Optimising quality of information in RAw MAterials data collection across Europe (ORAMA)

Research Project, 2017 – 2019

The ORAMA project focuses on optimising data collection for primary and secondary raw materials in Member States. A cornerstone to the EIP on Raw Materials is the development of the EU knowledge base on primary and secondary raw materials, commenced by a series of European-funded projects. As the next iteration, ORAMA addresses specific challenges related to data availability, geographical coverage, accessibility, standardisation, harmonisation, interoperability, quality, and thematic coverage in Member States.

ORAMA will analyse data collection methods and recommendations from past and ongoing projects to identify best practices, develop practical guidelines and provide training to meet specific needs. These actions will demonstrate how to improve datasets for mineral occurrences, minerals intelligence data, economic, technical, environmental and social data for primary and secondary raw materials.

For primary raw materials, the focus is on harmonisation and improved coverage of spatial and statistical data, ensuring compliance with the INSPIRE Directive where appropriate. For Mining Waste, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, End of Life Vehicles and Batteries, the focus is on developing ‘INSPIRE-alike’ protocols. The unified data model from the Minerals4EU and ProSUM projects will be applied to the datasets and outcomes will be combined with primary raw materials data. ORAMA will demonstrate how to create more robust Material Systems Analysis studies and reliable Sankey diagrams for stocks and flows of specific raw materials. Information is made accessible and compatible with the JRC’s Raw Materials Information System to feed, for instance, future Raw Materials Scoreboard and Criticality Assessment studies.

In the long term, ORAMA empowers the wider EU raw materials community with necessary facts to support policy decisions and sustainable investments in the primary and secondary raw material industries.