Sharpening The Exploration

SHARPER Project is related to the specific work programme topic New sustainable exploration technologies and geomodels (SC5-11d-2015), for the Societal Challenge Growing a Low Carbon, Resource Efficient Economy with a Sustainable Supply of Raw Materials, H2020-SC5-2015-one-stage, Sub call of: H2020-SC5-2014-2015. The general objective of SHARPER Project is to address improvement and efficiency of exploration techniques by: Implementing and applying novel remote sensing, geochemical and geophysical techniques. Integrating and combining new and conventional exploration and monitoring techniques. Testing and applying in the frame of industrial (raw materials) exploitation sites. Showing risk and hazard mitigation. Demonstration of new efficiency and safety of new exploration techniques, integration and geomodelling. We will approach the research objectives, from space, from the ground and in the subsurface by applying established techniques of imaging spectroscopy, geophysical surveying and geochemical analysis at different scales. Our approach will cover the full range of exploration scales: from space to subsurface. Two main activities will be the aim of SHARPER Project: – To develop new cost-effective exploration concepts and technologies providing high quality data and information including high resolution 3D geo-data. – To interpret the information through geo-models in order to facilitate both finding new mineral deposits as well as fostering industry investment to mining. Based on this general objective, these are the complementary objectives of SHARPER Project: 1 Reduce geological uncertainties in the exploration through applying novel remote sensing, geochemical and geophysical techniques and through an integrated approach of combining these data on a physical basis. 2 Enhancing the sustainable utilization of commercial resources exploitation through improved access to mineral resources, characterization of heterogeneities before mining, minimized excavation, re-use of excavated rocks. 3 Mitigation of geological and man-made risks in mining processes including induced seismicity and slope stability. 4 Development of a remote sensing framework for mine waste monitoring to support sustainable land management. 5 Improvements of air blast monitoring in quarries to reduce effects in neighbourhood and increase mining efficiency

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