circular economy in mining

circular economy in mining

This need to demonstrate technological and economic viability is a key challenge for Scandium International, and it has put out a call for copper miners and processors to sign up for involvement in the project. The company has just completed a feasibility study on its Nyngan scandium mine in New South Wales, Australia, and is a firm with big ideas and significant belief in new technologies, but perhaps lacks the material facilities to put many of these ideas into practice. The deployment of, To learn more about how our evolving ecosystem delivers on solving the challenges the mining industry is facing today, check out our. This waste is of particular concern due to its often toxic content, with poisonous materials such as mercury a frequent by-product of mining operations. In order to advance the understanding of the potential value of circular economy in mining, Natural Resources Canada commissioned Alan Young and Maria Laura Barreto, directors at Materials Efficiency Research Group, and Karen Chovan, founder and CEO of Enviro Integration Strategies and chair of the Environmental & Social Responsibility Society of CIM, to deliver a report detailing the strategies and opportunities of taking a circular economy approach to mining. Its therefore important that this mining is done right. Mining council zeroing in on aluminium, copper, silicon, steel in At Curtin, Professor Michael Hitch is leading the first step of the process: the drafting of . The Urban Mining Innovation Centre (UMIC) in the Mining Engineering department has been involved in projects that address these challenges in recycling the non-metal fraction, plastic, and the recovery of critical metals and elements from mining tailings. Download Citation | On Jun 2, 2023, Noredine Mahdjoub published Urban Mining and Circular Economy in South Africa: Waste as a Resource for New Generation of Hybrid Materials | Find, read and cite . There is also a financial incentive to reuse finite metal resources given the value and complexity required to produce them. In setting up to accelerate a global circular economy, the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) will be focusing on the value chains of wind turbines and solar photovoltaic panels and . Epiroc wins mining equipment order from Swedish miner Boliden, Eldorado Gold secures strategic investment from EBRD, Val-d'Or Mining signs option agreement with Eldorado Gold, BHP and Microsoft collaborate on AI in copper extraction, Autonomous vehicles hold immense potential: SafeAI on the future of mining, Who's investing where? We round up some of the innovative projects approaches to tackling mining waste, and helping to push mining towards becoming a truly circular economy. This can be achieved through reuse, repair, refurbishment and remanufacturing strategies. It is not in Europes interest to decouple itself fully from China and the bloc should instead look into diplomatic and economic de-risking instead, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday (30 March). If the linear economic model continues, the world will approach a tipping point where it will lose the capacity to sustain itself. . The most common application of circular economy in mining currently involves reprocessing tailings materials in order to extract left over minerals, but according to Chovan, there are plenty more opportunities to take advantage of the resources available to a mining operation, for instance reusing or donating used equipment, but there is also an opportunity to make strides towards ESG goals as well. 11 Apr 2023 Event type Webinar City Copenhagen Country Denmark Key Area Innovation and investments Sector Awareness raising, Mining, metals and minerals, Other (Critical Raw Materials Regulation) Scope Cooperation and development, International, EU Organising Body Circular Innovation Lab ApS Circular Economy in Mining and Metals - Circular Collective In part one of our Circularity series, we looked at the barriers facing the mining industry in achieving circularity in their business. For example, the drill and blast process typically results in all material being hoisted to the surface for processing. As a result of this, we have created a scenario that is frequently referred to as a "take, make, and dispose of" world, where we promote a single use of materials and products, creating a one-directional model of mass production, mass consumption, and finally, disposalafter a single or limited-time use. The technology is unlike anything else in the mining sector, with the company envisioning a bio-refinery to recover gold from waste in a two-stage process. Many of these mine waste projects are collaborative in nature, and this is especially true for VTTs MetGrow+ project, a collaboration with 19 companies, research organisations, and universities from nine European companies. To overcome perceptions that may slow the flow of these key resources, mining and metals companies are putting people and natural capital front and center in their strategies. According to World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the total demand for resources is expected to reach 130 billion tons by 2050, up from 50 billion in 2014an overuse of the Earths total capacity by more than 400% (WBCSD, 