and coastal defence.
Gypsum is used primarily
The extractive industries play an important role in
the economic development of our society. Not only
do they generate wealth and provide hundreds of
thousands of jobs throughout Europe, they also
produce the basic raw materials which are essential
to build the necessary infrastructure and housing to
meet society’s needs, and contribute in a major way
to technological developments.
The extractive industries have made a strong
commitment to further improve their performance in
both environmental protection and social
development. This report provides the first set of
sustainability indicators, which will track the
industry’s progress over the past and coming years
and enable the industry to demonstrate its
performance.
1. BACKGROUND
1.1 Origins and purpose
Europe is rich in natural resources and the
extraction and supply of minerals play a crucial
role in the European economy and society as it
has done for thousands of years. Minerals are
used in our every-day life, e.g. construction
materials (crushed rock, sand and gravel) for
infrastructure, buildings, and roads; for
industrial purposes (e.g. metals, lime, kaolin,
silica sand, talc); in the production of steel,
cars, computers; in medicines, in human and
animal food, and fertilizers. To a large extent,
demand for the wide range of minerals
exploited in the EU is strongly influenced by the
business cycle of downstream sectors, such as
the construction and steelmaking industries. In
this respect, the extractive industry differs from
many other forms of manufacturing.
The non-energy extractive industry in Europe
(i.e. excluding minerals used for fuel) is usually
divided into three sub-sectors: metallic
minerals, industrial minerals and construction
minerals. The total annual turnover of these
three sub-sectors in the EU is approximately
€30 billion1, while direct employment in the EU
is estimated to be 190.000 people. More than
70.000 people are thought to be employed in
the industry in the acceding countries2.
Industry representatives estimate that the
indirect employment provided by the industry is
up to 4 times the above figures.
The three sub-sectors are characterised by
their exceptional diversity.
The construction minerals sub-sector is by far
the largest both in terms of tonnage and sales
revenue. It consists predominantly of small and
medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with over
20.000 sites supplying local and regional
markets with materials such as sand and gravel
and crushed rock (aggregates) for construction
and railway ballast and armourstone for flood
1 Turnover and employment figures for 2001 are based on
Eurostat data.
2 Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,
Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
in buildings where, for example, plasterboard is
used for interior lining. Crude gypsum is also
used in the production of cement. The
construction minerals sub-sector also provides
the raw material used in the manufacture of
other vital construction products such as ready-
mixed concrete, asphalt, lime and cement.
There are also a number of multinational
quarrying companies, which supply more distant
markets. Substantial amounts of sand and gravel
are also extracted from the seabed. In general,
the widespread distribution of sand and gravel,
and hard rock resources, and the relatively low
price of the product, means that transport costs
significantly influence the distance to markets.
EU production in this sub-sector is responsible
for meeting over 20% of global demand.
The industrial minerals sub-sector provides a
wide range of minerals which can be loosely
classified as either ‘physical’ minerals (that is,
minerals valued for their physical properties, for
example, calcium carbonates, diatomite, kaolin,
plastic clays, bentonite, feldspar, silica, and talc)
or ‘chemical’ minerals (minerals valued for their
chemical properties, for example, borates, salt,
potash and sulphur). Extraction of one more
industrial undertaken is in all of the EU Member
States, although some countries are more
important than others for producing particular
minerals. There is much international trade of
some industrial minerals3. The sub-sector in
the EU is mainly composed of small and
medium-sized enterprises. However, it also
includes the world's leading international
production companies, operating on a global
basis (e.g. in talc). Processing of the minerals
before sale can be simple (mainly crushing,
grinding and classifying) but may also be more
sophisticated for some mineral types (e.g.
mineral sorting using flotation, laser optics,
magnetic separation, or calcination).
The EU metal mining sub-sector is composed
of around 250 enterprises, which includes
some major multinational mining companies,
which have their headquarters in the EU.
European companies compete in a global
market and most metallic ores are imported to
supply the European metallic industry. EU metal
3 See for instance the “World Mineral Statistics” publications by
the British Geological Survey
mining accounts for only 3% of world
production. The metals mining sub-sector is
located in many of the EU-15 countries, and in
particular in some of the more Northern and
Southern countries, such as Sweden, Finland,
Greece, Spain and Portugal. New mines
continue to be developed, and provide
employment and economic growth in regions,
which have difficulties attracting other forms of
investment. As metals and their ores and
concentrates are traded on international
markets European metal mines face strong
competition from large-scale, high-grade
overseas operations capable of producing
metal ores and concentrates under low cost
conditions. The industry has made large efforts
to reduce overall cost levels through
rationalisations and increasing capital intensity.
