Mineral resource deposit models currently rely on manual processes, from drilling and handling core samples to chemical analyses and lithological identification. These labor-intensive procedures extend to geostatistical analysis, where experts describe the spatial distribution of geo-domains and mineral properties through variogram analysis and numerous simulations to address uncertainty. In complex geological environments, numerical methods often fail to effectively characterize the spatial distribution of boundaries between geological domains.

The extractive industry has been considered one of Europe’s most significant waste streams. Given the ambition to move towards a circular economy, extractive wastes have the potential to be altered from a substantial environmental burden to valuable resources via the recovery of valuable minerals and critical raw materials (CRM), reprocessing, and reusing in various applications. Motivated by this, ValorWaste project was conceptualized to provide a holistic view under the reprocessing of extractive waste by addressing the following challenges: 

FEUP collaborated with RISBRIEFCASE project to develop strategies to promote the importance of mineral raw materials in everyday life. According to this, an educational board game was created to promote the importance of raw materials among young students, also available in Portuguese.

Responsible, sustainable and low CO2 footprint mineral extraction is vital for the preservation of our planet. Ensuring responsible supply of minerals involves addressing the environmental, social, and economic impacts of mineral extraction and developing technologies and know-how to minimize them.

BETTER PLASTICS project aims to be the Mobilizing Project of the Plastics Sector in Portugal and leverage the transition of this sector to a circular economy. It comes from an initiative of APIP, Associação Portuguesa da Indústria dos Plásticos, which intends to mobilize the private sector together with National Authorities, Universities and Citizens to the objectives of European Circular Economy.