ANIM Presentation
ANIM, the National Association of Mining Engineers, Engineers of Georesources, Geotechnologies, Environment, and Territory, was founded in 1965. Since then, it has been a steadfast companion to the development of the mining sector in Italy, serving as a living and effective testament to the evolution of the extractive industrial system. This evolution has been influenced by the transformation of the state administrative structure, which is steadily moving towards increasing decentralization.
Over nearly sixty years, we have observed the inevitable decline of the extractive industry for metallic minerals, driven by the depletion of deposits and the rise of new productions in non-European countries. This downturn has impacted the entire Europe, although it has been counterbalanced by an expanded production of industrial minerals—where Italy stands as a European leader—and ornamental stones, concentrated in globally significant extractive basins.
ANIM has consistently embodied the synthesis and specialization of interests centred on the mining sector. It fosters meaningful connections among various stakeholders, including the mining industrial sector, both small and large enterprises, professionals, mining and quarry technicians, and secondary and university education. This collaborative platform prospers on the competent and passionate engagement of all social components within the national mining community.
Throughout its extensive journey, the Association has benefited from the expertise of skilled technicians, educators, and valuable professionals, guided by a competent and forward-thinking leadership – notably engineers Pietro Balestrazzi and Carmelo Latino. Thanks to this, active members of the Association have contributed to the dissemination of a broad mining culture aimed at innovation and development. They are mindful of the need for change to address the technical, social, and regulatory evolution of the mining sector that has characterized the recent past and will increasingly shape our future.
Over the last periods, there has been a waning public interest in university education in mining subjects, for reasons still not entirely understood, unless viewed through the lens of specific interests and power struggles among opposing groups. As a result, Italian mining engineering faculties have been abolished for over three decades, leading to a scarcity of teachings in the extractive sector.
Only recently has there been a resurgence of interest from the University in advanced mining education: a vivid testament to this is the launch of the M.Sc. program in ‘Mining Engineering’ at the Politecnico di Torino University.
It is in the interest of ANIM to engage in discussions with universities, especially with the prospect of a revival of mining education. The aim is to propose, agree upon, or support training choices beneficial to the extractive sector, also fostering the integration of young individuals into the mining industry.
Recently, there has been an increasing focus on the development of the extractive sector, characterized by positive considerations influenced by factors beyond the Italian national context.
The conflict in Ukraine has resulted in a complete halt to substantial imports of industrial minerals from the country. This has forced operators to seek alternative international suppliers or re-evaluate
domestic mining deposits. Consequently, there is a potential need for adjustments in the processing cycles for the industrial utilization of extracted minerals.
For over three decades, the European Union has initiated its raw materials policy, designed to complement and support the policies of its member states. These policies aim at understanding and protecting deposits, ensuring supply chain security, resolving conflicts related to diverse land resource usage, and promoting the recycling of raw materials found in industrial products.
The European Union is intervening in a concrete and significant manner in the development of the extractive sector, with particular emphasis on critical and strategic raw materials for the European economy. These actions want to promote the green and digital transition by ensuring a secure supply of these raw materials for the European industry.
Concretely, the European Commission, through documents COM(2023) 165 dated March 16, 2023, titled ‘A secure sustainable supply of critical raw materials in support of the twin transition‘, and COM(2023) 160 dated March 16, 2023, ‘Proposal for a regulation establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials (CRMA, Critical Raw Materials Act),’ has provided a strong impetus for the development of the national extractive sector. Even if these documents remain at a propositional level, the Commission obtained positive attention from the political class, media, and, more broadly, the entire public opinion.
Efforts must be undertaken to address the 30-year delay that the Italian extractive sector has faced in developing mining activities. This includes metallic minerals traditionally extracted in Italy during the 1900s and extends to critical minerals, particularly rare earths, whose actual extraction potential remains unknown within national borders. However, there is a reasonable expectation of the presence of these resources in substantial, if not significant, quantities. Additionally, the industrial recovery of valuable or critical raw materials from mining waste is a subject of significant interest for mining operators.
ANIM, within its resource constraints, strives to rectify the mentioned shortcomings, aiming to foster a positive environment within specific mining domains. The focus is on activities of paramount importance to the extractive sector, encompassing aspects from mining safety to waste management, training, regulatory functions, planning of extractive resources, to the complexities of administrative procedures.
A noteworthy area of concern lies in the legislative and regulatory aspects at the national level. These are marked by considerable antiquity and stagnation of the mining legislation, which dates back approximately a century. This encompasses the need for coordination among legislative, planning, and control actions between the State and Regional Authorities. Presently, there is, regrettably, a significant lack of communication between the national and regional levels, with only a few commendable exceptions.
Italy has not yet established a domestic policy on raw materials, delegating the initiative to individual Regional Authorities. In most cases, these regions have planned quarrying activities primarily from an urban planning perspective, overlooking key concepts in mining engineering. These concepts involve the fixed location of deposits, the necessity for their rational exploitation, and the imperative of safeguarding them for future requirements.
I believe that ANIM has the strength and capacity to intervene effectively within the current regulatory and planning framework with concrete and efficient proposals. Drawing inspiration from community documents, it can materialize legislative and technical solutions for both National and Regional regulators.
The mining safety sector, from a regulatory perspective, appears characterized by elements of strong stagnation: Presidential Decree No. 128/1959 on the policing rules for mines and quarries is now obsolete and inapplicable, essentially conflicting with new EU principles for the protection of workers’ health and safety. There is no foreseeable intervention by the National or Regional legislators in the short term. Therefore, ANIM has ample space for proposals, to be enhanced by improving the ability to engage in dialogue with Public Authorities.
The initiatives for the circular economy, of particular interest to the extractive sector, the sustainability goals of mining activities, and the adherence to the principles of social acceptance, now adequately represented by the Social License to Operate (SLO), are challenging topics to address and disseminate by ANIM. The association aims to do so through original and effective actions and proposals, drawing on the experience of its members and the need to provide the necessary momentum for structural initiatives, including in the cultural domain.
The certification of mining deposits, aligned with sustainability goals and grounded in ESG (Environment, Society, Government) principles, and associated with PERC (Pan-European Standard for the Public Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources, and Mineral Reserves), UNRMS (United Nations Resource Management System), and UNFC (United Nations Framework Classification for Resources), is of significant interest and relevance. This is particularly crucial given the growing requirements for national-level planning and extraction programming.
The disused mining heritage constitutes a significant cultural legacy for our society, representing a relevant historical, technical, and social memory. ANIM has always been attentive to the need to enhance non-productive mining sites for tourist, cultural, and social purposes. It effectively disseminates the technical, economic, and legal principles underlying these enhancement activities, even within the diverse realities existing in the national territory.
ANIM has organized significant cultural events in the mining sector at the national level, attracting a large presence among the Association’s members. These events have helped to keep alive the professional, technical, and legal interests of the extractive sector, highlighting a clear departure from the increasingly prevalent localisms and replacing them with a unified vision of the development goals for the extractive industry.
The prospects for effective action by ANIM in the immediate future certainly appear favourable. It will be the responsibility of the Association’s structures to identify the most suitable paths in the interest of and for the development of the Italian mining sector.
During the year 2023, ANIM approved the strategy and objectives for the three-year period 2023- 2025 to implement its statutory purposes, which encompass the topics addressed in this document.
The ANIM President Domenico Savoca
Our statute