2017). At the same time, the mining industry is equally looking to reduce or eliminate emissions and waste at their operations. Your email address will not be published. The poisonous metal has long been a source of public health concerns in both artisanal mining and large-scale operations. Once society does decide to mine, we need to do it in a way that considers the entire mine lifecycle and creates a net positive effect for both people and the environment. With metals and minerals being core ingredients of all clean energy technologies, WEF predicts that we will need around 3 billion tons of metal to attain net zero by 2050. What is a circular economy? Reading listI dont usually finish articles with a reading list (we save that for the newsletter!) These 11 companies are leading the way to a circular economy Considering these dangers, and the widespread nature of mercury in the mining industry, Comstocks work could prove beneficial for miners across the sector. sdutton@deloitte.com. Mining news and in-depth feature articles on the latest mining company deals and projects covering trends in mineral exploration with up to date data on the most mined metal and mineral commodities, Non-Metallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying, Innovations in mining technology & services, Automation in Australia: how the future of mining could change. We need to look at ourselves as borrowers of the land. The most important thing is to commit to making change happen and to bear in mind the ecosystem approach that we discussed earlier. This week we are exploring the opportunities and progress we see in creating a mining industry that reflects the circular economy. Both the current mine lifecycle and the way in which mining businesses are structured are quite segmented which makes this ambition hard to achieve. The report explains: Circular economy complements and builds on responsible mining programs by bringing disparate initiatives under an integrated strategy. One of the core stages of implementing circular principles in the mining industry is in post-mining closure. This linearity is not a challenge for mining companies alone. Herrington used the example of titanium to illustrate this: around 90% of titanium in circulation today is recycled. For circular economy to truly succeed in mining, it will take support from the government through investment in innovation and well-defined strategies, but it will also take a shift in the mindset of how mining companies look at their assets. Discussion on the Mode of Mining Circular Economy Mining circular economy can be implemented at the level of enterprise itself, mine area, mineral value chain and system. However, if not recycled properly, it creates significant challenges when landfilled or disposed of into the environment without recycling, leading to global plastic pollution. Likewise, turning some industrial wastes such as mine tailings into opportunities to extract critical elements or metals provides enormous incentives for creating a circular economy around extractive resource industries.. To tackle the remaining 45 per cent we need to apply the circular economy principles to how we produce and consume steel, aluminium, food and plastic, and how we regenerate arable land (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2019). The CIM Magazine Weekly Mining News Recap for December 23, Iamgold says its Ontario gold project is still on track for production in 2024, A new report commissioned by NRCan shows how implementing a circular economy can be more than just reprocessing tailings, NRCan commissioned the report from Enviro Integration Strategies CEO Karen Chovan (pictured) and Materials Efficiency Research Group directors Alan Young and Maria Laura Barreto. Metals and Minerals Are at the Heart of a Circular Economy This is collaboration between several Canadian universities including Polytechnic Montreal, UBC, UofT, McGill, Uof Waterloo. Mining digs into the circular economy | News at Curtin Herrington is an economic geologist and has advised the UK government in developing its net-zero strategy. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more. The Global Circularity Gap Report, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2019. Notably,the waste that flooded the town of Brumadinho in the infamous Vale tailings dam collapse was found to contain dangerous quantities of mercury, arsenic,and manganese. CEDR Research Call 2022(2) Data is open for bids! All Rights Reserved, Taking a circular approach to mining operations, Mine financing, EV mandates and predictions for 2023, Ct Gold receives much-needed funding from two deals. Transitioning to renewable energy and implementing energy efficiency measures can address 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Circular economy: the projects leading the way in mining waste recovery - Mining Technology Features June 15, 2020 Circular economy: the projects leading the way in mining waste recovery As mining operations grow, so too does their waste production, despite the fact that many waste streams contain useful and even precious resources. One of the main drivers towards that shift is through collaborations and partnerships between different corporations and sectors of the industry. The Missing Link: a Circular Economy Strategy - Medium This third company has developed a water-based process to extract PGMs from catalytic converters, with up to 90% of the precious metals being recovered. Knowledge of available resources and finding suitable business cases are crucial. Innovative land uses can turn mine land, which has . 