CEMBUREAU participates in European Minerals Conference

The European Minerals Conference, hosted by the Spanish Presidency in Madrid on June 16-18, 2010, managed to gather the key players of the European Commission dealing with the Raw Materials Initiative, and counted on the presence of the European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, responsible for Industry and Entrepreneurship, who closed the event. The focus of the European Minerals Conference was the interim results of the cooperative work of the Minerals Industry with the European Commission and its working groups on the Raw Materials Initiative, launched by the Commission in 2008, whose reports will be launched at the Raw Materials Supply Group meeting today, 25 June, 2010.

The definition of the 14 most critical raw materials has been the top priority of the Raw Materials Initiative, but the Minerals Industry has gained support and visibility to their concerns related to securing access to raw materials from European resources. CEMBUREAU and OFICEMEN were among the collaborators of the European Minerals Conference, as well as cement/aggregates companies, as sponsors. Figures on the cement industry showing the relevance of the sector were presented and the CEMBUREAU partnership in the European Minerals Day was highlighted.

The Minerals Industry has recommended the Raw Materials Initiative to adopt these proposals and to incorporate them in the final communication on the Initiative expected by end-2010, which was acknowledged by the European Commission at the event.

The Minerals Day conference programme can be found here:
http://www.madrid2010rmi.com/programa_en.pdf