Organizing Committee
This event was organized with the essential support of two committees, the Organizing Committee members and the Scientific Committee members. Both committees are composed of subject matter experts and EU-funded project specialists within the mineral exploration.
Marcin Sadowski (Chair)
European Commission – EASME
Marcin Sadowski obtained a PhD in physics from the University of Warsaw in 1994 and later worked on investigating the optical properties of semiconducting structures and materials at the University of Warsaw, the University of Montpellier, and the High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Grenoble. In 2007 he moved to the European Commission in Brussels. For several years, he was a Research Programme Officer at the Directorate General for Research of the European Commission, responsible for research on advanced materials. Since 2014, he is the Head of the Raw Materials sector at the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (EASME) of the European Commission, responsible for the research and innovation projects of Horizon 2020 concerned with Raw Materials.
The Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) has been set-up by the European Commission to manage on its behalf several EU programmes in the fields of SME support & innovation, environment, climate action, energy and maritime affairs.
Helena Cavaco Viegas
European Commission - DG Growth
Helena Cavaco Viegas is currently policy officer in the Energy Intensive Industries and Raw Materials Unit, in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for the Internal Market, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. Previously she worked as a geologist in the Portuguese Geological Survey (LNEG) and in the Portuguese Mining Authority (DGEG).
The Commission's Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs is responsible for EU policy on the single market, industry, entrepreneurship and small businesses.
Asli Onar-Verboon
EAGE
Asli is the EU Public Affairs Officer for European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE). She has a degree in European Union Studies at Istanbul University, followed by an MA in European Law and Policy in UK. She has special interest in environmental law, sustainable development, societal challenges and the ties between these concepts. She has extensive experience in science communication, project management, capacity building, stakeholder management, publications, external relations and public affairs. In 2015, asked to set-up a road map for relations with EU as a new activity of EAGE, and currently leading the dissemination activities for Smart Exploration H2020 project.
The European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE) is a global professional, not-for-profit association for geoscientists and engineers with approximately 19,000 members worldwide. It provides a global network of commercial and academic professionals to all members. The association is truly multi-disciplinary and international in form and pursuits.
Richard Gloaguen
Helmholtz-Institute Freiberg & INFACT Project
Richard Gloaguen received the Ph.D. degree Doctor Communitatis Europae in marine geosciences from the University of Western Brittany, Brest, France, in collaboration with the Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, U.K., and Göttingen University, Göttingen, Germany, in 2000. He was a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Royal Holloway University of London from 2000 to 2003. He led the Remote Sensing Group at University Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Germany, from 2003 to 2013. Since 2013, he has been leading the division Exploration Technology at the Helmholtz-Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology, Freiberg, Germany. He is currently involved in UAV-based multisource imaging, laser-induced fluorescence, and noninvasive exploration. His research interests focus on multisource and multiscale remote sensing integration.
Richard is representing EU funded-H2020 “INFACT Project” as project coordinator. The INFACT project has the ambition to increase chances of discovery via access to new physical places and application of innovative exploration methods. It unites stakeholders of Europe’s future raw materials security in its consortium and activities. Via effective engagement of civil society, state, research and industry, the project will focus on each of these obstacles. It will co-develop improved systems and innovative technologies that are more acceptable to society and invigorate and equip the exploration industry, unlocking unrealised potential in new and mature areas.
Nick Arndt
Sisprobe & PACIFIC Project
Nick Arndt is emeritus professor of petrology/geochemistry at University Grenoble Alpes and president of Sisprobe, a small company that uses ambient-noise seismology in mineral exploration. He has held academic positions in the United States, Canada, Australia and Germany, and has worked in the minerals industry. His main research interests include petrology and geochemistry of mafic and ultramafic rocks, origin of the continental crust, magmatic ore deposits, and the early-Earth environment.
Nick is representing EU funded H2020 “PACIFIC Project” in this symposium. PACIFIC aims at developing radically new, cost-efficient and environmentally friendly mineral exploration techniques. PACIFIC approach builds on the “traditional” passive seismic method which uses large arrays of autonomous seismometers deployed at the surface. The technique relies on surface waves that attenuate rapidly with depth, and lacks the resolution needed for reliable identification of ore bodies. Two radically new developments are planned; reflection passive seismics, which is appropriate from greenfields exploration, and the multi-array method, which will typically be deployed during drilling or in brownfields exploration.
Vesa Nykänen
Geological Survey of Finland & NEXT Project
Vesa Nykänen has been at the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) since 1998. He gained Ph.D. degree at the University of Oulu in 2008. He is currently Research Professor on geoinformatics specialising in spatial data analysis and geological modelling with emphasis on mineral exploration. He is focusing on further utilization of GIS in geoscience applications and he is responsible on scientific and competence development of geoinformatics at GTK. He has published 33 peer reviewed scientific papers. His project portfolio dealing with exploration technology is funded by both national and European level funding instruments including Academy of Finland, Business Finland, EIT Raw Materials and Horizon 2020.
Vesa is representing EU-funded H2020 “NEXT Project” in this symposium. NEXT is developing new geomodels and novel sensitive exploration technologies which are fast, cost-effective, environmentally safe and socially accepted. Methods developed reduce the current high exploration costs and enhance participation of civil society from the start of exploration, raising awareness and trust. Moreover, the reduced environmental impact of the new technologies and better knowledge about the factors influencing social licensing will help promote social acceptance of both exploration and mining and therefore support the further development of Europe´s extractive industry.
Per Gissel Gisselø
SkyTEM & Smart Exploration Project
Per holds a PhD in Geosciences from the University of Aarhus, Denmark obtained in 2001. Per is Head of Operations at SkyTEM Surveys ApS. He is engaged as an active member of the management group and work as a team leader as well as professional specialist in organization of airborne surveys and the processing of airborne electromagnetic and magnetic data. Per is through his position at SkyTEM acquainted with a wide range of mining and exploration companies worldwide.
Per is representing the EU-funded H2020 “Smart Exploration” Project in this symposium. The Smart Exploration consists of a research and application team supported by a group of technologically advanced SMEs and the mining industry. The consortium firstly focuses on developing cost-effective, environmentally-friendly tools and methods for geophysical exploration in highly challenging brownfield areas where exploration expenditure is greater and the return time (from exploration to production) shorter. A second focus point is be long-term greenfield exploration with the aim of reducing exploration costs, implying significant improvement in development rates and a sustainable supply of raw materials at the same rate as the whole world wishes to grow.