“…Criticality assessments are a screening tool to highlight concerns of raw material supply that require deeper analyses to build up a knowledge base for targeted actions (Blengini et al 2017;Kosmol et al 2017). Numerous studies have been undertaken to identify critical raw materials in the last ten years.…”
Environmental aspects are more and more relevant for raw material policy-making and responsible sourcing strategies. This trend is partly based on growing public awareness of problems and impacts associated with extraction and processing of ores and minerals. Disaster events such as the tailing dam failures in Kolontár (Hungary, October 2010) and Bento Rodriguez (Brazil, November 2015) quite frequently highlight the fact that many mining and processing practices are associated with substantial environmental impacts and risks for the local and even regional environments. However, there is also increasing recognition that the rather devastating environmental performance of many past and current mining projects is a major reason for communities around the world to oppose both the development of new and the expansion of existing mines. Although mining companies constantly have to increase their efforts to secure the social license to operate, many scholars already point out that both environmental impacts and associated social and political reactions are emerging as a decisive factor determining current and future raw material supply. In light of these concerns, raw material policy-making requires solid information on environmental hot spots in mining, as well as on raw materials of particular concern. Whereas indicators and information systems are already well developed for geological, technical, structural, political, regulatory, and economic supply risks, there is currently no holistic method and information system for environmental concerns associated with the mining of raw materials. Although life cycle assessment can provide methodological support for various environmental aspects, it has substantial weaknesses in the fields of ecosystem degradation, impacts on fresh-and groundwater resources, and hazard potentials from episodic disaster events. This paper presents a methodology that aims to fill this gap. Our proposed method provides a system of 11 indicators allowing the identification of raw material-specific environmental hot spots and rankings of raw materials. Although the indicator system is qualitative in nature, its composition and aggregation cover the most relevant environmental concerns arising from mining and allow prioritizing of raw materials from a global environmental perspective.
“…Criticality assessments are a screening tool to highlight concerns of raw material supply that require deeper analyses to build up a knowledge base for targeted actions (Blengini et al 2017;Kosmol et al 2017). Numerous studies have been undertaken to identify critical raw materials in the last ten years.…”
Environmental aspects are more and more relevant for raw material policy-making and responsible sourcing strategies. This trend is partly based on growing public awareness of problems and impacts associated with extraction and processing of ores and minerals. Disaster events such as the tailing dam failures in Kolontár (Hungary, October 2010) and Bento Rodriguez (Brazil, November 2015) quite frequently highlight the fact that many mining and processing practices are associated with substantial environmental impacts and risks for the local and even regional environments. However, there is also increasing recognition that the rather devastating environmental performance of many past and current mining projects is a major reason for communities around the world to oppose both the development of new and the expansion of existing mines. Although mining companies constantly have to increase their efforts to secure the social license to operate, many scholars already point out that both environmental impacts and associated social and political reactions are emerging as a decisive factor determining current and future raw material supply. In light of these concerns, raw material policy-making requires solid information on environmental hot spots in mining, as well as on raw materials of particular concern. Whereas indicators and information systems are already well developed for geological, technical, structural, political, regulatory, and economic supply risks, there is currently no holistic method and information system for environmental concerns associated with the mining of raw materials. Although life cycle assessment can provide methodological support for various environmental aspects, it has substantial weaknesses in the fields of ecosystem degradation, impacts on fresh-and groundwater resources, and hazard potentials from episodic disaster events. This paper presents a methodology that aims to fill this gap. Our proposed method provides a system of 11 indicators allowing the identification of raw material-specific environmental hot spots and rankings of raw materials. Although the indicator system is qualitative in nature, its composition and aggregation cover the most relevant environmental concerns arising from mining and allow prioritizing of raw materials from a global environmental perspective.
“…The concept of criticality in relation to minerals is inherently subjective (Kosmol et al 2018 ); it is considered to be a function of levels of supply risk and the potential economic impact of supply restriction (National Research Council 2008 ). Degree of criticality can be assessed using the criticality matrix (Figs.…”
Section: Criticality and Supply Alternativesmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…(2) Criticality is an amalgamation of values of various factors influencing supply risk and vulnerability. (3) Criticality is not pervasive, and is spatially, temporally, and contextually dependant (Buijs et al 2012 ; Kosmol et al 2018 ); the criticality of a mineral may differ greatly between different stakeholders, at different times, in different geographic, political, and economic environments. Fig.…”
Section: Criticality and Supply Alternativesmentioning
The growing importance of cobalt to the US economy has led to its categorisation as a critical mineral. Cobalt demand is increasing due to its requirement in lithium-ion batteries, which will significantly contribute to the energy transition. Supply is threatened for various reasons, primarily regarding supply chain concentrations, with the majority of the world’s cobalt originating in terrestrial deposits in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and being refined in China. There remain environmental and ethical concerns over the present supply chain. Previous discussions around reducing cobalt’s criticality have suggested diversifying processing locations to reduce geographical and jurisdictional reliance where possible. This study assesses the viability of extracting cobalt from polymetallic nodules (PMNs) located on the deep-seabed in the Area, as an alternative strategy to reduce cobalt’s criticality. Assessments are made of the viability of PMN extraction considering ongoing barriers to introduction, contrasted with current arguments supporting PMN extraction. PMN mining offers a more stable and decentralised alternative to current cobalt supply. There exist impediments to its introduction, notably potential environmental impacts, which remain poorly understood. Technical and political restrictions must also be overcome. It is argued that the wider environmental benefits of increased cobalt supply from PMN mining may offset its detrimental environmental impacts. It is suggested that PMN mining be used in a wider strategy to improve supply security of cobalt to US markets.
“…Disruptions of supply can have severe outcomes for essential sectors such as defense, information, and communication infrastructure . The environmental dimension (including human health and ecosystems implications) has been involved in several criticality assessments in addition to vulnerability to supply restriction (including importance, substitutability, and susceptibility) and the supply risk (including geologic, technologic, and economic risks; social and regulatory risks; and geopolitical risks). − Globally, two terms are being used synonymously, critical and strategic , based on our definition of criticality above; in our discussion, we uniformly use the former term.…”
Section: Assessment Of Metal Criticalitymentioning
Critical metals, identified from
supply, demand, imports, and market
factors, include rare earth elements (REEs), platinum group metals,
precious metals, and other valuable metals such as lithium, cobalt,
nickel, and uranium. Extraction of metals from U.S. saline aqueous,
emphasizing saline, sources is explored as an alternative to hardrock
ore mining. Potential aqueous sources include seawater, desalination
brines, oil- and gas-produced waters, geothermal aquifers, and acid
mine drainage, among others. A feasibility assessment reveals opportunities
for recovery of lithium, strontium, magnesium, and several REEs from
select sources, in quantities significant for U.S. manufacturing and
for reduction of U.S. reliance on international supply chains. This
is a conservative assessment given that water quality data are lacking
for a significant number of critical metals in certain sources. The
technology landscape for extraction and recovery of critical metals
from aqueous sources is explored, identifying relevant processes along
with knowledge gaps. Our analysis indicates that aqueous mining would
result in much lower environmental impacts on water, air, and land
than ore mining. Preliminary assessments of the economics and energy
consumption of recovery show potential for recovery of critical metals.
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