No document available.
Abstract :
[en] The sustainable availability of raw materials used in manufacturing advanced products is a question that consumers will raise more and more in the future. In order to answer this legitimate request it is mandatory to define characterization factors capable of taking into account the geological scarcity of an element but also the social and environmental impact of its exploitation and beneficiation. Recent studies (Vieira et al. 2012; Swart el al. 2013) have focused on decreasing ore grades as rough indicators, but clearly such indicators can be severely biased by breakthrough innovations in mining technologies as well as by high metal prices generated by increasing demand.
In this paper, we will briefly review three metals that could technically be extracted from very different social and natural environments: Germanium is nowadays mainly a byproduct of coal burnt in China, but could as well be gained from alternative sources such as zinc sulfides. Aluminium is produced from bauxite with Gallium as a byproduct but could technically be extracted from alternative resources such as regionally available clays. Finally, the world nickel production follows two very different processing routes starting either from silicates (laterite deposits) or from sulfides (ultramafic magmas).
By comparing the geological; environmental and social impact of mining operations for these three metals, we will try to show what is hidden behind simple ore grades and what indicators should be taken into account in a more complex analysis of sustainable availability. The intention is to build a geographical information system (GIS) of mineral resources and mining operations to help product manufacturers in properly selecting their raw materials providers.
Vieira, M.D.M., Goedkoop, M.J., Storm, P. and Huijbregts, M.A.J., 2012, Ore grade decrease as a life cycle impact indicator for metal scarcity : The case of copper. Environ. Sci. Technol. 46, 12772-12778
Swart, P. and Dewulf, J., 2013, Quantifying the impacts of primary metal resource use in life cycle assessment based on recent mining data. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 73, 180-187.
