September 30, 2026

From GoldenEye to Mine Reuse: EUL Chair Presents Mining Technology Lifecycle Perspective at EGU26

The European Underground Laboratories Association was represented at the EGU General Assembly 2026, held in Vienna on 3–8 May 2026.

On 7 May, EUL Chair Jari Joutsenvaara, together with Ossi Kotavaara from the University of Oulu and Marko Paavola from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, presented Earth Observations and Proximity Sensing Technologies: Safer, More Sustainable, More Efficient Mining.

The presentation drew on experience from the Horizon 2020 GoldenEye project and examined how Earth observation, positioning and proximity-sensing technologies can contribute to safer, more efficient and more environmentally responsible mineral production.

Importantly, the work considered mining as a complete lifecycle rather than focusing only on exploration and extraction. The same technologies that support mineral exploration and active mining can also contribute to mine closure, post-closure monitoring, environmental recovery and the assessment of opportunities for future mine reuse.

The GoldenEye project provided practical environments in which these technologies could be tested under realistic mining conditions. One of the project’s field-trial locations was Callio Lab at the Pyhäsalmi mine in Finland, where trials included monitoring of tailings areas and the testing of underground positioning technologies.

For EUL, this lifecycle perspective is particularly relevant. Underground laboratories and former mines can provide valuable environments for testing technologies, collecting long-term monitoring data and developing new research and innovation activities after conventional mining operations have ended.

The EGU26 presentation also introduced themes developed further in a forthcoming publication on Earth observation and proximity-sensing technologies in mining, drawing together lessons from GoldenEye and related research.

A separate EUL feature will follow once the book is published.