SUMEX is a 36-month project funded by the European Commission that started on 1 November 2020.
The project supports the set-up of a European sustainability framework to improve the permitting procedure along the extractive value chain (prospecting, exploration, extraction, processing, closure, post closure activities), to guarantee timely decisions, a transparent governmental regulatory regime, appealing financial and administrative conditions and sustainable natural environmental and social conditions.
Once established, the framework is then to be applied across the extractive value chain to analyse the mineral, as well as relevant economic, environmental and social policy frameworks of the EU, member states and selected regions along five focus areas. These areas are socio-economic and environmental impact assessments, land use planning, health and safety, reporting official statistics and permitting processes/policy integration-to find, or build, where needed, good practices or tools for an open access toolkit, which will be embedded in a broader Community of Practise (CoP) and which forms the basis for capacity building.
This CoP will consider relevant stakeholder groups, with a focus on permitting authorities, across the EU, providing a digital platform and using a series of workshops and webinars. SUMEX states that the experience from other projects like MINGUIDE, MINLAND, MIREU, STRADE builds a powerful foundation for addressing the challenge of how best to implement sustainability considerations into the whole raw materials value chain.
SUMEX adds that its main mission is to assist policymakers and other stakeholders in seizing this opportunity.
The project is intended to involve stakeholders from civil society, academia and government from across the EU. It will consider the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the European Green Deal, as well as EU Social License to Operate considerations.
The project partners are European aggregates association UEPG, Austrian academic institution Montanuniversitaet Leoben, German research establishment OEKO-INSTITUT, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), Vienna University of Economics and Business, University of Lapland, Wageningen University, the European Federation of Geologists, base metals company Boliden Mineral, and the Andalusian regional mining authority DGIEM.
The European Commission is funding SUMEX with a grant of nearly €2m.
