How can universities and students increase domestic raw material knowledge to help production? Possibilities through examples

Abstract

The European Union is one of the world's largest raw material consumers; however, the EU's share in global mineral raw material production is small. This creates a risk, because the economy depends on other countries/regions. To avoid this situation the EU encourages its members to increase exploration for and better exploitation of mineral resources. There are many historical and abandoned mining areas across Europe that could have high economic potential in the future. In this paper we would like to present through examples a method demonstrating how universities and students can provide data and new aspects for prospective research, governments and exploration companies. Our study shows that students with an interest in economic geology during their education could give us new perspectives and possibilities for supporting the national economies and the EU, as well.