Report of Working Group V

Abstract

This report summarizes the discussions of the Working Group on Natural Aggregate Resources (The A Group) that were held as part of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on “Deposit and Geoenvironmental Models for Resource Exploitation and Environmental Security.” The working group formed spontaneously at the NATO ASI conference because many of the researchers there recognized that there are numerous international issues that relate to the identification, characterization, and development of aggregate resources; the reclamation of mined-out lands; and the environmental issues surrounding these resources. The working group was made up of 26 experts that represented 18 countries. Many of the representatives were experts in other fields and were not experts in the field of natural aggregate. However, all recognized that natural aggregate is an important resource for developing and developed countries, and shared the concern that those resources be developed in an environmentally and socially sensitive manner. The goal of the working group was to share ideas, experiences, knowledge and solutions of issues that can be used to help create a more efficient, environmentally friendly method of developing the world's most intensively produced mineral resource.