The Future of Mining

Today we are talking to Dr Sarah Weihmann and Dr. Frank Charlier at RWTH Aachen University’s chair of Repository safety. Who are researching how to safely manage, store and disposal of spent nuclear fuel.  Understanding how this waste is managed is critical for the future of nuclear energy in Europe, regaining public acceptance and building awareness is perhaps even more critical now that other en...

Today we are talking to Professor Tobias Vraetz at RWTH Aachen University’s department of Advanced Mineral Processing Technologies at the faculty of Geo-resources and Materials Engineering. Tobias recently joined RWTH, so it is a great opportunity to catch up with him and see what he has planned. What research topics he is focused on and where he sees mining education developing in the coming year...

The 2025 cohort of the EMC (European Mining Course) have arrived in Aachen for their 2nd semester. They share their insights into the program and thoughts on the future of mining in Europe. If your interested in learning more about the program please visit https://femp.org/about-the-european-mining-course/

2025 has been an important year for the mining industry in Europe, the critical raw material act starts to gain some real results, so I'm looking back on 2025 and thinking about what it might mean for the future. Sources / reading for show notes (key references): ·       JRC / Raw Materials Information System (RMIS) — supply/demand analysis and battery raw-materials commentary.  RMIS - Raw Mat...

Dr Ben Wilson is a senior Scientist at Aalto Universities School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering. We discuss article he recently co-write with Professor Mari Lundström title "Five things everyone should know about the materials powering the green Transition" and he share his insights into the critical raw material processing, recycling and into how BATCircle 3.0 is impacting th...

Prof. Rodrigo Serna is the head of department for the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering at Aalto University, and also chair of FEMP so has a unique perspective share with us on how mining education is evolving to better suit the needs of both industry and students. We also discuss innovation and what is driving the future of mining within the critical raw material processing sector....

I always have to laugh when I hear that Tesla are going to be launching their autonomous taxi, I think Musk has been says it’s just around the corner for the last 10 years. Meanwhile Autonomous haul trucks have already moved billions of tons of material at mines in multiple continents.  So this week I’ve been think about how Autonomy will impact potential students entering the industry. I start of...

Recently geopolitical tension has really highlighted the need for action to secure our supply of critical raw materials and reindustrialise Europe.    I was encouraged by my recently visit to the Raw Material Summit in Brussels, where the call to action is gaining momentum.   So this week I’ve been think about how the act will impact potential students entering the industry.   I’m confident the in...

The Future of Mining podcast episode 1. Mining Education for the future: Attracting new talent to the industry. Thinking about how Academia and Industry can work together to attract the next generation of Mining Engineers? For more information about FEMP click here https://femp.org