Society and new European Union (EU) regulations demand a transition of the
extractive sector, whereas at the same time resources are urgently needed. Due to
the technological advances both in sensors and in image processing and analysis
tools, Earth Observation (EO) data has a rapidly increasing potential in various
fields, and the extractive sector is one of them. Lower ore grades, environmen-
tal restrictions, health and safety obligations, technological efficiency and social
acceptance are some factors that will eventually impose the adoption of innova-
tions in mining during the whole supply chain and mine life cycle (Steen et al.
2019). Nowadays, EO data and remote sensing techniques provide the capabil-
ity to effectively monitor mining activities and their compliance with respective
guidelines during their life cycle while being non-invasive and cost-effective,
throughout all mine phases. Yet there isn’t any integrative approach where the
scientific knowledge of EO methods and applications systematically serves as
tools for transforming the extractive industry. Therefore, besides the technical
developments and implementation of innovative methods for analysing EO data,
research in the ‘Secure and Sustainable Supply of Raw Materials for EU Industry’
(S34I – https://s34i.eu/) project aims to unlock the potential of EO data to support
the sustainability transition of the extractive industry. An expected outcome also
lies in decreasing supply chain risks and increasing transparency for stakeholders,
thereby contributing to the achievement of the social license to operate (SLO).
To do that, social survey methods like interviews and questionnaires are implemented to capture the viewpoint of multidisciplinary stakeholders, highlighting
the most crucial concerns and identifying potential opportunities to address them
through EO. Moreover, collecting the existing datasets and the technical require-
ments corresponding to each use case defines the specifics of implementing EO
data at each site and supports the technical part of the project with the relevant
information to meet their objectives. The considering workflow is divided into
four tasks.