1. Raw Materials Conference 2017
Successful raw material governance
Edmund Nickless, Chair, International Union of Geological Sciences , New Strategic Implementation Committee

2. The last 50 years
Improvement in the standard of living of many of the world’s poorest has been driven in large measure by technological development
That development has depended on the use of an increasingly wide range of metallic elements

3. Some trends

4. SDGs and the Paris Agreement

5. An illustration of the problem

6. Barriers to mining

7. Sustainable mining?
Demand for all raw materials has risen dramatically
Substitution, recycling and usage efficiency improvements will not be enough on their own
Projections for energy technology, urbanisation and economic growth will dramatically increase demand for all raw materials
The more obvious deposits have been discovered and lower grade deposits are being work from increasing depths
The rate of new discovery is not keeping pace with exhaustion of deposits
Need to forestall unpredictable yet inevitable supply shortages in decades to come

8. The Brundtland Commission
Our Common Future (1987) defined sustainable development as
“development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs“
And introduced two key concepts
the concept of "needs", in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given;
the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs

9. New Activities Strategic Implementation Committee
NASIC established by IUGS in 2013 to implement a new initiative called Resourcing Future Generations
Comprises members from industry, government and academia (geoscience and the social sciences)
RFG as originally envisaged was to include raw materials, energy and water but is currently focused on raw materials
We have consulted industry, published papers, and convened a workshop comprising 17 scientists and social scientist in Windhoek, Namibia, July 2015

10. What are our recommendations?
Develop international guidelines for global mineral consumption
Raise awareness of the impacts of mineral consumption from source to product. Individuals and nations need to be accountable for their resource use
Support industry investment and research into new mineral exploration and extraction technologies
Develop global best practice for responsible mineral resource development

11. Resource governance
There are issues regarding natural resources, continuity of supply and sustainable development
Intergenerational equity and resource husbandry
– is it better to leave them in the ground?
How do we minimise environmental impact?
How do we deal with land-use conflict?
Where does responsibility for use lie - with individuals (consumers), mining companies, national governments, the international community?
Unless we know better how much there is, how can we decide how best to use natural resources?

12. Some conclusions
Increasing human population, the aspirations of the developing world and a burgeoning middle class will increase demand for metals and minerals
Mitigation of climate change and development of new energy generating and transmission technologies will add to that demand
There are likely to be shortages in supply
The current lack of investment in exploration could exacerbate the problem
International agreement using existing institutional structures on a new form of resource governance is needed to allow exploration and mining to continue in existing areas and to open up new frontiers

13. Speaker 4: Petter Nore

14. Speaker 5: Willem Henk Streekstra