Jean-François Claver, Chief Industrial Officer of Imerys, and Christophe Poinssot, Deputy Managing Director of BRGM, signed a framework agreement in Paris on 23 March 2022.
© BRGM
The Imerys group, world leader in mineral-based specialty solutions for industry, represented by Jean-Francois Claver (Chief Industrial Officer) and BRGM, represented by Christophe Poinssot (Deputy Managing Director and Science Director), signed a scientific partnership agreement on 23 March to organise their collaboration and pool their skills to meet the challenges associated with innovative and responsible extractive activities.
An agreement between Imerys, the world leader in mineral-based specialty solutions for industry, and BRGM, the French geological survey
The Imerys group has branches in more than 50 countries with 230 industrial sites. Imerys is multiplying its initiatives in all those countries to ensure that its projects are in line with the principles of sustainable development. With more than 30 sites in France, Imerys is a major player here and places sustainability at the heart of its operational strategy.
BRGM is the French geological survey and France’s acknowledged public institution in Earth Science applications for the management of surface and subsurface resources and risks. BRGM acts to meet six major scientific and societal challenges: geology and knowledge of the subsurface; management of groundwater; risks and spatial planning; mineral resources and the circular economy; energy transition and underground space; and digital data, services and infrastructure.
We are delighted with this partnership, which allows us to structure and strengthen our collaboration over the long term. Through this agreement, Imerys, the world leader in industrial minerals, and BRGM, widely acknowledged for its competence in the field of mining and geology, are better equipped to work together to meet the major challenges of today and tomorrow, particularly those of sustainable development.
The agreement covers mineral resources, energy transition, preservation of the environment and water resources
BRGM will support Imerys in France and around the world in the following main thematic areas:
- optimisation in the management of mineral resources;
- recovery of primary and secondary materials in a circular economy context;
- the supply of strategic metals;
- energy transition and CO2 management;
- preservation of the environment and water resources.
The two groups have been in contact for several years and their exchanges have intensified over the last 18 months in the following areas:
- responsible sourcing of critical metals such as lithium (deposits, metallurgical processes and treatments);
- the development of innovative approaches to CO2 capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) to help Imerys further reduce its carbon footprint;
- the development of a global environmental approach to the sites exploited, particularly in the management of waste and water resources.
Securing supplies of mineral resources is becoming a particularly vital strategic issue in order to support reindustrialisation, which is essential for the ecological transition, and for strengthening French economic sovereignty. As BRGM has more than 60 years of experience in mineral resources, we are pleased to see this long-term partnership with Imerys come to fruition, enabling us to support them in their industrial projects and help develop a responsible and sustainable extractive activity.
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