Laterite ore deposits in Brazil and other tropical countries contain approximately 70 % of the world’s Ni and Co resources. High energy and/or reagent costs, accompanied by expensive equipment costs, are generally incurred when recovering Ni and Co via pyrometallurgy or high pressure acid leaching. Several acidophilic bacteria are able to use elemental sulfur as electron donor and couple the oxidation of sulfur to the reduction of molecular oxygen and/or ferric iron, and are thereby generating sulfuric acid and dissolving distinct Ni- and Co-bearing mineral phases partly via chemical reduction, e.g. Mn-oxides. Reductive bioleaching of laterites with acidophiles has been described for anaerobic as well as aerobic conditions. Stirred-tank bioreactor and percolation column laboratory experiments were carried out in the BioProLat project to test various samples from three different laterite deposits in Brazil and to optimize parameters including pH, temperature, aeration, and finding the most suitable bacterial consortium for the bioleaching of Ni and Co. Stirred-tank laterite bioleaching experiments starting at pH 1.5 under aerobic conditions with a consortium of different Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans strains resulted after 15 days in maximal extraction of 83 % Co and 83 % Ni, for 10 % (w/v) pulp density of a laterite sample. Column bioleaching with another laterite sample achieved 95 % Co and 66 % Ni extraction after one month. Eventually, the optimized process will be upscaled, transforming unexploited laterite ores and limonite stockpiles into valuable resources.

Constant depletion of high-grade metal deposits focuses mankind’s attention on technology assuring efficient metal recovery from low-grade deposits. Biohydrometallurgy appears as effective, cost-friendly and environmentally benign technique for resource extraction from metal-bearing phases through microbial activity. Due to number of factors influencing final metal recovery, such as pH-Eh conditions, applied microorganisms, chemical and phase composition of bioleached ore, each deposit should be considered as individual case, and thus examined meticulously.

In this research heterotrophic bacterial strain Pseudomonas fluorescens was investigated in terms of metal bioleaching from polymetallic, organic-rich Kupferschiefer shale. Scrutiny involved two different Kupferschiefer samples, displaying various metal concentrations. Activity of Pseudomonas fluorescens was compared to the activity of Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans strain.

The 35-days-long bacterial incubations proved the effectiveness of Pseudomonas fluorescens towards metals leaching, especially in case of copper and molybdenum. In most cases Pseudomonas fluorescens resulted in more advanced metal solubilization within the solution compared to Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans. Differences between activity of those two strains involve not only metal leaching, but alterations of the shale surface as well.

Additionally, restricting organic nutrient for Pseudomonas fluorescens as potential way of optimizing was examined. Despite lower effectiveness in metal leaching as compared to well-feeded strain, noticeable metal solubilization was maintained. This could reflect either nutrient stress or possibility of obtaining organic carbon from kerogen particles present in both shale samples.

Conducted experiments highlight the role of Pseudomonas fluorescens in metal mobility from metalliferous shale and open the perspective of more detailed investigation of bacterial-mineral interactions and enhancing metal recoveries.

Acidophilic leaching microorganisms are of industrial interest to extract metals from ores. The effect of characteristics such as rugosity, charge, and composition on the colonization of bioleaching bacteria is not yet fully understood. Since cell colonization on pyrite (FeS₂) surfaces is highly heterogeneous, robust massive image analysis methods must be employed.

We investigated the effects of rational modifications of pyrite surfaces on early colonization and biofilm formation ability of bioleaching bacteria. We used confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) to characterize the surface of pyrite coupons polished to varying degrees. We further colonized the polished pyrite with three bioleaching strains: Leptospirillum ferriphilum, Acidiferrobacter SP3, and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans R1. After 24 h of colonization, samples were imaged using EFM, and massive sets of 176-384 images per replicate were analyzed and semi-quantified using custom-made Python scripts and open-source libraries to obtain the colonization density, area, and shape of cell colonies. The data suggest a slight increase in colonization area in medium polished samples in comparison to low polished ones, but a decrease on highly polished samples. However, Kruskal-Wallis test with multiple comparisons indicated no significant differences in other cell colonization parameters among the different samples.

