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aw material supply and demandwere discussed during this two-dayconference.The Conference recorded asignificant level of participationand a high level of speakers. Intotal, more than 350 participantsfrom over 30 countries attendedthis event. The final concludingspeeches were given by theSpanish Minister of Industry,Tourism and Commerce, MiguelSebastián, together with theVice-President of the EuropeanCommission and Industry, andThe Industry’s collectiveviewpoints are describedin detail in its MadridDeclaration, the key points of whichmay be summarized as:• At the European level, a RawMaterials Policy needs to bepromoted, defining the strategyto ensure that Europe in futurewill have sufficient supplies ofimported raw materials andsufficient access to indigenousraw materials.• There is a need to developcorresponding Raw MaterialsPolicies at national, regional,and local levels to ensure goodpresent and future access tothe raw materials geologicallypresent.• There is a need to developassociated Land-Use PlanningPolicies, to ensure that landusedevelopment for mineralsextraction around thesegeologically-present resources ispreferentially treated.Entrepreneurship Commissioner,Antonio Tajani.The Madrid Raw MaterialsDeclaration 2010, summarizingthe conclusions of the MadridConference and the views of theEuropean Non Energy ExtractiveIndustry—NEEI—on the progress ofthe EC Raw Materials Initiative wasofficially presented at the end of theconference. The great significance ofthe raw materials industry for Europewas underlined: 30 million jobs andadded value of 1,300 billion eurosare dependent on this industry. ■Madrid Raw MaterialsDeclaration 2010• There is a need to adopt bestpractices in Permitting Proceduresfollowing good examples fromother Member States, to ensurepermits are granted ina timely and efficientmanner and for durationsthat justify the significantcapital investmentsinvolved.The Minerals Industryrecommends that theRaw Materials Initiativeadopts these proposalsand incorporates them inthe final Communicationon the Initiative expectedby end-2010. Because ofthe ongoing importanceof the issue of access toraw material resources, theIndustry also suggests thatthe Initiative be followedup by regular reviews overthe next 5 years and alsobe part of the Commission’s2020 Agenda and Strategy.For more information, visitwww.madrid2010rmi.com. ■What Does This Mean for theGlobal Aggregate Industry?Leaving aside the economic downturn therehas been a marked change in the industryover the decades. Two interlinked trendsare noticeable—a transition to crushedrock production and the consolidation of theindustry.“Quarries tend to be bigger and require moreinvestment in the size of the facility and thetime span, and in the equipment to run it,”says Göransson.Jan Bida who works for specialist consultantSBMI said, “There are also synergies andeconomy of scale effects which help.” Onehe points to is the use of mobile crushingunits which can be used in up to half a dozendifferent quarries in a year. “They build up astockpile and then move on, leaving a loaderon site to service deliveries,” he says.Excerpt taken from Aggregates Business EuropeJan/Feb 2010 Vol 4 Issue No 1.Today’s aggregate & mining solutions | volume 3, number 1 35