Concerns have been raised for the future supply of critical metals, from rare earth elements to indium, cobalt gold, silver, rhodium and zinc, some of which have been flagged, at current production rates, as becoming unavailable to mine in the next 15 to 20 years, unless major new discoveries emerge.
Waste and the circular economy
How does a global society, one that is as dependent as ever on key industrial metals to feed into the production of basic products and high-tech gadgets, begin to square this circle? For advocates of the ‘circular economy’ – a broad concept describing a society that emphasises resource conservation and recycling as opposed to the linear economy’s ‘take, make, dispose’ model that has dominated global industrialisation – one answer lies at the opposite end of the supply chain to the exploration and production activities that occupy the mining sector.
Take the average car, for instance, which contains more than a tonne of iron and steel, 240lbs of aluminium, 42lbs of copper, 41lbs of silicon, 22lbs of zinc and a host of other mineral commodities in small amounts, including gold, platinum and titanium. With vehicles, along with discarded batteries and electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), often going to landfill, the chance to re-process these products and make use of their useful raw materials is too often missed.
More extensive recycling of waste metal could bring incredible sustainability benefits, from saving energy and water to avoiding excessive environmental impacts from primary production. Scarce supplies have left most countries relying on international suppliers for many mining commodities, so recycling could help countries reduce their dependence on imports. There is a financial opportunity too; according to the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor 2017, published in December, the 44.7 million tonnes of e-waste (electronic waste) produced worldwide in 2016 contained metals and other materials worth €55bn.
“Circular economy models need to be adopted to encourage closing the loop of materials through better design of components, recycling, reusing, etc., while mitigating environmental pollution,” the report noted. “Therefore, the circular economy concept offers huge economic and employment opportunities for e-waste management; the presented €55bn of secondary materials is an underestimate of those economic opportunities.”
To read the full story, visit https://www.mining-technology.com/features/urban-mine-tapping-resources-worlds-waste/.