Trailer – Europe’s Mining Renaissance, a Catalyst for Climate Neutrality

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Trailer – Europe’s Mining Renaissance, a Catalyst for Climate Neutrality

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🎬 Here we go. The trailer of “Europe’s Mining Renaissance, a Catalyst for Climate Neutrality”. Our new documentary about Europe’s quest to responsibly mine the energytransition metals that are needed to manufacture the cleantech products for the transition to climateneutrality.

🎬 Premiere at DOCVILLE (27 March 2024, 20h, Aula Vesalius)
The film will premiere in Leuven during the DOCVILLE film festival. After the film a high-level panel discussion will take place, featuring Ia Modin, Julia Poliscanova (she/her), Nick Meynen, Peter Tom Jones, John Vandaele. (+ reception). [Tickets]

🎬 Why this documentary?
The CriticalRawMaterialsAct sets benchmarks for diversifying Europe’s critical raw materials supply chains, making Europe less dependent on China, Russia et al. By 2030 Europe needs to achieve at least 10% of domestic extraction of lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper and rare earths. Hence, Europe will need no less than a Mining Renaissance. Not the dirty coal mining of old, which fuels the global heating problem, but future-oriented, responsible mining of the metals that are needed to catalyse Europe’s climate change strategy.

In order to understand how socially & environmentally responsible mining can come to fruition, the film’s presenter, Peter Tom Jones, travelled to the far North of Sweden and Southern Finland. He descended 1,400 m underground to explore the underground mine/deposit in the Arctic town of Kiruna, and visited Europe’s largest open pit copper mine and its tailing ponds in Aitik. Both mining operations are driven by local, green electricity. To obtain a view of the indigenous people of the far North, Jones engaged with a key spokesperson from the reindeer-herding Sami. He also met with local citizens in Kiruna.

In Finland he got to visit a bespoke battery assembly plant that is demanding more EU-sourced input materials, while in Belgium he interviewed various experts about Europe’s CRM potential. In Flanders he witnessed pilot trials in which mining waste is transformed into low-carbon concrete, driving the move to a (near) zero-waste approach. Jones sat down in Brussels with the EC’s EVP Maroš Šefčovič. Will Europe secure its strategic autonomy? Will the “strategic projects” within the CRMA – that would benefit from access to finance and shorter permitting timeframes – trigger the opening of new mines before 2030? Or will anti-mining opposition and NIMBYism throw a spanner in the wheel?

🙏 Team: Stijn van Baarle (STORYRUNNER) Peter Tom Jones Michael Van de Velde Jerome De Meyere Casimir De Kimpe Marius Acke Jasper Vander Elst
🙏 With: Jan Moström (LKAB, Euromines), Ulrika Huhtaniska (LKAB), Stefan Mikaelsson, Anders Sand & Mohammad Khoshkhoo (Boliden), Matthew Congleton (Valmet Automotive), Maroš Šefčovič (EC), Liesbeth Horckmans (VITO), Anne-Gwénaëlle Guezennec (BRGM), Thomas Lapauw (ResourceFull)
🙏 SIM2 KU Leuven SOLVOMET R&I Centre

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