European Commission Vice President Günter Verheugen, responsible for enterprise and industry policy declared "European industries need predictability in the flow of raw materials and stable prices to remain competitive. We are committed to improve the conditions of access to raw materials, be it within Europe or by creating a level playing field in accessing such materials from abroad.” The global dimension of access to raw materials was on the agenda of the G8 Summit on June 2007. On that occasion a Declaration on "Responsibility for raw materials: transparency and sustainable growth" was adopted. Several national and international initiatives, both from the private or the institutional sectors, arised to address the sustainable development of the extractive industry and the reduction of its environmental footprint. Meanwhile, the extractive industry is facing increasing environmental and societal pressures, being regulatory or not, during all phases of a project, from exploration to exploitation and closure. The social acceptability of a project is among the major key issues to be dealt with. EO-MINERS scientific and technical objectives are to: - assess policy requirements at macro (public) and micro (mining companies) levels and define environmental, socio-economic, societal and sustainable development criteria and indicators to be possibly dealt using EO - use existing EO knowledge and carry out new developments on demonstration sites to further demonstrate the capabilities of integrated EO-based methods and tools in monitoring, managing and contributing reducing the environmental and societal footprints of the extractive industry during all phases of a mining project, from the exploration to the exploitation and closure stages - contribute making available reliable and objective information about affected ecosystems, populations and societies, to serve as a basis for a sound “trialogue” between industrialists, governmental organisations and stakeholder