Newsletter 1/2013
Mining's contribution to Economic Growth and Community Development in Europe

Europe is considering a re-industrialisation. The Minerals industry is a major driver of the economy, occupying a primary position at the start of the resource supply chain. Minerals and Mining exploration have brought significant economic opportunities in Europe such as jobs in the areas where unemployment levels are high.

On 24 June 2013, the European Commission adopted a Report on the implementation of the Raw Materials Initiative. The aim of this report is to present the current state of play with respect to the implementation of the Raw Materials Initiative and provide an overview of the ongoing initiatives while highlighting the joint interest for the EU and third countries rich in raw materials to work in partnership.

The Kittilä mine, owned and operated by Agnico Eagle and located in the Municipality of Kittilä in northern Finland is the largest gold mine in Europe. The mine contributes greatly to the social and economic development of the local community and the Lapland region through taxes paid directly to the government as well as through wages and salaries paid to employees. The mine employs numerous contractors, creates new employment, and makes significant payments to suppliers for goods and services. The mine also contributes to the development of the region though indirect job creation and small business development in surrounding communities, and upgrading of local infrastructure.

The contribution of mining to Greece’s economic growth and cultural development has a history as old as the civilization itself.  Since 1,000 B.C., Greeks have been using their mineral resources to build cities, establish trade networks and expand empires.  Revenues from the high-grade silver mines of Laurion, south of Athens in Attica, financed the emergence of Athens as a cultural, economic and military capital in the 5th century B.C.  Poetry, philosophy, architecture and quality of life all flourished as Athens expanded as a trading and naval power.  Further north, the gold deposits of central Macedonia and Thrace funded Alexander the Great’s conquest east and the creation of an empire that, at its peak between 334-323 B.C., stretched across three continents.

Polish mining company KGHM, after taking over the Canadian company Quadra FNX (KGHM International Ltd. today) aspires to be one of the biggest global players in the metals market, with a copper resource base which is the fourth-largest globally.

Thanks to EMED Mining, lethargy at Rio Tinto is a thing of the past as she rises once again to power as a European resources producer.

As part of the Greek island complex of the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea, Milos was the “result” of volcanic eruptions on land and beneath the sea, an activity which continued for hundreds of thousands of years. The volcanic “heritage” of Milos consists of a broad range of minerals & rocks, such as obsidian, pumice, sulfur, alunite, kaolin, perlite, bentonite, manganese etc. As opposed to other Greek islands, Milos’ comparative advantage lays exactly on its geologic heritage and the wealth created from the various mining activities throughout the centuries.