L1 - context of energy and resources Flashcards
how do we classify resources
4 groups: metals, non-metallic minerals, energy fuels and renewable resources
describe each resource classification
Metals = incl precious e.g. aluminium, copper, iron
Non-metallic minerals = incl precious e.g. aggregate, cement, phosphate
Energy fuels = carbon and uranium
Renewable resources= hydrogen, solar, biomass, wind, geothermal and water
what is the future demand for resources
Transition to a low-carbon society
Requires vast amounts of metals and minerals
Adequate set of raw materials to manufacture clean technologies
^ Ali 2017, nature (source)
In 2030 75% of our energy needs will still be met by carbon sources and 55% in 2050
Copper and aluminium very important for the future
Colbalt will increase by 2382% by 2030 from 2015 in batteries
Increasing demand in metals and non-minerals for high-tech materials and for infrastructure
what are critical materials determined by
economic importance and risk to its supply
what must critical materials take into place before it takes this title
Take into account environmental and/or ethical issues
Assessed on economic bloc/country/company/sector basis
what are the reasons for criticality
Availability
Production as a by-product of other processes
Demand for high-tech consumer products
Virtually no recycling
what is the share of deposits/ countries for key materials
75% of Pt is sourced in South Africa
Li 62% in Australia in 2018, 46% in 2023, Chile =24%
68% of copper and cobalt is mined in DRC
define urban mining
contribution of recycling and reuse of batteries to reducing primary supply requirement for selected minerals by scenario
what issues does urban mining face
Not enough material to recycle to feed into new batteries or materials – geoscientists will have to play a role as there is a continued demand for primary mining
what materials face issues with demand
Graphite, lithium, cobalt, indium and vanadium face problems – will we have enough by 2050 when graphite and Li are predicted to face 500% increase in demand
if scarcity of the materials is not the issue, what is the issue
Most materials are predicted to be fine
Global supply, but investment needed to access these resources and mine into them
80-90% of what we mine today = iron
All industrial and technology metals make up a very small % of what we mine today – investment needed to mine these products and find new ores
Therefore scarcity should NOT be an issue
what is the economic context for critical materials
Confusion in reserve and resource estimates and how they are interpreted
Hinges upon definition of terms
Legal requirement to report of reserves and resources
Minerals that are economically viable are a tiny % of total resources
resource and reserves are dynamic entities that change depending on what external factors
Mining
Metallurgical
Economic
Marketing
Legal
Environmental
Social and governmental factors
what impact does mining have on the environment
Scars on landscape
Dumped in bodies of water
Waste piles can contain toxins which can leach into the ecosystems around them
Extraction produces a large number of GHG
what impact does mining have on humans
Dangerous conditions
Locals start to dig up materials for own financial gain- dangerous – artisanal mining
what should we do when mining to reduce environmental and human impacts
More sustainable consumption, more equality
Urban mining, circular economy -> less dependency on primary extraction
Increase exploration and delivery of new resource projects
Use of big data, geochemistry and geophysics in exploration -> extending resource base through research
Understand resources – from geology to supply chains
Innovations in production and processing, Biomining and other processing techniques -> increased extraction efficiency, Re-processing of waste tailings -> increased extraction efficiency, Drilling vs strip mining, horizontal drilling -> lower footprint, increased extraction efficiency, Use tailings to offset CO2 emissions
where do resource deposits form
when a useful commodity is sufficiently concentrated in an accessible part of the crust so it can be profitably extracted.
what factors need to be present in a resource deposit
Needs to be in an accessible part of the crust – deepest = 10.5km (Timber well) by average is 4km, we are unable to go deeper due to cost and heat – workers cannot work in those temperature and machinery wouldn’t withstand that heat and pressure
Concentration in the crust
Garde in ores
Clarke factor = enrichment factor
Price of extraction
what occurs in the development stage of the resource project lifestyle
Can also use exploration mapping – max amount of the material for a reduced price
Exploration geophysics = magnetics and seismic technologies to identify where deposits are – reduces environmental impact
Drilling and core logging = physically see what is in the deposit, only way to really do this
what happens in the production stage of resource project lifestyle
Open cast mining
Oil production platform
Milling and beneficiation
Production or refining
Overtime in exploration where we find these mineral deposits has changed. What have to moved away from and what have we moved towards?
Overtime we have moved away from serendipity and prospector towards geochemistry and geophysics
what are the roles of a geo-scientist
Mapping at regional and small scale
3D visualization
Observational skills
Numerical scale and use of geo software
Independance
Team work
