On 15^th of February, an informative meeting with local citizens was held at the town hall in Ždírc nad Doubravou, Czech Republic, near Stare Ransko reference site. The meeting is part of the project’s public outreach and familiarization activities (WP4) and aims at informing the public about the activities of the international research project SEMACRET, funded by HORIZON EU in their residence area. The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Regional Department of the Ministry of the Environment, the Protected Landscape Area Žďárské vrchy and of the town of Ždírec nad Doubravou.

The event started with a presentation by Lasse Peltonen, who introduced project SEMACRET and discussed about social aspects of exploration and mining activities. Vojtěch Wertich from ČGS, followed with a presentation about the geology and mining history of the Ransko massif and its relevance as one of the reference sites of SEMACRET project. Representatives of the company (GET s.r.o. & AD FUTURE MINERALS s.r.o.), that currently hold of the exploration license in the Ransko Massif area, were also given space at the meeting to inform on the progress and objectives of their exploration project. Both groups informed the meeting participants on the methods and impacts of the exploration works that will be carried out under the project during the next stage. These include ground and airborne geophysical measurements or small-scale sampling of rocks, soil or plants. After the presentations, there was a long discussion between the meeting participants, and representatives of the SEMACRET project and the exploration company on the topic of deposit exploration or the need for strategic resources in general for present and future generations.