Critical metals like gallium (Ga) and germanium (Ge) hold strategic importance in the development of modern technologies like optoelectronic devices, semiconductors, light-emitting diodes, and many more. The supply of these metals is not assured due to many reasons. Therefore, new sources and efficient recovery techniques needs to be identified. Thus, attention should be drawn to sources with very low concentrations of these metals which are usually neglected. This is due to high concentrations of contaminant metals and very low concentrations of critical metals. Thus, a highly specific, selective and sustainable process is needed. Siderophore assisted technology “GaLIophore” could be a solution. In GaLIophore, siderophore Desferroxamine B (DFOB) is used to selectively adsorb the metals Ga and Ge from industrial wastewater. DFOB is a highly selective molecule and forms a highly stable complex with Ga and Ge. Interaction of Ga and Ge with DFOB are quite unique and different from one other. Complexation of DFOB with Ge is preferred in acidic pH and presence of chloride ion. While Ga complexes with DFOB across the pH 3-9 and is also not affected by the presence of any anion. Furthermore, DFOB can be re-generated by the addition of excess of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) at pH 3.5. This leads to the recovery of more than 90% of both the metals at the end and makes the process sustainable. Thus, this technology for the first time demonstrated a solution to recover these critical metals from low concentrated systems in a sustainable and eco-friendly manner.

Ion flotation process offers a sustainable way to separate and recycle critical metals from industrial wastewaters that often have low concentrations of target metals. There is a high demand for new flotation reagents which are preferentially environmentally friendly. Microbial biomolecules are an attractive alternative and we are exploring various biomolecules in this regards. The use of these biomolecules as flotation reagents in the ion flotation process can be termed as ‘bioionflotation’. This biotechnological approach for metal recovery from low concentrated waters is still dawning and more research is required to improve the selectivity and process efficiency. In this work, marinobactin (a suite of amphiphilic siderophores) was investigated as a flotation reagent for the separation of Gallium (Ga) from synthetic solutions. Amphiphilic nature of these siderophores and metal complexation ability make them an interesting molecule for an application in the flotation process. Single metal flotation test suggested the Ga recovery and marinobactin-Ga complexation in the collected concentrates was confirmed by HPLC. Further, effects of various operating parameters on the metal recovery and selectivity were studied. The flotation results of the mixed metal solutions (containing Ga and As at 1 mM concentration), showed 88% of Ga recovery and 11% of As recovery, at 0.25 mM marinobactin concentration at pH 4 and air flow rate of 20 ml/min. These results provide the basis to fully embrace the potential of novel bio-ion collectors in developing a highly synergistic process of bioionflotation for recovery of critical metals from low concentrated wastewater.

The surge in battery demand for both mobility and stationary applications necessitates a critical examination of the environmental impacts associated with battery material production and disposal. Key components such as cathodes, anodes, separators, and electrolytes contribute to environmental degradation throughout their supply chain, emphasizing the urgency for sustainable solutions. Circular economy principles offer a strategic framework for mitigating these impacts by promoting extended product lifecycles and increased utilization of recycled materials. This paradigm shift aims to minimize resource extraction and waste generation, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions, toxic exposure, and resource depletion. While challenges persist in achieving perfect circularity due to technical and logistical complexities, embracing the circular economy presents a promising avenue for enhancing sustainability in battery manufacturing and usage. The optimization of hydromechanical Li-ion battery recycling systems involves a multifaceted process encompassing material flow analysis and various mechanical, physical, and metallurgical processing units. The Simulation models utilizing advanced software aid in understanding material composition and flow dynamics, crucial for applying Design for Recycling Principles. Exergy calculation within a thermoeconomic framework further evaluate resource efficiency of the recycling route, and analytical techniques such as ICP-OES and XRD analysis play pivotal roles in identifying complex constituents and guiding process optimization. Regenerated lithium salt assumes integral significance in NMC battery production. This paper underscores the importance of efficient material recovery and recycling in sustainable battery production, emphasizing its critical role in meeting the demands of a greener future.

On geological timescales, Earth’s climate is closely linked to the silicate weathering feedback through the coupled silica-carbon cycles. Weathering of silicate minerals on land sequesters atmospheric CO₂. This process is counteracted by marine authigenic clay formation (also known as reverse weathering), which consumes alkalinity and releases the beforehand sequestered CO₂ back into the ocean and atmosphere. Despite the significance and first description already decades ago, the balance between the terrestrial and marine silicate weathering feedback remains difficult to quantify and is mainly attempted indirectly via elemental and isotopic shifts in fluid composition.

