The Research Group on Safe and Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources (GESSMin) was created in 1993 with the aim of advancing knowledge and the application of technologies for the responsible exploitation of natural resources—particularly minerals and rocks—in industrial processes. Its activity is grounded in the principles of circular economy and sustainable technological development.

The group currently has 21 members and maintains an annual average of 25 scientific publications, consolidating its position as a leading research reference at the national level. It has specialized laboratories in rock mechanics, mineral processing, computer vision, cultural heritage conservation, and cartographic engineering.

GESSMin was recognized as a reference group by the University of Vigo in 2005 and, since 2007, has been part of Galicia’s consolidated competitive reference groups. Its focus is primarily research-oriented, with a strong commitment to technology transfer and collaboration with the industrial sector.

More information:
https://portalcientifico.uvigo.gal/grupos/17731/detalle

Javier Taboada Castro - jtaboada@uvigo.gal

Research areas

Manufacturing and Materials

Manufacturing and Materials
Sustainability and natural resources

Sustainability and natural resources

Research topics

  • Granite applications: quarry exploitation, product processing and quality assessment as a construction material.
  • Conservation of tangible cultural heritage: rocks, paintings, mortars, ceramics and archaeological sites; diagnosis of deterioration and evaluation of consolidation, cleaning and desalination treatments.
  • Cartographic engineering: imaging technologies, 3D laser scanning, 3D thermography and 3D GIS; development of multisensor systems on ground-based and UAV platforms for environmental inspection.
  • Geotechnical engineering: simulation of underground excavation behaviour, hydro mechanical analysis of rock masses, slope stability and landslides.
  • Slate exploitation: deposit characterisation, mine design, exploitation methods and quality analysis of processes and products.
  • Extraction of industrial rocks and minerals: feldspars, kaolins, magnesites and quartz; quality studies and mining exploitation methods.
  • Environmental modelling: environmental impact assessment, restoration of degraded areas, natural hazards and atmospheric and water pollution; use of machine learning for predictive analysis.
  • Occupational risk prevention: accident studies, data mining for risk calculation and health surveillance using advanced statistical techniques.
  • Mining engineering: focused on slate and quartz, including deposit modelling, reserve calculation, valuation and mine planning.