Mining of critical minerals, rare earths and metals is the backbone of the green technology movement, powering everything from electric vehicles to energy storage systems.
But there’s a flip side to this progress: the mining activities that provide these essential resources also generate significant amounts of solid waste and wastewater.
The question is, how can we turn this challenge into an opportunity through the principles of a circular economy?
A circular economy offers a way to keep valuable materials in circulation rather than simply discarding them. By applying these principles within mining activities, we can limit waste and keep resources in use for longer.
Many mining sites are already adopting circular practices to reduce waste and conserve water, but achieving full value chain circularity – covering production, consumption, reuse and recycling – requires collaboration.
Policymakers, industry leaders and product designers must unite to create systems that incentivise these practices at critical stages.
The approach mining companies take toward circularity will vary depending on their specific business models.
Some may incorporate recycling operations directly, while others might explore leasing metals or developing technologies to extract more value from waste. ‘
Without these circular methods, the amount of waste generated will continue to grow, driven by a rising global population and the increasing demand for essential materials.
This demand is only expected to intensify as more people connect to electrical grids and overall consumption grows, particularly given the significant role metals like cobalt, copper and lithium play in the energy transition.
Wind, solar, battery storage, and electric vehicles all rely heavily on these mined resources. Mining is not just about extracting metals for immediate use; it’s also about contributing to the future stocks available for recycling.
For instance, about a third of global copper demand is met through recycling.
The challenge lies in enhancing the efficiency of the value chain to ensure metals remain in productive use for far longer.
The growing problem of electronic waste underscores this point.
According to the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor 2020, 53.6 million metric tonnes of e-waste were generated worldwide in 2019, making it the fastest-growing waste stream.
This waste contains precious metals that can be reused, recycled, and repurposed – further emphasising the importance of circularity in the mining sector.
Mining companies have several avenues to explore in this regard:
The path forward will be influenced by a mix of policy measures and market forces as there is no one-size-fits-all approach to achieving circularity.
For example, the EU is advancing waste- and product-related sustainability policies aimed at circularity, while in the US, market-driven forces (supported by measures in the Inflation Reduction Act) are pushing for circularity targets, particularly around recycled content.
Meanwhile, Asia’s policies focus on increasing recycling to enhance material availability.
The mining industry in Africa has also been increasingly focused on decarbonising and introducing circularity into its value chain. Key innovative strategies include integrating renewable energy sources into mining operations, enhancing energy efficiency, managing water and waste to promote sustainability and reprocessing tailings to recover valuable minerals.
The role of mining in the circular economy is critical, especially as the demand for essential metals continues to rise and decarbonising Africa’s mining industry through circular economy principles will enhance resource efficiency and reduce environmental impact. ESI
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