The Feedback Control Cycle of Mineral Supply, Increase of Raw Material Efficiency, and Sustainable Development

Abstract

Sustainable development with regard to non-renewable resources can best be defined in terms of the inter-generational challenge of the Brundtland commission and the intra-generational challenge worked out in Agenda 21 of the 1992 Rio de Janeiro conference of United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). In meeting these challenges, the trilemma of security of supply under conditions of economic viability and environmental sustainability also needs to be addressed in order to achieve sustainable development. To fulfil the natural resources needs of future generations we have three resources at our disposal: (1) the geosphere or primary resources; (2) the technosphere or secondary resources and (3) human ingenuity and creativity driving innovation. Man does not need natural resources as such, only the intrinsic property of a material that enables the fulfilment of a function is required. Any material that can perform the same function more efficiently or cheaply can replace any other material. In our constant drive to secure the supply of efficient raw materials, the feedback control cycle plays an indispensable role by virtue of it reacting to price signals on both the supply and demand sides. The feedback cycle of course goes hand in hand with a continuous learning process. On the supply side, the learning effects are in technology development around primary resources and the increased use of secondary resources; on the demand side with thriftier use of raw materials.

What Is the Optimal and Sustainable Lifetime of a Mine?

“…All three were initially assigned the same priority. To achieve these goals, humankind needs raw materials: energy and mineral resources for its technological and cultural evolution [38]. In the case of phosphate, we are faced with a special situation:…”

“…We are looking far into the future, when investigating paths to the sustainable use of non-renewable mineral raw materials, because sustainability is a long-term concept that must be maintained over generations for as long as humans exist [37,38].…”

Putting Phosphorus First: The Need to Know and Right to Know Call for a Revised Hierarchy of Natural Resources

“…Because of its non-substitutability, an important element of flexibility of the feedback control cycle of the mineral supply is also missing. The feedback control cycle of a mineral supply is a mechanism by which, in the event of shortages and, consequently, price peaks, a new price equilibrium is reached by reactions on the supply and demand side [23,38]. Substitution is an element of reaction on the demand side.…”

“…We differentiate natural resources, i.e., energy and mineral resources, as three categories [23] (Figure 4). …”

“…We differentiate natural resources, i.e., energy and mineral resources, as three categories [23] (Figure 4). went through this learning curve only once; the extreme was 10 times, i.e., several changes of paradigm were necessary to finally be successful.…”