Overall the minerals
trade balance is
negative, showing a
strong dependence of
the EU on imports for
its raw material supply.
The European raw
minerals extractive
industry is under public
scrutiny more than ever
following a number of
recent incidents such
as the tailings dam
failures at metalliferous mining sites at
'
Aznalcollar (Spain) and at Baia Mare (Romania).
However, more generally, public awareness
concerning the environmental and societal
performance of industry has shifted in the last
twenty years and has led to a change in
European policy strategies - requiring more
secure and responsible industries whilst
maintaining the competitiveness of the different
sectors. This is particularly true for the
extractive industries.
In May 2000 the European Commission
published a Communication on “Promoting
sustainable development in the EU non-energy
extractive industry” (COM (2000) 265). Its aim
was to set broad policy lines for promoting
sustainable development in the EU non-energy
extractive industry. It invited Member States,
industry and other stakeholders to participate in
the development of a framework to improve
dialogue with the intention that this should lead
to identifiable targets, a timetable for their
achievement and concrete actions. Following
this Communication several legislative initiatives
were launched by the Commission to improve
the environmental legislative framework,
focussing, in particular, on accident prevention
and waste management. In addition, the IPTS4
in Seville, with close support from the extractive
industry and other stakeholders, has been
developing technical guidance on the
management of tailings and waste rock in the
extractive industries. This “Best Available
Technologies Reference Document (BAT)” will
describe existing technologies and provide
guidance to regulators, the industry and others
on best practice in the management of such
wastes.
However, legislation is
only part of the
process. As the
Communication clearly
identified, improved
dialogue between the
main stakeholders and
increased use of
voluntary initiatives are
central to achieving a
more sustainable
minerals industry. As a
first step towards
improving dialogue
between stakeholders, and increasing the
transparency of the industry, a working group
was set up under the umbrella of the Raw
Materials Supply Group5 (RMSG) to develop
sustainable development indicators for the
sector.
This report provides the results of the first data
collection exercise – covering the year 2001.
This is to be an ongoing activity, and it is
intended that through repeated surveys, a time
series can be developed to enable an
assessment of trends. At this time, it covers
only the countries of the EU15. It is hoped that
4 Institute for Prospective Technological Studies
5 The Raw Materials Supply Group consists of representatives
from Member States, acceding countries, candidate countries,
industry federations, trade unions and NGOs. It discusses and
exchanges information on issues of sustainable competitiveness
that affect the EU non-energy extractive industry.
it will be possible to extend the exercise to
include acceding countries in the near future.
1.2 Objectives and target audiences
Indicators are a frequently used instrument for
the monitoring of sustainable development
achievements6. They have to be acknowledged
by a wide range of stakeholders. They must
also meet the needs of the public and
policymakers.
The primary purposes of the set of indicators
developed by the Working Group are:
to encourage a dialogue at European and
Member States level about how the non-
energy extractive industry can best
contribute to a sustainable Europe;
to widen the range of information that will be
needed for an informed public dialogue;
to highlight trends and priorities related to
metal and mineral systems; and
to support an interim assessment of the
European progress towards its sustainability
goals in relation to non-renewable resources.
The outcomes of the initiative, the indicator
sets, are likely to be of interest to a number of
audiences:
industry itself can use the indicators to better
demonstrate their economic and social
welfare benefits as well as their
environmental efforts;
the national, regional or local administrations
who have to examine the performance of the
industry and to give access to land for
mineral extraction;
the general public including NGOs and the
media who are concerned with mining
activities in order to better understand the
industry’s needs and constraints;
financial institutions can use the results for
risk and liability assessments.
1.3 The stakeholder process
The Working Group was set-up in 2000 and
met eleven times, with extensive consultation
occurring between meetings. It was agreed at
6 A list containing a number of world-wide initiatives focusing on
the extractive industries is available.
the outset that the indicators should report
neutral, science-based information and not
imply by their wording a preconceived
conclusion about the contributions of non-
energy minerals to sustainability.