In this talk, I will give an overview of controlling processes on silicate weathering from the Archean to the present day, with special emphasis on the close coupling of the terrestrial and marine weathering regimes. I will show, how silicon isotopes (δ³⁰Si) and Ge/Si ratios can be used to decipher weathering and reverse weathering processes and how early diagenesis impacts originally-inherited signatures, hampering the interpretation of authigenic clay geochemistry in the geological record. As an outlook, I will discuss the approach of enhanced silicate weathering in the marine environment as a tool to mitigate climate change through ocean alkalinisation.

Quantitative paleotemperature estimates from the Precambrian are rare due to the scarcity of well-preserved sediments and uncertainties about the isotope composition of ancient oceans. Carbonate triple oxygen isotope measurements (δ¹⁸O and ∆’¹⁷O), however, can be used to overcome these challenges and estimate climate conditions in deep time.

In this study, we investigated interglacial carbonates from the Cryogenian Oodnaminta Reef Complex in Australia, deposited between the Sturtian and Marinoan Snowball Earth events. According to petrological and sedimentary analyses, dolomitization of originally aragonitic reef components occurred immediately after deposition, along with the precipitation of primary dolomite cements.

Our dolomite data display a negative trend in triple oxygen isotope space that cannot be explained by diagenesis, yet it can be attributed to precipitation from a single fluid at various temperatures. To be able to calculate carbonate precipitation temperatures, we first modelled the oxygen isotope composition of the seawater. Initially, we simulated a range of conceivable seawater compositions using an extended oxygen mass balance model. Subsequently, from the modelled values, we selected those compositions that best fit our samples. The resulting seawaters exhibit δ¹⁸O values of around -5‰ and ∆’¹⁷O values of around -10 ppm. Such seawater compositions are feasible when considering the fluxes of silicification and carbonatization. Finally, we derived seawater temperatures of 10 °C to 50 °C, indicative of a temperate Cryogenian interglacial climate.

The Cenozoic cooling that occurred over the past 50 Ma is accompanied by an increase of Mg/Ca in seawater. How this change in seawater chemistry is linked to climate change is still disputed. Mg isotope ratios of seawater could distinguish several possible causes including dolomitization, authigenic clay formation and changes in rates of silicate- and carbonate weathering. Previous reconstructions of Mg isotope ratios of paleo-seawater were based on foraminifera, corals or carbonate muds, which however yielded conflicting results. Here we assess the suitability of bivalves from genus Glycymeris as archives for paleo-seawater δ²⁶Mg (the standardized ²⁶Mg/²⁴Mg). Their potential advantage over other archives arises from their strong evolutionary conservatism, thick shells and a fossil record dating back to the Lower Cretaceous. We established a new method to analyze δ²⁶Mg for samples with a very low Mg/Ca ratio. We report Mg isotope signatures from ventral margins of shells of three recent Glycymeris species from the Adriatic Sea that show an increasing fractionation with increasing ontogenetic age. Similar isotope signatures were observed across single shells, a property that we are going to exploit in the future for reconstructions of paleo-seawater δ²⁶Mg from specimens of fossil Glycymeris.

A specialized workflow incorporating two innovative computing algorithms has been developed to understand and quantify natural hydrogen generation through the serpentinization of ultramafic rocks. This approach integrates geological, geophysical, structural, and petrophysical parameters. The area is divided into three critical zones: Surface, Shallow, and Deep. The Surface layer provides insights into hydrogen presence and migration paths. Detailed exploration of the reservoir and its seal is enabled by the Shallow layer, while the Deep layer focuses on the mechanisms behind hydrogen formation. Semi-circular structures indicative of natural hydrogen are detected by the NHSD (Natural Hydrogen Seeps Detection) algorithm, which applies deep learning to satellite imagery. In the Shallow layer, the reservoir seal is assessed using geological and geophysical modeling, which also examines the presence of fractures that act as migration paths. In the Deep layer, models employing gravity and magnetic data inversion, together with temperature distributions in a 3D model, target conditions favorable for serpentinization. The QNHG (Quantifying Natural Hydrogen Generation) algorithm calculates daily hydrogen production by scaling laboratory experiments to field conditions. This algorithm considers factors such as production rates, water/rock ratios, serpentinization front velocity, temperature, and fracture systems in peridotites—all adjusted to the characteristics of the study area. This refined system offers a comprehensive method for characterizing natural hydrogen environments, adaptable to various geological settings.

