The events helped strengthen collaboration with Latin America and raise awareness of CIREM 2026 among the scientific community and the mining sector
By Carmen Pi
June provided a major boost to the international presence of the Mining and Quarry Restoration Network (RMC), which took part in three major conferences on mining, ecological restoration and biodiversity held in Chile, Peru and Switzerland. These events helped strengthen collaboration with professionals and institutions from different countries, share experiences and, in particular, deepen ties with Latin America.
This intense international activity forms part of the internationalisation strategy promoted by the Network, aimed at fostering knowledge exchange between companies, public administrations, universities and researchers, as well as at consolidating a collaborative network that contributes to improving mining restoration practices worldwide.
International ties
The first event took place in Santiago, Chile, during the ‘Planning for Closure 2026’ conference, one of the world’s leading events on mine closure planning. There, Cristina Martín Moreno, a researcher at the Complutense University of Madrid and a member of the Network’s Board of Directors, presented the organisation as a collaborative platform bringing together public administrations, companies and the scientific community.
The event also featured the participation of several Network partners, including the Geomorphological Restoration Group, which presented, together with Atalaya Mining, the project developed at the Riotinto mine, considered one of the leading examples of the application of this methodology.
Following the conference, Martín Moreno summarised some of the main conclusions shared during the event, many of which are aligned with the Network’s areas of work. “There is growing consensus on the need to integrate restoration from the earliest stages of mining projects,” she noted. She also highlighted the importance of strengthening local community participation, promoting knowledge transfer between companies, public administrations and the scientific community, and continuing to advance geomorphological restoration as a tool for recovering the ecological functionality of areas affected by mining activities.
Destination: Peru
A few days later, the Network took part in the XVI National Mining Congress (CONAMIN 2026), held in Trujillo (Peru), one of the leading events in Peru’s mining sector. Its participation was made possible thanks to the collaboration of Inproyen, a Network partner operating in Spain, Peru and Chile, with whom we shared a stand where the Network’s initiatives and the I International Congress on Mining Restoration (CIREM 2026) were presented.
Diego Arán Ferreiro, co-founder of Inproyen, researcher at the Higher Institute of Agronomy of the University of Lisbon and member of the CIREM scientific committee, highlighted that….
The month’s international agenda concluded in Davos (Switzerland), where Aurora Torres, a researcher at the University of Alicante and a Network partner, took part in the World Biodiversity Forum 2026, one of the leading international events dedicated to biodiversity and sustainability.
In her presentation ‘The Mining and Quarry Restoration Network (MQRN), a new and necessary platform working for the improvement of mine closures’, she outlined the role of the Network as a space for cooperation aimed at promoting science-based mining restoration.
The presentation highlighted that mining restoration should be understood as an opportunity to recover biodiversity, restore the ecological functions of ecosystems and improve landscape connectivity, particularly in a context marked by the energy transition and growing demand for raw materials.
Participation in these events consolidates the Network’s internationalisation strategy and particularly strengthens collaboration with Latin America, where there is growing interest in advancing innovative solutions for mining restoration.
This work will continue with the I International Congress on Mining Restoration (CIREM 2026), which will bring together researchers, companies, public administrations and professionals from different countries at the Universitat Politècnica de València from 24 to 26 November to share scientific advances and strengthen international cooperation in this field.