Saxon Raw Material Strategy The raw material economy – An opportunity for the Free State of Saxony Contents 1. Foreword __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 04 2. Raw materials critical for industry ______________________________________________________________________________ 06 2.1 Raw material mining in the economic value chain __________________________________________________________________ 08 2.2 Developing available raw materials _____________________________________________________________________________ 09 3. Federal and EU strategies (European and national framework conditions) ________________________________________________ 10 4. Raw materials in Saxony ______________________________________________________________________________________ 11 4.1 Local raw materials _________________________________________________________________________________________ 11 4.2 Lignite ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 12 4.3 Pit & quarry natural resources _________________________________________________________________________________ 13 4.4 Ore and spar _______________________________________________________________________________________________ 14 4.5 Secondary raw materials – reclamation potential ___________________________________________________________________ 17 4.5.1 Availability and potential for substitution ________________________________________________________________ 18 4.5.2 Improving the knowledge base _________________________________________________________________________ 20 4.5.3 Legal framework conditions and competition _____________________________________________________________ 21 4.5.4 Technological and logistic challenges ___________________________________________________________________ 21 4.5.5 Waste exports _____________________________________________________________________________________ 22 4.5.6 Reclaiming rare earths _______________________________________________________________________________ 22 4.6 Geothermal energy __________________________________________________________________________________________ 22 5. Raw materials expertise as the basis for a modern economy __________________________________________________________ 23 6. Technology transfer – What can Saxony offer? _____________________________________________________________________ 25 7. A need for skilled labour ______________________________________________________________________________________ 26 8. Guidelines and objectives of Saxon raw material policy ______________________________________________________________ 28 8.1 Local primary raw materials: Saxony as a land of mining _____________________________________________________________ 28 8.2 Secondary raw materials: Saxony as a land of secondary raw materials _________________________________________________ 29 8.3 Saxony as a hub of the raw material economy _____________________________________________________________________ 30 8.4 International co-operations ____________________________________________________________________________________ 30 8.5 Saxon raw materials research __________________________________________________________________________________ 31 8.6 Skilled specialists for the raw material economy ___________________________________________________________________ 31 8.7 Saxon administration ________________________________________________________________________________________ 32 8.8 Awareness of raw materials ___________________________________________________________________________________ 32 9. Implementing the Saxon raw material policy ______________________________________________________________________ 33 10. Appendix (maps) ____________________________________________________________________________________________ 36 | 03 Foreword Dear readers, mining-related raw materials – such as pit & quarry natural resources, coal, ore and spar – and secondary materials reclaimed from waste, which can substitute mined raw materials. “Everything comes from the mine.” This old German saying not only attests to the pride of The issue of renewable raw materials has purposely not been incorporated into this strategy, our miners; in its simplicity, it also describes something many people no longer even realise: just as the challenges associated with designing production processes in terms of material that raw materials are an indispensable basis for everything around us that we take for granted efficiency, such as saving raw materials in production processes and product design, have simi- every day. larly been left undiscussed. This is the subject of other strategic considerations and publications. Many people consider mining to be too dirty and outdated. An ever-developing economy, The present raw material strategy establishes the guidelines, objectives and tasks of the Saxon though – be it industry, agriculture or trade –, a future-oriented infrastructure, a changing raw material policy, whose main aim is to help devise framework conditions to revive local mobility concept, modern information and communication technology, or even a modern health mining and further develop the secondary resource industry in Saxony. system could not exist without mineral resources. Another of our aims is to continue promoting the Free State as a raw material hub, and impro- Germany’s reliable supply of raw materials – in terms of quantity and quality, as well as ving opportunities for the Saxon raw material economy. Martin Dulig its ever-changing diversity – is a key pre-requisite for our added value. The availability of The raw material strategy remains in effect and up-to-date. Initial tasks have been tackled, and Saxon State Minister for those resources will thus continue to be an important factor for growth and our society’s the first results are already visible. One noteworthy example here is the ROHSA, a key project Economic Affairs, wealth in the future. run as part of the strategy, and which has achieved great success in digitising the existing Labour and Transport Given Germany’s dependency on importing a number of raw materials, particularly metals, our geological data for spar and ore and making this accessible to the economy. This has attracted economy needs to come to terms with the global raw material situation, primarily characterised worldwide attention, and has resulted in around 50 mining permits (exploration and mining by the widespread geographic distribution of deposits, growing worldwide demand, and a approvals) so far being issued. It gives us confidence that ore and spar mining recommence in dramatically evolving range of raw materials. the Ore Mountains in the future. Coupled with this are political challenges associated with countries producing these Implementing the raw material strategy is the responsibility of the entire community. It is resources, rising social challenges, and greater requirements placed on the environment by further a particular priority of mine to ensure people are made more aware of the importance mining. The complexity of all those factors makes it impossible for them to be totally of raw materials in developing our society. A growing, knowledge-based awareness of these controlled. The German economy’s resulting dependencies, which are far from clear-cut, can, raw materials is just as valuable to our community as clear, economically-based environmental for example, be influenced by clever actions in international raw material policy. Another option awareness and social awareness based on human values. for reducing dependencies – increasing usage of our local raw materials and the expertise of To modify the mining saying I mentioned at the start: “Everything comes from raw materials.” the local raw material economy, both in mining and recycling – is one within our own control. This has always been the case, and will continue to be so in the future. Saxony has considerable potential when it comes to local primary raw materials used in a wide variety of sectors, and the secondary raw materials obtained from waste are also becoming an Because securing raw materials means securing the future. increasingly important, if not even indispensable source. Primary and secondary materials from local sources thus not only help minimise dependencies on international raw material markets using them also plays a key part in regional value creation and securing jobs. One source of regional value creation which cannot be overstated is the traditionally strong degree of networking between numerous stakeholders in both the Saxon and international raw material economy. Here in the Free State, stakeholders associated with raw material research and education, as well as our mining administration, make a significant contribution towards ensuring Saxon raw material economy is focused on the future. As the German miners used to say, Glück auf! The “Saxon Raw Material Strategy” passed by the Cabinet in 2012 aims to integrate this potential into an overarching economic scheme for a sustainable raw material economy. It is intended Martin Dulig to serve as a guide for the Free State’s raw material policy, with a conscious focus on primary Saxon State Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport 04 | | 05 2. Raw materials critical for industry Analyses of company surveys conducted by the Institute for Futures Studies and Technology The increased demand among future technologies proportionate to today’s worldwide