Browsing by Author "Kirsch, Moritz"

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Open Access
Development of sustainable test sites for mineral exploration and knowledge spillover for industry
(2020) Kesselring, Michaela; Wagner, Frank; Kirsch, Moritz; Ajjabou, Leila; Gloaguen, Richard
Open Access
Knowledge and technology transfer in and beyond mineral exploration
(2023) Kesselring, Michaela; Kirsch, Moritz; Wagner, Frank; Gloaguen, Richard
In natural sciences, mineral exploration has a high network centrality. For industries with high technological- and knowledge proximity, transfer effects are an important function for innovation. Despite the high level of proximity between mineral exploration and other natural sciences, scholars hardly examine transfers from and to mineral exploration. This paper analyzes obstacles and mechanisms of transfer effects in and from mineral exploration and finds answers on how to institutionalize knowledge and technology transfer (KTT). The study employs a qualitative research design. The underlying database consists of 16 expert interviews, from the fields of natural science. The results show that KTT between areas as diverse as mineral exploration, healthcare, and arts are possible. A lack of interdisciplinary exchange and rigid scientific structures is the main inhibitor of KTT. Before this study, evidence for KTT from and to smaller industries is mostly anecdotal. The study is among the few, which investigates KTT concerning functional transfer opportunities.
Open Access
Metal sourcing for a sustainable future
(2022) Renn, Ortwin; Gloaguen, Richard; Benighaus, Christina; Ajjabou, Leila; Benighaus, Ludger; Del Rio, Virginia; Gómez, Javier; Kauppi, Sari; Keßelring, Michaela; Kirsch, Moritz; Komac, Marko; Kotilainen, Juha; Kozlovskaya, Elena; Lyytimaki, Jari; McCallum, Cathryn; Mononen, Tuija; Nevalainen, Jouni; Peltonen, Lasse; Ranta, Jukka-Pekka; Ruiz, Stephane; Russill, Jon; Wagner, Frank
Drastic measures are required to meet the standards of the Paris Agreement and limit the increase of global average temperatures well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels. Mining activities are typically considered as unsustainable but, at the same time, metals such as cobalt and lithium are essential to sustain the energy transition. Several sustainability goals defined by the United Nations (UN) require large quantities of raw materials. Exploration and extractives activities are required in order to contribute to meeting sustainability standards. Future sourcing of metals will need to implement procedures that go well beyond current ecological, economic, and social requirements and practices. In this paper we assess the usual sustainability criteria and how they apply to the extractives sector. Sustainability can only be achieved if one accepts that the natural capital can be substituted by other forms of capital (so called weak concept of sustainability). Sourcing the raw materials increasingly demanded by our societies will need transparent and inclusive stakeholder participation as well as a holistic understanding of the impact of extractives activities to reach this weak sustainability status. Our analysis shows that the sustainability of mining cannot be reached without harmonized political instruments and investment policies that take the three pillars of environmental, economic, and social sustainability as a major priority.