Hydrogen is regarded as an important part of our future emission free energy mix. Naturally occurring hydrogen could be a good candidate for the pursued energy mix as it does not need to be produced in an energy-intensive way. Many hydrogen seeps have been studied to characterise the concentrations and fluxes of the emanations and link these to the underlying rocks. Different multi-disciplinary methods are necessary to characterize the different aspects of a hydrogen generation system. However, further research into the hydrogen production potential of various rocks and settings is necessary. In our study, we applied numerical modelling to a 2D cross section in northern Bavaria (Münchberger Masse, Münchberg Massif) and integrated our current geological knowledge on the formation of the Münchberg Massif as well as literature data and own new measurements on rock samples. Based on the collected data we calculated several scenarios of hydrogen formation and transport during the geological evolution of the area and for the present day situation using the software TerrantaLab & TerrantaFlow. Possible hydrogen-generating rocks are the serpentinites and orthogneisses of the Münchberg Massif. Carboniferous granites of the Fichtelgebirge, which outcrop adjacent to the Münchberg Massif, could also generate hydrogen at greater depths. We present several scenarios of hydrogen formation to gain a better understanding of the decisive processes for natural hydrogen generation in the study area.

Hydrogen is expected to become a keystone of the energy transition to reach climate neutrality. In the future hydrogen economy, underground hydrogen storage (UHS) will become an integral part of the European hydrogen infrastructure.

The German hydrogen demand is expected to increase from 2030 on and a hydrogen storage demand of ca. 10% of the annual hydrogen demand is estimated. To meet this storage demand, existing storage capacity needs to be converted and new capacity installed. While current natural gas storage is mainly seasonal, hydrogen storage needs to be more dynamic to meet a growing hydrogen demand on the one hand and a fluctuating supply of green hydrogen on the other hand.

Next to operational challenges, underground hydrogen storage in salt caverns and porous reservoirs also faces several research challenges.Geochemical and microbiological processes in geological formations and their impact on hydrogen quality, storage integrity and reservoir performance are some of the main R&D demands for the safe implementation of UHS.

The BGR project "Generation, Migration and Degradation of Hydrogen – BiMiAb-H2" was developed to enable a quantitative investigation of the influence of geochemical and microbial processes on reservoir performance and caprock integrity.

This paper provides an overview of expectations and potentials for UHS in Germany and current research at BGR to address some of the remaining research questions.

To enable large-scale underground hydrogen storage, porous rock formations can complement the storage space of salt caverns, which currently are investigated in first pilot tests in Germany. In porous rocks, mainly sandstone formations, several reactions and processes might impart on the storage of H₂.

Here we present first data for five formations with an in depth petrographical and mineralogical characterization as well as experimental investigations with high partial pressures of H₂ under near in situ pressure-temperature-conditions. The formations investigated include Tertiary sandstones (Bunte Niederrödern Schichten, Chatt), Tertiary limestone (Lithothamnienkalk), the Triassic Solling Sandstone and the Permian Wustrow and Schneverdingen Sandstone. For each formation, small diameter core plugs and thin sections were prepared from core samples for petrophysical and petrographic characterisation. One part of each core section has been crushed and milled, the pulverized rock material analysed for mineralogical and geochemical composition. In addition, the rock material was investigated in high-pressure experiments and the consumption of hydrogen quantified over a duration of 2 to 4 weeks. Overall, the hydrogen oxidation by H₂-fluid-mineral surface reactions is limited; several mineralogical factors responsible for the oxidation are evident. Additional experiments investigating the kinetics of individual reactions, e.g. of iron oxides present in the rock material, complement the first assessment of geochemical reactions in these possible storage formations.