Following detailed discussions, a first list of 31
indicators was developed. This was subjected
to a pilot test at the end of 2001, which
involved 152 sites. As a result of this exercise,
the list was shortened to provide 13 priority
indicators covering the activity of the industry
(company level indicators) and 7 Member State
level indicators. They were chosen to describe
a broad range of attributes of the non-energy
extractive industry. They were not developed
with a specific regulatory or policy application in
mind, but instead were chosen because they
provide a useful picture of the sustainability of
the industry, while the data collection
requirements are considered to be achievable.
Representatives of the Member States,
however, identified that the data required to
construct the Member State level indicators
was problematic due to the lack of a legal base
for this exercise. It was therefore decided to
proceed with the data collection at company
level and to consider other means of obtaining
data at Member State level. Following
discussions with Eurostat, it was concluded
that it would be possible to provide data for
some of the desired indicators. In particular, on
the contribution the industry makes to the
Gross Domestic Product (measured as value
added at factor cost), material demand per
capita, and trade balance.
A questionnaire and guidance document
explaining how to complete it, was developed
for the company level indicators. This was then
circulated to individual companies via their trade
associations. It is stressed that the exercise
was voluntary, and companies were invited to
participate. The responses from companies
were sent to their associations, which collated
the data received, before forwarding the
aggregated data to the Commission. The
results for the metals and industrial mineral sub-
sectors are presented below. Unfortunately,
because of the large number of companies
supplying construction minerals, it did not prove
to be possible to obtain a meaningful set of
data for this sub-sector for 2001, so their
results are not presented in this report.
However, there is a clear commitment from this The total time worked during the year 2001 was between € 7 and €11million, and in Sweden € The average transport distance from the point
sub-sector to participate more fully in future just over 10 million hours (10.032.091hours). 21 million in 2001. of extraction to the point of sale amounted to:
data collection exercises. 321 km on roads, 288 km by rail, and 2.287 km
2.2 Development of skills 2.6 Communication to the Community by water. Approximately 62 % of all material
The following sections present the results of the was transported by road, 16 % by rail, and 22
The total number of hours of training reported The total number of events arranged for
data collected on the indicators for the metal % by water.
by the sub-sector during the year 2001 neighbouring communities, including open days
mining sub-sector (section 2), industrial
amounted to 134.400 which is 1,34% of the and guided tours as well as special information
minerals (section 3). Section 4 explains the 2.12 Environmental accidents
total hours worked in the sub-sector. evenings and discussions amounted to 621.
actions to be taken in respect of the The total number of reportable environmental
construction minerals sub-sector. The issue of Most sites (91%) had a system for registration
2.3 Health & Safety of employees and follow-up of citizen complaints in place. incidents7 during the year 2001 was 5.
validity and representativness of the data is then
discussed in section 5. The complete list of The total reported working time lost as a result
indicators, the questionnaire and a list of other of accidents during the year 2001 was 65.861 2.7 Energy efficiency
indicator initiatives focussing on the extractive in hours which was 0,66% of the total hours The average consumption of energy per tonne 3. INDICATORS FOR THE INDUSTRIAL
is available on the comission website. worked. The total number of hours of training of total saleable product during the year 2001 MINERALS SUB-SECTOR IN THE EU
on “Health & Safety” matters during 2001 was amounted to 1599 MJ.
37.228 hours which was 0,37 % of working – AS REPORTED FOR 2001
2. INDICATORS FOR THE METAL hours or 56% of all training. One fatal accident
was reported in the metals mining sub-sector. Although there is a general lack of accurate
MINING SUB-SECTOR IN THE EU 2.8 Water demand European statistics on industrial minerals, it is
- AS REPORTED FOR 2001 The average net water consumption per tonne estimated that of the total surveyed
membership, 40% reported data for these
of total saleable product during the year 2001
In terms of coverage, it 2.4 Turnover and R&D indicators. It is hoped that the response to this
was 1,21 m3.
is estimated that the Investment voluntary initiative will increase with each annual
companies that report.
