Geological Institute of Romania (IGR) was founded in 1906, with the mission of a national geological survey. Now it works under the Ministry of Education and Research. The scientific research in IGR covers the fields of mineral resources, geophysics, hydrogeology, geochemistry, paleontology, structural geology, geohazards, environmental protection and green energy.
IGR has scientists specialized in raw materials (aggregates, metallic ores, non-metallic resources, secondary resources), geohazards (landslides, subsidence, complex impact of mining waste and excavation), geochemistry (rock, soil, water, isotopes), geoinformation (mineral resources information networks, implementation of INSPIRE Directive in Romania), hydrogeology and CO2 storage, environmental protection and green energy. IGR holds analytical and geophysical equipment for the determination of mineral phases (X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, thermal analysis), for the determination of the chemical composition in bulk rock samples (X-ray fluorescence) and in minerals (scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy and wavelength dispersive spectroscopy, RAMAN spectroscopy), small-scale Earth observation (unmanned aerial vehicle, 3D terrestrial Laser Scanner, Ground penetrating RADAR). IGR participated in international projects dedicated to Earth observation and geohazards (Digisoil, SafeLand, PanGeo, URMA), raw materials (SARMa, SNAPSEE, ProMine, EuroGeoSource, Minventory, Minerals4EU, MAXI, SUSMIN, MINATURA, MICA, CHPM2030), geothermal energy (Thermomap, GeoSEE) and land planning (ERCIP, EMODnet).