Underground hydrogen storage (UHS) in geological reservoirs is proposed as a technically feasible solution to balance mismatch between supply and demand in emerging markets. However, unique hydrogen properties and coupled flow mechanisms require new investigations to fully understand transport and storage of hydrogen in porous media across scales. Here we use microfluidics to investigate the effect of gas type and injection rate on flow patterns, saturation and connectivity of the gas phase. We visually observe that gas flow is characterized by capillary fingering, further confirmed by fractal dimension analysis. At lower injection rates, the gas saturation after drainage appears to increase with gas viscosity, with lower hydrogen saturation compared to methane and nitrogen. The maximum gas saturations (39–46 %) were achieved at higher injection rates, showing no clear correlation to gas type. However, the high-rate injections lead to undesired outcomes in terms of formation of disconnected gas ganglia, mostly pronounced for nitrogen. We identify an optimal injection rate to achieve maximum gas saturation with the least amount of disconnected gas.

Geoscientific research yields diverse outputs, including samples, data publications, research code/software and articles. The fragmentation of this knowledge, where different types of research outputs are stored and published in isolated systems, poses a challenge to scientific progress, hindering comprehensive data analysis and collaboration. Additionally, researchers must comply with various data laws, such as the Geological Data Act of 2020, and adhere to Open Science and FAIR principles. The linking of contextually connected research outputs via persistent identifiers (PID) like DOI, ORCID, ROR or IGSN is vital. An interconnected research infrastructure, such as closely collaborating repositories, enhances the value of research outputs and facilitates the overcoming of these challenges.

The Specialised Information Service for Geosciences (FID GEO), funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), is an example of such an integrated approach. FID GEO facilitates the dissemination of various research results and offers geoscientific communities access to the repositories GFZ Data Services for data and software, and GEO-LEOe-docs for the publication of texts and geological maps.

Moreover, FID GEO provides consulting and training services to assist researchers in effectively managing and linking their research results. These services encompass conference presentations, workshops, and support for the digitisation and online publication of older works.

FID GEO encourages its community to publish and describe all their research outputs. By integrating data and text repositories, FID GEO streamlines research workflows, enhances the dissemination of scientific contributions, and supports compliance with necessary principles.

The National Research Data Infrastructure for Earth System Science (NFDI4Earth) aims to create a networked infrastructure connecting different research data sources (repositories, data bases) to overcome the challenges associated with Research Data Management (RDM) in Germany. Researchers collaborate in international research teams, resulting in interconnection between national and international activities. Thus, a core element of the initiative is the ambition to harmonize the research data landscape on a national level and to connect them with international initiatives. The key areas of interest are to increase the interoperability between different research data domains, metadata standardization, controlled vocabularies, application programming and the setup of different service interfaces. NFDI4Earth would like to support researchers in various aspects such as discovering and exploring relevant data sources, publishing and curating data and addressing research data management challenges. NFDI4Earth focuses on being attractive for the user by having a user-friendly entry point (OneStop4All), services such as a living handbook, user support network, educational resources, and an academy for early career scientists, the knowledge hub as the technical backend, as well as participative opportunities. NFDI4Earth is open to promote common metadata standards, to support, motivate and enable the wider ESS community appropriately to move towards FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and Open Science Data principles. NFDI4Earth initiatives are in line with the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), an ecosystem of research data and related services; such as multidisciplinary projects FAIRCore4EOSC and FAIR-EASE. Thus, NFDI4Earth advances the cultural shift towards FAIR and open RDM.

The ongoing digitization enables the development of new methods for data-driven research and of large research infrastructures (RI) across the Earth and environmental sciences. The increasing demands for RIs to enable seamless data integration and visualisation requires the harmonisation and interoperability of data formats, and the use of agreed metadata standards. Especially for data intensive disciplines in geophysics and geodesy, disciplinary metadata and data standards are important and already in place and widely adopted which makes their integration in new RIs easier than for small and highly variable datasets from the long-tail communities.

In addition, it becomes increasingly relevant to make data discoverable in the internet (via their metadata) and to digitally connect research outputs (articles, data, software, samples) with each other and with the originating researchers and institutions – in unique and machine-readable way. The use of persistent identifier (like DOI, ORCID, ROR, IGSN) and descriptive linked data vocabularies/ontologies in the metadata associated with research outcomes are strongly supporting these tasks.

