A discreet but vital part of our economy, mineral resources have always constituted an important sector of economic activity, without which our everyday technological environment would be very different, since metals and mineral materials - ceramics, glass, cement, plaster, pigments, cosmetics - have been components of our civilizations since their origins. Recently, the finiteness of available reserves has been called into question by media coverage of crises in critical metals such as rare earths and lithium. The exploitation of these resources also poses major challenges in terms of wealth distribution and environmental impact, notably due to the considerable increase in quantities extracted (linked to the drop in ore grade), raising questions about the future development of mining activity. The field of mineral resources thus represents a field of reflection between economic, ecological and societal acceptability, while at the same time providing unique information on the functioning of our planet and our environment, both through the conditions of deposit formation and the functioning of ecosystems impacted by mining activity. The subject, which initially focused on earth and environmental sciences, now encompasses a wide range of disciplines: materials science (transformation of mineral raw materials, rare metals, innovative minerals, etc.), engineering science (process engineering, energy costs, recycling and re-use), as well as socio-economic, political and historical aspects (relations with territories and peoples, and the role of raw materials in the development of civilizations).
Mineral resources have marked the development of humankind, with the use of raw materials gradually giving way to the elaboration of materials transformed by technologies that have undergone successive revolutions. Today, questions about the sustainability of mineral resources, the environmental and societal impacts of their exploitation, and the sharing of mineral wealth - all of which contribute to the evolution of the world's major socio-economic balances - make this field a unique field of observation of our world and the past, present and future use of the wealth at our disposal.
Organization of lectures
The lectures presented cross-disciplinary visions of mineral resources, aiming to connect a number of key areas, by cross-referencing complementary knowledge from different disciplines: structure-property relationships in minerals, mechanisms of useful substance concentration and deposit formation, specific aspects of the impacts of mining activities, resource sustainability, critical and strategic metals, etc.
The opening lecture was followed by eight lectures and a seminar with guest speakers. The Chair's activities were rounded off by a conference-event entitled "Exceptional Minerals, Useful Minerals" on the Paris mineralogical collections (a collection unique in the world) and a final colloquium presenting the complementary visions of speakers from academic, professional and institutional circles.