The total turnover in the 2.9 Land management
provided data for the year 2001 – as reported –
survey for the year amounted to €1.080 The total land area in operation for metal ore Headline results
2001 represent 60% of million. The total extraction as reported was 12.083 hectares.
the total EU workforce expenditure on Research Due to some major rehabilitation projects the Employment total 17.150
in this sub-sector. & Technological rehabilitation rate over the whole used surface Material
According to Eurostat in 2001 was about 17 %. It is not expected that
Development during the produced in tonnes 47.885.000
data a total of 11.234 year 2001 (as reported) this rate will be the same every year, as it will
people are currently fluctuate considerably between years. However,
Hours worked 21.823.000
amounted to just over Turnover in € 3.691.000.000
employed in the metal €18 million. This equates there is currently a strong move towards
mining business in to an average of 1,7 % of underground mining at both existing and new
Europe. turnover being invested in R&D. It should be sites. 3.1 Employment
noted that most R&D in this sub-sector is In 2001, the reported figure for employment in
Headline results carried out by independent research institutes 2.10 Use of dangerous substances
the European industrial minerals industry was
and academia rather than directly through The use of dangerous substances (as defined 17.154 people, of whom 5.321 were
Employment total 6.700 companies. The largest metal mining houses by the EU directive) in mineral processing which contractors. The number of indirect jobs in
Ores and concentrates have their own research facilities, but they are have a potential risk to the environment and/or downstream industries linked to the sub-sector
produced in tonnes 25.430.000 located in Australia, South Africa and Canada, human health was approx. 257.000 tonnes is estimated to be four times as many as the
Hours worked 10.032.000 and not within Europe. which amounted to 1 % of the total tonnage of number of directly employed people. The
Turnover in Euro 1.080.319.000 material produced. number of working hours totalled nearly 22
2.5 Exploration costs million (21.823.399 hours).
The total exploration costs reported for the year
2.1 Employment 2001 were €18,33 million, which represents on 2.11 Transport constraints 3.2 Development of skills
In 2001 the metal mining industry reported a average 0,1 % of total turnover. However, it Reported figures for transport within the sub- A total of 267.935 hours of training was
workforce of 6.731 people, of whom 1.275 should be noted that exploration companies sector are limited, as the information about reported by the sub-sector in 2001, which
were contractors or other indirectly employed tend to be SMEs, which are not members of onward transport to the customer is not readily amounted to 1,23 % of the total hours worked.
people. The number of indirect jobs in trade associations. Much exploration activity will available to the industry. In many cases more
downstream industries linked to the sub-sector not, therefore, be included in this reporting than one form of transport will be used. The 7 Incident has been identified as an infringement of national
is estimated to be four times as many as the exercise. It is estimated, for example that following figures are therefore to be understood environmental legalisation. Examples include dam leakage,
discharges to air, solids discharge etc.
number of directly employed people. expenditure on exploration in Ireland was as an indication.

3.3 Health & Safety of employees
The total reported working time lost as a result
of accidents in 2001 amounted to 104.750
hours, which was 0.48% of total hours worked.
The total time spent on "Health & Safety"-
training for 2001 amounted to 67.121 hours
which was 0,31 % of work hours or 25 % of all
training. In 2001, 4 deaths were reported in the
industrial minerals mining sub-sector.
3.4 Turnover and R&D Investment
The total reported turnover in 2001 amounted
to € 3.691 million. The total reported R&D
expenditure in 2001 amounted to over € 66
million. On average, 1,8 % of turnover was
invested in R&D.
3.5 Exploration costs
The reported exploration costs in 2001
amounted to € 9.772.560, which represents on
average 0,26 % of the total turnover.
3.6 Communication to the Community
In 2001, the overall number of reported events
organised by the industry for neighbouring
communities totalled 1.723. This means that on
average 9,6 events were organised at each
extraction site. This includes open days and
guided tours as well as special information
evenings and discussions. Over three quarters
(78%) of sites which reported already
implemented a system that registers and deals
with citizens’ complaints.
3.7 Energy efficiency
The average reported energy use per tonne of
total saleable product was 505 MJ.
3.8 Water demand
On average, the total reported net water
consumption per tonne of total saleable
product was 0,57 m3.
3.9 Land management
In 2001, the total reported land area in
operation for industrial minerals extraction was
14.744 ha. In that year, 2.275 hectares were
opened up for extraction. The reported area
rehabilitated in 2001, was 1.490 hectares.
