Major innovative research project (STOICISM) launched under FP7 for the “New environmentally friendly approaches to mineral processing”

In mid 2011, as a response to the shortage of some minerals in global markets and the sky rocketing of commodity prices, the European Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7) launched its bids for large projects under the umbrella of Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and New Production Technologies (NMP) which included “NMP.2012. 4.1-1: New environmentally friendly approaches to mineral processing”. It was recognized through the EU Raw Materials Initiative and Europe 2020 that there was also a need to improve all raw materials efficiency to remain as self-sufficient and self-sustainable as possible. The overall objective was to develop new, innovative, clean and resource efficient mineral processing routes and technologies to use better the mineral raw materials. The proposal had to address the whole life cycle from raw material extraction to high grade marketable material of one or more selected metallic, industrial or construction minerals.