strong stakeholder dialog and communication throughout the project and beyond it. It aims in achieving a SLO (social licence to operate) for novel exploration techniques and consequentially their wide acceptance.
Research & Education
With the aim to achieve the cutting-edge exploration approach, top researchers and experts are engaged in the project. A special attention is given to identifying the right education-related mechanisms for addressing various stakeholder groups. Academic participation in INFACT assures its credibility and unbiased approach.
Civil Society
The results of INFACT will benefit to the wider European society, whether in a form of environmental friendly and socially acceptable exploration techniques or in a form of rising mineral resources security. Engaging society on all levels, horizontally and vertically, is the key issue for INFACT.
Legislation & Policy
Assessing the legal and legislative frames within European countries in the field of the exploration, including existing or potential obstacles, and finding the best practices and policies. It will provide a practical and acceptable roadmap towards a Europe that presents a more attractive investment target for the exploration industry, which will improve systems that affect exploration conditions in Europe.
Industry & Business
INFACT targets the conditions that limit the effectiveness of the exploration industry and development of innovative non-invasive exploration tools that will pave the path to better, more effective, environmentally friendly, and publicly acceptable approaches to mining in Europe.
Europe is about to become more attractive for the exploration of raw materials. In the framework of the EU-funded INFACT project, partners drawn from research and industry are developing innovative, non-invasive exploration technologies and will test them under realistic conditions. The project aims at developing technologies that are more acceptable to society and that will invigorate and equip the exploration industry, unlocking unrealised potential in new and mature areas. For this purpose, three European reference areas are being established in Germany (Geyer), Finland (Sakatti) and Spain (Minas de Ríotinto, Gerena).
Last news
Available resources on ESG Reporting Roundtables
The INFACT project, PERC and Responsible Raw Materials have co-hosted a series of virtual round table discussions on the inclusion of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors in reporting of mineral deposit estimates and exploration results globally on...
INFACT in the European Geologist journal
The INFACT project has been presented in the last issue of the European Geologist journal. The paper is entitled “Integrating new tactics for mineral exploration and Social License to Operate into geoscientists’ training and life-long learning: Lessons learned through...
Technology watch of INFACT
Technology watch activities are essential to systematically analyse and monitor new technology developments in the field of less invasive mineral exploration that could be tested and further developed at INFACT European Reference Sites (ERS). In order to increase the...
Facts in brief

Funding organization
EU/ H2020

Timeframe
Nov 2017 – Oct 2020

Funding amount
5.6 Mio €

Coordinator
Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

Partners
17 partners from research and academia, industry, state and not-for-profit organizations drawn from seven countries. Altogether they have extensive experience in mining, geology, exploration, IT, social science and communication.
Agencia de Innovation y Desarrollo (IDEA), Anglo American Sakatti Oy, Arhus Geo, Atalaya Mining, ATClave, Cobre las Cruces, Dialogik, European Federation of Geologists (EFG), Fraunhofer IAO, GALSA (Geotech), Geognosia, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Koordinator), Oulu Mining School, SRK Exploration Services, Supracon, SYKE, University of Eastern Finland.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement nº 776487.





