The Iberian Sustainable Mining Cluster (ISMC) played an active role in the 15th International Congress on Energy and Mineral Resources, held in León, Spain, and organised by the Official College of Mining Engineers of Central Spain. This major international event brought together experts, companies, and professionals from the sector to discuss current challenges and developments, under the theme “Working for Society.”

ISMC had a notable presence at the Congress, which addressed key issues related to energy and mineral resources. Following the opening session—attended by institutional representatives including the Mayor of León, José Antonio Diez Díaz—the event continued with insightful panels and discussions on the latest industry trends.

One of the highlight moments of the event was the panel moderated by Santiago Cuesta López, CEO of ISMC, focusing on the challenges facing the Spanish mining sector in light of the EU Raw Materials Act. The session featured distinguished speakers including:

• Vicente Gutiérrez, President of CONFEDEM

• Marta Cerati, Executive Manager at AMINER

• Sebastián Contin Trillo-Figueroa, AsiaGlobal Fellow, University of Hong Kong

• Luis Rodríguez Camino, Vice-President of ICL Iberia

ISMC also took an active part in the closing session, which spotlighted the importance of female talent in mining and presented some of the most innovative EU-funded projects. The clustering event, organised in collaboration with the ICAMCyL Foundation, included two key activities:

Project Speed Dating Session

Participants had the opportunity to explore a range of leading initiatives, including:

• S34I Project

• MaDiTraCe Project

• C-SINK Project

• RESiLEX Project (introduced by the ISMC team)

• ECHO Project (by Finnish company Lekatech Oy)

• EU H2020 TARANTULA (with TECNALIA Research & Innovation)

• ROTATE & DigiEcoQuarry (presented by ANEFA)

• START – HE Project (with IGME)

• SEMACRET (presented by Xcalibur Multiphysics)

• RAWMINA Project (with Leitat Technological Center)

Roundtable Discussions

Moderated by Marta Alonso Fernández and Eva Vicente Barragán, the roundtables covered strategic topics such as the Raw Materials Act and geopolitical developments in the mining sector. These discussions also gave visibility to women in the industry, represented by organisations including Women In Mining and Industry Spain, Minería es Más, and MiningSense.

The event further featured insights from geopolitical experts Sebastián Contin Trillo-Figueroa and Águeda Parra Pérez, who addressed the global challenges facing the mining sector today.

The ISMC expressed its satisfaction with the synergies generated and the new project opportunities established during the congress. The team thanked the Official College of Mining Engineers of Central Spain for the excellent organisation and expressed its enthusiasm to participate in future editions.