The Smart Exploration initiative answered the challenge offered by H2020 (SC5-13c-2016-2017) for ‘New solutions for sustainable production of raw materials – New sensitive exploration technologies’.

The Smart Exploration project was created to address the challenges surrounding the exploration of mineral resources that are vital to the economy and technological advancement within the EU. The project officially started on 1 December 2017 and has a planned runtime of 36 months. The project has been assigned just over €5.2 million under grant agreement no. 775971.

The project will primarily focus on developing cost-effective, environmentally-friendly tools and methods for geophysical exploration in highly challenging brownfield areas to meet the ever-increasing community (social acceptance) and environmental issues, as well as reduce the return time (from exploration to production).

At the same time, long-term greenfield exploration is essential and reducing exploration costs in these regions can have great consequences for development rates and a sustainable supply of raw materials at the same rate as whole world growth. Therefore, new innovative ideas will also be tested for greenfield exploration to increase the potential of finding new major deposits of relevance to the EU.

The aim is to not only generate new technological and methodological markets for the EU, but to create results that will also allow for improved exploration in the EU countries and beyond.