The project MIREU aims to establish a network of mining and metallurgy regions across Europe with a view to ensure the sustained and sustainable supply of mineral raw materials to the EU. The network will help the regions to share knowledge and experiences when facing the challenge to establish and maintain an extractive industry. MIREU will facilitate an exchange between all interested stakeholders in the regions, namely regulatory authorities, political and administrative bodies, development agencies, mining companies, non-government organisations, as well as the general public. The project will develop a shared knowledge base, taking into account the region-specific geographic and economic features, cultural, societal and language diversity, and their historical developments. The network will also learn from experience in other regions of the World. This knowledge base will allow to understand what has been conducive and what hampering to the development of extractive and metallurgical industries. It will also provide the context for a bottom-up integration of these activities into their respective socio-economic and socio-cultural context. Development is about people and, therefore, bringing people into the decision-finding procedure in order to achieve a ‘social license to operate’ will be a key aspect of the project. Guidelines and recommendations for actions to be taken to foster a sustained and sustainable development of the extractive industries will be developed in close co-operation with a range of selected regions from the European Union. These regions will form a nucleus and multipliers for a more extensive network beyond the life-time of the project.

See above.