MINING REGIONS AND CITIES CASE OF ANDALUSIA, SPAIN.

Foreword
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations and acronyms
Executive summary
	Assessment
	Key recommendations
		Mobilising the strengths of Andalusia’s mining ecosystem to increase competitiveness and attractiveness for firms and workers
		Addressing challenges for development in Andalusia’s mining ecosystem to unlock growth opportunities and assist the EU’s climate goals
		Improving national co-ordination on mining to help attain EU strategic goals and support national and regional development and well-being
		Strengthening Andalusia’s 2021-27 mining strategy to make the regional mining value chain a frontrunner in environmentally sustainable mining and an engine to increase income and well-being
1 Assessment and recommendations
	Assessment
		Andalusia is the largest mining producer in Spain and a growing mining player in Europe
		Andalusia’s mining ecosystem has the potential to make the region a frontrunner in environmentally sustainable mining while unlocking new business opportunities locally
		Yet Andalusia needs to address some challenges to unlock the potential of its mining ecosystem and reduce the income and employment gaps with the national average
		A national mining strategy could help better mobilise the potential of the Spanish mining sector to support sustainable development and EU climate goals in concerned regions
		Andalusia’s updating process of its mining strategy is a unique opportunity to make the regional mining value chain a frontrunner in assisting the EU climate agenda and an engine of income and well-being
			Defining a clear vision of the role of mining for regional development, with concrete objectives and a sound monitoring framework
			Involving municipal governments and local communities in the mining strategy
			Unlocking synergies with other policy strategies and sectors to boost innovation
			Developing national and international networks
	Recommendations
		Mobilising the strengths of Andalusia’s mining ecosystem to increase competitiveness and attractiveness for firms and workers
		Addressing challenges in Andalusia’s mining ecosystem to unlock growth opportunities and assist the EU climate goals
		Improving national co-ordination on mining to help attain EU strategic goals and support national and regional development and well-being
		Strengthening Andalusia’s 2021-27 mining strategy to make the regional mining value chain a frontrunner in environmentally sustainable mining and an engine to increase income and well-being
	Notes
2 Strengths and challenges in the regional development of Andalusia
	Introduction
	Megatrends affecting regions specialised in mining and extractive activities
	Spain, a relevant mining country
		From coal to mining of leading minerals
	Andalusia, the leading mining region in Spain
		A dispersed settlement structure and the largest Spanish region by land area
		Past and present of the mining region of Andalusia
		Mining, a great opportunity for regional development in Andalusia
	Andalusia in a snapshot
	Demographic trends
		The soaring population growth in Andalusia has stabilised in the last decade
		Young Andalusians from rural areas are migrating…
		…to the large cities of the country
			In summary
		Mining has the potential to reduce demographic challenges in rural municipalities
		Mining municipalities have a relatively sustainable gender balance
			In summary
		Andalusia has a demographic bonus but ageing is an increasing trend
		Andalusia has a large working-age population, although it is in decline
			In summary
	Regional economic trends
		Andalusia, a low-income region whose convergence with national levels is on the horizon
			In summary
		Strengthening the industry to bridge the structural gap with Spain
			Mining an engine for Andalusia’s economic recovery
		Productivity as an enabler of growth
			In summary
		Unlocking the labour force potential through a strong labour market
		Seasonal employment harms the quality of work in the region of Andalusia
	Well-being of the region of Andalusia
		Snapshot of quality of life in Andalusia
		Andalusia benefits from good air quality, relevant for citizens’ health
	Enabling factors for development
		Andalusia’s human capital records low levels of education, especially in Huelva
		Promoting the establishment and growth of Andalusian companies as a catalyst for development
			In summary
		Andalusia has converged on Internet access levels with the rest of the country
		Andalusia is a moderate innovative region in a moderate innovative country
			In summary
				Annex 2.A. Selected OECD TL2 and TL3 mining regions
	References
	Notes
3 Mobilising the potential of Andalusia’s mining value chain
	Introduction
	The mining business ecosystem in Andalusia
		Mining value chains in metallic and non-metallic minerals
			Metallic mining and transformation
				A sector with a wide range of international players
				Transformation activities with innovative practices
			Non-metallic mining and transformation
				A sector with transformative activities located in the same place of extraction
		Andalusia’s mining equipment, technology and services sector
		In summary
	Mobilising strengths of Andalusia’s mining value chain
		Attractive geology with the potential of new highly demanded minerals
		Geographic location: A natural gateway to and from the EU
		Good accessibility of mines to urban centres and a competitive infrastructure
			Benefitting from the mining proximity to cities
			Making the most of infrastructure for mining development
		Making the most of the community perception towards mining
			A region with a strong mining identity
			Nevertheless, automation and climate change undermine the positive perception
	Unlocking new opportunities within the Andalusia mining value chain
		Boosting innovation within the mining value chain
			A weak innovation system around Andalusia’s mining value chain
				Despite opportunities in the mining sector, little entrepreneurial activity is oriented towards extractive industries
			Promoting service innovation in mining for a strong innovative regional system
				Developing knowledge-intensive mining providers to attain higher-value-added activities
			Boosting the role of the third sector to support mining innovation and entrepreneurship
				Mobilising exiting incubators for entrepreneurship
				Supporting intrapreneurial activities
			Enhancing collaboration for human capital development
				Adjusting higher education programmes to future industry needs in the mining value chain
				A strong innovation ecosystem relies on the involvement of youth in the area
		Overcoming challenges to upscale SMEs around mining
			Guiding SMEs towards greater-value-added activities linked to mining to gain resilience
		Improving the regulatory and permitting process of mining to unlock growth opportunities
			Spain relies on outdated and complex mining regulation
			Andalusia’s permitting process has scope to improve predictability and reduce delays
	References
	Notes
4 A new mining strategy to make Andalusia a frontrunner on sustainable mining
	Introduction
	External forces shaping Andalusia’s mining strategy
		Andalusia has the potential to play a key role in the EU goal of climate neutrality
		The lack of a Spanish mining policy is an obstacle to unlocking growth opportunities
		A new national mining strategy would add value in a number of areas
	Mining strategy of Andalusia, from old to new
		Objectives and structure of the Andalusia Mining Strategy 2013-20
		Defining a clear vision of the role of mining for regional development
			Materialising the vision through a regional brand: A raw material talent system
		Improving the strategy with concise objectives, a timeframe of actions and sound monitoring
			Strengthening the monitoring and evaluation process
		Involving municipal governments and local communities in the mining strategy
			Collaborating with municipal governments
			Involving local communities in the mining strategy
		Unlocking synergies with other policy strategies/sectors to boost innovation
			Promoting local networks and a mining cluster to boost innovation
		Enhancing national and international collaboration
			Boosting collaboration with other Spanish mining regions
			Increasing co-operation with European regions and EU strategies
	References