2023. Circular economy: the projects leading the way in mining waste recovery And here, trade rules matter enormously, Rubinacci added, saying those deals add legal security, transparency and enforceability to mining contracts that are typically extremely risky, with huge capital requirements and long lead times from inception to market. Each mine is different, however, and thus there is no one-size-fits-all approach to what a circular economy-focused mine will look like. The concept of zero waste is ambitious but as the level of collaboration increases progress toward a zero waste industry continues to strengthen. News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The paper gives lots of practical examples on how that can be done. Photo by Jon Benjamin Photography. The miner seeks a partner with a functional copper plant, which can be used to demonstrate the efficacy of the technology on a demonstration scale, before being scaled up to larger productions, or expanded to include other resources. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The more a company invests in the integrated systems of a circular economy model, the more their operations will be able to take full advantage of the associated opportunities on site and throughout their supply ecosystems. CMICs goal to transform mining to a zero-waste industry epitomizes the circular economy. However, this only satisfies about 50% of current demand. Toward a Circular Economy in the Copper Mining Industry However, sustainability is no longer enough. Volume 74, December 2021, 102279 Moving the circular economy forward in the mining industry: Challenges to closed-loop in an emerging economy Vidyadhar V. Gedam a , Rakesh D. Raut b , Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour c , Nishant Agrawal d Add to Mendeley https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2021.102279 Get rights and content Highlights There is no single blueprint for how a fully circular mine should look, so weve explored all of the possibilities and how they can be pieced together to create a solution that works for each mine site.. "The Circular Economy - Challenges and - NBK Mining Institute I think that just one mindset shift would move things a long way, and that would be to place value on all the materials that they have to move, not just the target commodity that theyre producing. The London- and Johannesburg-listed diversified mining and marketing company, headed by CEO Gary Nagle, intends to provide lithium-ion battery recycling solutions at scale for Spain and Portugal, in partnership with FCC mbito and Iberdrola. The circular economy is more than just a buzz phrase. ReThink Mining - Global Mining Innovation Powered by CMIC. (PDF) Circular Economy in Mineral Processing Achieving circularity will require us to consider the industry as just one part of an ecosystem, or a cog in a much larger machine. Carly Leonida explains why we need to consider the bigger picture surrounding future metals supply to instigate lasting change. How do you do less harm? All of the minerals are potential assets, Chovan said. London, UK - ICMM has published updated guidance which is designed to help mining companies improve how human rights impacts are managed across the globe.. ICMM's Human Rights Due Diligence Guidance (the Guidance) aims to help mining companies to better integrate human rights into existing risk management approaches. Stock optimisation extending the value of materials; Eco-effectiveness going beyond eco-efficiency; Eliminating the concept of waste by extending resource value; Circular product and process design; and. As mining operations grow, so too does their waste production, despite the fact that many waste streams contain useful and even precious resources. Required fields are marked *. Recycling alone won't be enough to sustain the amount of materials needed We need to increase sharing, reuse and a preference for longevity to reduce demand. Acknowledged as a future leader, Ashleigh was recently awarded as a global Top 100 Corporate Social Responsibility Influential Leader for 2020, is a Prime Ministers Scholar, an Australian ASEAN Emerging Leader, an invitee to the 73rd United Nations General Assembly and an Ellen MacArthur Foundation Circular Economy Champion, a title granted to only a handful of people worldwide. Again, the cradle-to-cradle concept is central to these efforts. Environmental and social governance (ESG) done right could also drive other benefits such as the creation of local supply chains and the restoration of biodiversity. Some of these waste streams contain significant mineral, metal, or material value. Deloitte, us, we and our refer to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL), its global network of member firms, and their related entities (collectively, the Deloitte organization). EU pushes alternative model to China in global race for raw materials

Where Does Always Blanks Get Their Shirts, Best Country For Insurance Jobs, Articles C