3.10 Use of dangerous substances
The reported use of dangerous substances (as
defined by the EU directive8) in mineral
processing was 3.700 tonnes or 0,008 % of
total tonnage of minerals produced.
3.11 Transport constraints
Reported figures for transport within the sub-
sector are limited as the information about
onward transport to the customer is not readily
available to the industry. The following figures
are therefore to be understood as an indication.
The average transport distance from the point of
extraction to the point of sale was 245 km by
road, 234 km by rail and 2.482 km by water.
Approximately 63 % (w/w) of all material went by
road, 15 % by rail, and 22 % by water transport.
3.12 Environmental incidents
There were 56 reportable environmental
incidents9 in 2001, which represents an
average of 0,25 incidents per site.
4 . I N D I C AT O R S FOR THE
CONSTRUCTION MINERALS INDUSTRY
IN THE EU – THE WAY FORWARD
The trade association organizing the collection
of data for the aggregates industry encountered
a number of difficulties, which led to
inconsistent data and misleading results. As the
data does not provide a representative picture
of the sub-sector, it is not considered
appropriate to report it at this stage. However,
the sub-sector has expressed its commitment
in principle to participate in the exercise. It is
therefore seeking to find ways to optimize its
response in the future. This includes shortening
the list to include only those indicators, which
are relevant to the sub-sector (for example, not
asking for data on the use of dangerous
substances for gold processing). Also, in view
of the very large number of companies, it is
envisaged that the data will be collected on a 2
to 3 yearly basis rather than annually.
8 Council Directive 67/548/EEC of 27 June 1967 on the
approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions
relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of
dangerous substances
9 Incident has been defined as an infringement of national
environmental legalisation. Possible examples include dam
leakage, discharges to air, solids discharge etc.
No indicator on its own can cover the wide
5. DISCUSSION range of issues associated with sustainability or
the contributions made by metal and minerals
to sustainability. Each indicator contributes to a
more complex whole, that is, a broader
The Working Group agreed that it would be
understanding of the role of mineral resources
inappropriate to produce an “official”
in a sustainable future. For that understanding
interpretation of the preliminary data. Instead,
to emerge, a concise set of indicators is
they are presented to encourage individuals and
needed which adequately characterises the
groups to make their own assessments,
metal and minerals industries. The overall
combining and interpreting the indicators as
they deem appropriate. The purpose of this meaning of the indicator set depends upon
section is therefore to discuss the general value-based decisions concerning what should
concept of using indicators to define this sub- be sustained, for whom, how, and at what point
in time. There are diverse opinions on each
sector, and to indicate similar ongoing exercises
outside of the EU. topic and, as a result, about how metal and
mineral resources and operations can and
As indicated in section 4, it was not possible to should contribute to sustainable development.
present data for the construction sub-sector at
this stage. However, the data for the The members of the Working Group anticipate
that most stakeholder groups would agree on
metalliferous sub-sector are estimated to
represent 60% of the companies in the EU some points of interpretation but disagree on
others. This diversity of thought should play a
(based on the numbers of employees rather
than turnover or other indices). For the industrial major part in the public debate about the role of
non-renewable resources in a sustainable
minerals sub-sector it is about 40%. It has to
be recognised that as this is the first time Europe.
companies have completed the questionnaire, it
World-wide there are many initiatives to
is difficult to assess the level of accuracy of
survey returns, or consistency in terms of produce sustainable development indicators, a
understanding of the questions. It is hoped that number of which are relevant to the extractive
in future years, the number of companies taking industry or closely related businesses. The most
part in the exercise will increase. To assist the relevant in the context of this report are briefly
process in the future, the clarity of the described on the comission website. In the
questionnaire and explanatory notes has been future, consideration should be given to making
improved. a comparison between the results obtained
from the different initiatives. To do this, there is
benefit in identifying a common set of core
indicators across all programmes.
Further information can be obtained from the EU website:
www. http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/steel/non-energy-extractive-industry/sd-indicators.htm
A report from the Raw Materials Supply Group,
a stakeholder group chaired by Directorate-General for Enterprise,
European Commission, print sponsored by Euromines.
Graphic design: VDHO +32 475 60 30 74
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