Lecture 8: Geography of mineral resources

Question 1

Natural resources

Answer 1

These include:
* Water – as commodity for habitation
* Petroleum– including crude oil, gas, plastics
* Gems – and other natural materials with a specific value
* Energy – from a variety of sources including fossil fuel, hydropower, geothermal, nuclear, wind, solar
* Minerals/Metals - such as copper (Cu), iron (Fe), aluminium (Al), nickel (Ni), phosphates, carbonates

Question 2

Renewable vs Non-Renewable Resources

Answer 2

• A renewable resource is one that is
  perpetually available or can be replaced in
  nature at a rate close to its rate of use (e.g.
  wind, river, sunlight, biomass, geothermal
  energy)
• A non-renewable resource is one that exists
  in a fixed amount or is used up faster than it
  can be replaced by nature (e.g. oil, gas, coal,
  mineral deposits)

Question 3

Mineral Resources

Answer 3

Inorganic solids and minerals

Metallic: iron, lead, silver, gold, copper, aluminium

Non-metallic: sand/gravel, gypsum, talc, halite, gemstones, phosphate

Question 4

Metallic Earth Resources

Answer 4

Base metals: Fe, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Cr → construction, transport, electrical, machinery

Precious metals: Au, Ag

Platinum Group Elements (PGEs): Pt, Pd, Ir, Os, Rh, Ru

Fissionable: uranium (U), thorium (Th)

Question 5

Mineral usage

Answer 5

A single personal computer (PC) contains >40 minerals

Average US person uses ~1.4 million kg of materials in their lifetime (energy fuels, industrial minerals, metals)

Demand increases every year

Technology and economic development → need for more metals

Green technologies require specific critical metals

Production of Fe ore, bauxite, PGM, Li, Ta has increased sharply

Question 6

Electric Vehicles

Answer 6

EVs are part of climate mitigation

Require charging infrastructure (example: Belgium’s increasing installations)

EVs need more minerals than combustion-engine cars

Main materials: copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn), graphite, REEs

Question 7

Electrification

Answer 7

Electrification increases demand for Cu, Li, Ni, Co, etc.

Battery demand = 4x to 9x growth by 2030 (IEA forecast)

EV stock from 1.2 million to 965 million by 2050 = 20x demand increase for tech metals

Question 8

Criticalty

Answer 8

The concept of critically: Raw materials are considered ‘critical’ if:
1. They are essential to economic & technological development
2. There is a potential risk to supply
→ varies by country, time, and demand/supply

Question 9

Rare Earth Elements

Answer 9

Rare Earth Elements = group of 17 elements
* Used in: clean energy, telecom, transport, high-strength magnets
* In 2010: 97% REE from China: export quotas → global price surge

Question 10

Critical Raw Materials

Answer 10

‘Critical Raw Materials’: EU: 30 → import dependance on monopolies
* Import-dependent
* Limited recycling & substitution
* Often by-products
* High price volatility
* Small market, growing fast

Question 11

Ore deposits

Answer 11

Ore deposits = type of rock with mineral/metal concentration that can be economically extracted for profit
* Too small to be economic? = occurrence
* Potential to become economic? = prospect
* Ore: profitable mineral part
* Gangue: waste
* Tailings: leftover after processing
* Ore grade: % of metal (in weight)
* Tonnage: amount of ore

Question 12

Resource vs Reserve

Answer 12

• Resource = amount of ore and contained metal
• Reserve = economically mineable amount of ore

Question 13

Minimum Exploitable Grade (MEG)

Answer 13

• MEG = lowest ore grade that can still be mined with profit
• Depends on costs, location, technology, mineralogy, regulation
• Some elements portioned into Earth’s mantel: relatively rare (e.g. PGE’s).
  → REE are not that rare

Question 14

Some metals and where they are found

Answer 14

Copper: mostly in porphyry deposits (Pacific Rim); e.g. Escondida (Chile)

Iron: Banded Iron Formations (BIFs); formed during Great Oxidation Event

Aluminium: mined from bauxite (karstic or lateritic)

Tech metals (Li, REEs, Co, Ta): complex geology, mostly in Africa or China

Question 15

Rare Earth Element Deposits: key challenges

Answer 15

Key challenges in developing new REE mines:
1. Complex mineralogy, difficult to process
* Each deposit requires unique processing scheme
* Not grade, but mineralogy determines economic viability
* Most REE-mineral concentrates are shipped to and
processed in China
2. The REE balance problem
* Undersupply of Nd, Pr, Eu, Dy, Tb
* Oversupply of La, Ce, Sm
3. Environmental issues
* Many REE-ores contain U, Th, As etc..

Question 16

Timeline and risks

Answer 16

From exploration to production = 15+ years

High financial risk

Many projects fail (orphan period)

Question 17

Social and pollitical challenges

Answer 17

“Social license to mine” = acceptance by local communities

Problems: health, environmental damage, corruption, unfair licensing

Question 18

Global inequalities

Answer 18

Mining outsourced to Global South

Less regulation, cheaper labour

Unequal environmental impacts

Potential neo-colonial patterns

Need for consumer awareness

Question 19

Climate-related risks to mining (IEA)

Answer 19

1. Higher geographical concentration of production
2. A mismatch between the pace of change in demand and the typical project development timeline
3. The effects of declining resource quality
4. Growing scrutiny of environmental and social performance of production
5. Higher exposure to climate risk such as water stress, among others