Research data repositories, especially domain repositories, are experts for this Domain repositories are digital archives that manage and preserve curated research data from specific scientific disciplines. The metadata associated with the DOI-referenced objects is specific for their domain and richer than generic metadata supposed to describe data across many scientific disciplines. Their metadata for data discovery is provided in machine-readable formats (XML, JSON) following international standards (e.g. DataCite, ISO 19115/INSPIRE) and include all information for the development of knowledge graphs. As such they are much more partners than opponents of RIs.

Data is only useful if you can get your hands on it. When you have mountains of data to wade through, you need the best, most efficient methods of finding precisely what you are looking for. The easiest way to look for a needle in a haystack is to use a magnet. A good search strategy is that kind of magnet, helping you find that needle of desired data in the haystack of countless sets!

Classical metadata schemes might not be sufficient to guide one to all relevant data sets. The name of the data creator or the year of publication might not be known. Many times data sets are linked to research papers but this does not simplify the search because research papers are just another haystack. A combination of keywords or title words are rarely unique and may yield numerous hits.

Using classical metadata and viewing long query result lists is time-consuming, but even with this method there is a risk of not spotting relevant data. Either one does not know the best keywords or the creator did not label the data set with the best keywords. This presentation makes suggestions on how to find geoscientific data better and gives examples of web based information systems.

Behördliche Genehmigungsverfahren für Projekte ab einer gewissen Größenordnung unterliegen in Deutschland seit einiger Zeit regelmäßig starker öffentlicher Kritik, z.T. durch die etablierten Umweltverbände, z.T. aber auch durch eigens gegründete Bürgerinitiativen. Dabei werden auch über die in den verschiedenen Verfahren vorgeschriebene Beteiligung hinaus auch die Möglichkeiten des Rechtsstaats immer häufiger genutzt, so dass behördliche Genehmigungen immer öfter durch die Verwaltungsgerichtsbarkeit bis hin zum Bundesverwaltungsgericht überprüft werden. Überspitzt könnte man formulieren, dass die Verwaltungsgerichte inzwischen zur obersten Genehmigungsinstanz in Deutschland geworden sind.

Dies hat insbesondere für die Genehmigungsbehörden zur Folge, dass bei "umstrittenen" Verfahren die verwaltungsrichterliche Überprüfung sinnvoller Weise schon im Verfahren mitgedacht und und bei der Formulierung der einzelnen Genehmigungen, aber auch der jeweiligen Begründungen und Abwägungen berücksichtigt werden sollte.

Dabei müssen z.B. bei Vorhaben, die Auswirkungen auf Menge oder Qualität von Grundwasser haben können, z.T. sehr komplexe Abhängigkeiten und Wechselwirkungen in einer für fachliche Laien wie z.B. Verwaltungsrichter verständlichen Sprache beschrieben werden. Gleichzeitig muss natürlich diese Beschreibung dem Juristen aber auch die Grundlage für seine Entscheidungsfindung liefern, also im Hinblick auf jeweilige juristische Problematik nachvollziehbar formuliert sein. Dies ist nur im engen Austausch mit juristischem Fachpersonal und weitestgehendem Verzicht auf geologisches Fachvokabular möglich.

Denn nur bei einer korrekten, für ihn verständlichen Beschreibung des Sachverhaltes kann der Richter Tatbestandsmerkmale prüfen und entsprechende Rechtsfolgen korrekt ableiten. Damit hat die geologisch-hydrogeologische Expertise - zielgerichtet und für Laien verständlich formuliert - eine entscheidende Bedeutung für den Verfahrensausgang.

Anpassung der Kommunikation an das Zielpublikum und Verzicht auf "Geologenkauderwelsch" erhöhen die Durchschlagskraft der fachlichen Argumentation!

The European Critical Raw Materials Act, which entered into force on 23 May 2024, brought a need for reporting of the critical raw materials projects by the Member States to the European Commission, using the UNFC.
In response to this need, the EU International Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Resource Management (EU ICE SRM – in establishment) has developed a UNFC Train-the-Trainer programme as part of the GSEU - Geological Service for Europe project activities. The goal was to train the experts from the European geological survey organisations (GSO) to apply the UNFC and further disseminate the knowledge they have acquired at the national level.

