- Councilor Jorge Paradela closes the MMH 2022, which ends with a balance of 10,000 visits and the participation of 1,000 congress participants of 39 nationalities.
- Javier Targhetta, appointed Honorary Commissioner of MMH Seville, passes the baton to Enrique Delgado, CEO of Atalaya Mining.
- The MMH Awards were presented to the dean of the Colegio de Minas del Sur, Felipe Lobo, the president of the CSIC until a few months ago, Rosa Menéndez, and the general director of Energy, Mining and Reactivation of the Principality of Asturias, Belarmina Díaz.
Seville, October 21, 2022.– The 4th edition of the International Mining Exhibition, MMH Seville, held between October 18 and 20, closed with an economic impact of 5.4 million euros in the city of Seville, a balance that represents “a success in quantitative and qualitative terms” according to Javier Targhetta, curator of the event. In this sense, he pointed out that this edition “has brought together 180 exhibitors, we have exceeded 1,000 registered delegates and we have exceeded 10,000 visitors, an event that has stood out for its strong international character”. During his speech, he thanked the City Council and the Department of Industrial Policy and Energy of the Regional Government of Andalusia for their support, and announced that the fifth edition will be held in October 2024.
For his part, Minister Jorge Paradela stressed the “strategic importance” of Andalusian mining, an industry that is “respectful of the environment, that cares about the safety of its workers and that has innovation as a constant driving force in its activity”. Paradela, who highlighted the support of the Andalusian Government to the mining sector, highlighted among the challenges facing the sector “the opportunity presented by the energy transition and the role of mining in the decarbonization of the industry”.
The Deputy Mayor and delegate of the Area of Economy, Commerce and Tourism of the City Council of Seville, Francisco Javier Páez, has pointed out that the MMH “has made our city the epicenter of global mining”. “We have recovered normality after the pandemic, we have managed to become a reference event for this strategic sector at national and international level. Reaching the IV edition reaffirms the importance of mining as a key dynamizer. Hence its broad support in terms of participation and organization”, he stressed, indicating that “we are at a critical moment for raw materials and the attitude of this Show is the way forward: because we cannot talk about sustainable development without including mining in the equation. MMH is an example of the growing importance of the industry and the economy in the development of Seville and Andalusia. Thank you for contributing to this sustainable development of the planet,” he concluded.
Honorary Commissioner of MMH Seville
After his speech, Javier Targhetta passed the baton to his successor in the position, Enrique Delgado, General Manager of Atalaya Mining, who is now the new MMH Commissioner. Javier Targhetta, curator of the 2019 and 2022 editions, has been appointed Honorary Curator of MMH Seville, a recognition awarded for the work carried out during these years at the head of the organization.
“I feel an enormous emotion and infinite gratitude towards Aminer, Fibes and the Junta de Andalucía, not only for this surprise but also for having been able to share these years of work with colleagues and with so many people in the joint defense of a noble and ancient activity that has always been developed for the betterment of the human being, in every time and in every moment, in the best possible way”, emphasized Javier Targhetta. “It has been a privilege to be part of this team and to continue the enormous work of Paco Moreno,” he emphasized.
For his part, the new commissioner has taken on his new appointment as “a very important challenge”. “The human being naturally tends to improve, but the first thing we must do is to preserve the enormous legacy that you and Francisco Moreno (Javier Targhetta) have left, a legacy that I will respect,” he said emotionally. In this sense, he stressed his intention to bet on new developments for the next MMH, “it is a challenge for me and for the whole team, so I encourage all those who have been with Javier to continue contributing and participating” and has made an appeal “to the administrations, participating companies, exhibitors, speakers, conference participants, to continue participating in this event that should not only be the best mining event in Europe, but in the world”.
MMH Seville 2022 Awards
During the closing ceremony, the MMH 2022 Awards, which recognize the careers of professionals in the mining field, were presented to Felipe Lobo, president-dean of the Official Association of Mining Engineers of the South, the president of the CSIC until a few months ago, Rosa Menéndez, and the general director of Energy, Mining and Reactivation of the Principality of Asturias, Belarmina Díaz.
After receiving the award, Felipe Lobo said that “I have had three very different stages in my life and, in all of them, my luck has been to be accompanied by good people. Life in mining is exciting and now, from a different perspective, we are trying to do good work for mining. The award is the finishing touch to my career and sharing it with the other two award winners makes it even more prestigious”.
For her part, Rosa Menéndez thanked the mining engineers for their “always unconditional” support throughout her career, and said that “my greatest merit is to have always known how to surround myself with the best, with very good people who made me grow, who made me learn”.
Finally, in her speech, Belarmina Díaz highlighted the role of women in mining, “women as strong and hard as iron, flexible and resistant as copper, who have marked my path and from whom I learn every day”. Díaz said she was proud of “being a miner”, being part of a group that “has always worked for a better world, for the future and for progress”.
Aminer and Fibes
Organized by the Association of Research, Extraction, Mining-Metallurgical, Auxiliary and Service Companies (AMINER) and the Palace of Congresses and Exhibitions (FIBES), the MMH has revalidated the successful figures that have consolidated Seville as the European mining capital. With a total of 10,000 visitors to the exhibition area and 1,001 congress participants from 39 nationalities from all continents, this fourth edition has had the participation of 180 exhibiting companies and 115 top-level national and international speakers. In addition, 3,000 business meetings were held during the three days and national and international media were accredited.
The scientific program that ran parallel to the exhibition opened on the 18th with a keynote speech by Bernd Schäfer, CEO of EIT RawMaterials, the most important consortium in the raw materials sector worldwide, under whose mandate the European Raw Materials Alliance has been launched. Mark Rachovides, president of Euromines, and Raül Blanco, secretary general of Industry and SMEs of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, were the speakers at the other two plenary conferences that opened the following days.
During the MMH, five panels of experts have also been organized to discuss current issues of interest to the sector, such as the geostrategic challenges of the EU in the field of raw materials, innovation, the development of new mining projects, social license and sustainability. In parallel, there were commercial presentations, exhibitions of commercial projects and numerous B2B meetings between the participating companies.
