The ISLANDR Kick-off meeting also created the opportunity to pay tribute to the “Nano-particle products from new mineral resources in Europe”, ProMine project which received the prestigious award for best industry-driven research and innovation project funded under the FP7 Programme of the European Union.

• On the cover image for this news post, ISLANDR Project Manager, Juha Kaija from the Geological Survey of Finland, is seen holding the award which he had received as Project Manager on behalf of the ProMine Partnership.
• Juha is flanked by Anna Spiteri and Eng. Dirk De Ketelaere from Integrated Resources Management Company Ltd (IRMCo), who led the research activities pertaining to Knowledge Management in ProMine and are now leading the Communication and Dissemination activities in ISLANDR.
• Standing on the left-hand side on the cover image is Dr. Saku Vuori, who actively followed up on the many scientific innovations in the ProMine project, and is currently Director of Science and Innovations within the Geological Survey of Finland, GTK.
•  To his right is James Baker, the main contact person for the ISLANDR Test Area in Larnaca, Cyprus, who actively took part in the research on new applications for nano-scale raw materials which led to the development of several innovative high value nano-particle products.
• Some examples of new nano-particle products made out of mining waste streams as a result of the ProMine project included: - Nano-silica which was validated to produce a for higher strength concrete, as well as for paper coating, - Rhenium, or rather Spherical rhenium, which became a new product on the market for coatings in gas turbines, and Rhenium powders – Re-Ni and Re-Co powder – which were validated as superalloys in engines in aircrafts and aerospace technology, and - Schwertmannite, extracted from acid mine drainage through the use of an energy-efficient and natural microbial process, was validated as a colour pigment which can be used in anticorrosive coatings, paints, ceramics and bricks. Schwertmannite also proved to have a very high capacity to adsorb arsenic and metal anions from mining water and industrial effluents. Clearly of special mention in the context of ISLANDR, Schwertmannite has since proved itself a highly effective adsorbent of arsenic as well as of whole range of pesticides in soils.

In the photo montage to left, ProMine Project Coordinator, Dr. Gabor Gaal (standing to the left on the first image), who sadly passed away shortly after the FP7 ProMine project was completed, is seen inspecting the Schwertmannite samples which were on display at the Mineral Marketplace organized by IRMCo in Wroclaw, Poland during 23 to 27 April 2012. The ‘Mineral Marketplace’ initiative was picked up by Euronews, who sent a film crew to the event to produce a dedicated feature documentary for its news-documentary series ‘Futuris’ which focuses on leading scientific & technological research projects in Europe and was screened on the Euronews TV channel in May 2012. The FP7 ProMine project ran from 1st May 2009 until 30th April 2013 (48 months), involving 30 partners from 11 countries, with a total budget exceeding 17 Million Euro, and received a financial contribution from the European Union of 11 Million Euro.