The training programme used a three-level approach:

Level 1 - General principles: the training designed for broad audience with diverse levels of knowledge on UNFC addresses related concepts, international reporting standards and their links to UNFC using practical examples;

Level 2 - User need specifics: designed for practitioners it builds up on Level 1 covering various cases. The course enables participants to apply UNFC classification independently;

Level 3 - Qualification: building up on Level 2 training and participants deepen their knowledge and are finely able to pass it on.
Each training programme level was structured within 2-day educational workshops and successfully held for the first time in April, May and June 2024 at the Geological Survey of Slovenia in Ljubljana. Over 30 experts from various European countries were trained by the skilled trainers from Finish, German, Austrian, Norwegian, Swedish, Czech, Hungarian, Slovenian and French GSO.

The United Nations Framework for the Classification of Resources (UNFC) is a generic tool that can be used for all types of resources, including anthropogenic resources. Compared to the primary raw material sector, the classification of resources is not common in the recycling sector. Therefore, we are working on a conceptual approach with seven stages to define, evaluate and classify a project and to summarize the results in a report. At the same time, we are working on a concept of how the UNFC can be used at national level.

The principle how the results can be combined will be shown by the case studies on the recovery of phosphorous from sewage sludge. Statistical data was used for a mass flow analysis (MFA), looking at the amount of sewage sludge produced, processed and treated for phosphorous recovery. The result of the MFA is visualized in a Sankey diagram. This approach helps to identify the viable projects in terms of circular economy and those that meet the criteria for phosphorous recovery. Based on that, it can be shown how much of the phosphorous is currently being recovered. In addition, specific projects along the recycling value chain were selected to apply the conceptual approach. This provides information on the level of confidence of the produced materials, the technical feasibility as well as the economic viability and environmental and social impact of the project. Overall, the results can be used to compare the projects and highlight the potentials and obstacles of the project.

Resources such as minerals and metals are essential raw materials for our daily lives. Yet, it is a long road (> 10 years) before they become available for the first time through mining. From basic scientific research to on-site prospecting and exploration to the technical, economic and legal challenges associated with the development, operation, maintenance and aftercare of a mine and/or processing plant, many experts from a wide range of disciplines are involved. The civil society is also involved in all these steps - whether because they are directly affected, have an interest in the project or the location of the action, or because they are involved in non-technical, administrative tasks. Thus, how can these different stakeholders and the great variability of detailed knowledge about project specifics and its location communicated in a form that is equally understandable to all?

This presentation will outline the various steps of the process using the UNFC (United Nations Framework Classification for Resources). It will discuss a) how and where the different steps a resource project goes through can be visualised in an understandable way, b) whether and how this information used for communication outside one's own bubble and c) what information used for this purpose. To this end, publicly available information is analysed across the phases of a project and from different temporal perspectives. The results presented in the form of UNFC figures building the basis for further discussion.

The goal of the energy transition is to enable future generations a fair and just opportunity to live without bearing the costs of the doings of previous generations. This transition, marked by international commitments to tripling renewable energy capacities and advancing critical mineral intensive technologies, underscores the crucial role of managing critical minerals in discussions on and beyond climate justice. Achieving inter- and intragenerational justice necessitates extending the dialogue to include responsible resource management practices both now and in the future. Scholars of intergenerational justice argue that the current SDG-oriented approach to resource management falls short. But even within this comparatively weaker framework, implemented resource management practices often fail to meet sustainability criteria due to economic pressure.

This keynote will dive into some the underlying reasons for the shortcomings of existing frameworks and explore potentially promising approaches to addressing intergenerational justice in resource management while ensuring economic stability and the well-being of current generations. By showcasing some of the work of the Resource Management Young Member Group (RMYMG) within the UNECE Expert Group on Resource Management, diverse perspectives and approaches from youth will shed light on their efforts to transform our current resource management practices to better meet intergenerational justice. RMYMG has published a Guidebook on Intergenerational Action in Critical Minerals Management, a White Paper on demand-side considerations in CRM management and has advocated for the inclusion of resource management in global policy forums. This keynote serves as an introduction to the fresh insights and approaches of the youth.