Utilisation of multiple current and legacy datasets to create a national minerals inventory: A UK case study

Bide, T.; Brown, T.J.; Gunn, Andrew; Mankelow, J.M.

doi:10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101654

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Explanations: EI-economic importance; SR-supply risk; na-not assessed; 1 production of antimony trioxide on the basis of imported unwrought antimony; 2 currently, gallium is not produced in the EU; it was recovered until 2013 in Hungary and until 2016 in Germany in the course of metallurgical treatment of gallium-bearing bauxite; 3 hafnium is a by-product of zirconium ore processing; 4 indium is produced in the EU from imported In-rich zin concentrates and In-rich waste materials; Neves Corvo mine in Portugal produces In-rich Zn and Sn concentrates, but there is no information regarding whether indium is recovered there; 5 only ceramic grades; 6 tantalum is obtained in small quantities by Imerys in Echassieres (France), but the entire production is exported out of the EU; 7 titanium ores are sourced, e.g., from Norway. Explanations: 1 Recovered exclusively as by-products during the processing of other metals (aluminum, zinc), occurring primarily from bauxite deposits, resources of gallium have not been evidenced in the EU, although there was some gallium production in the past in Hungary and Germany; 2 recovered mostly from zinc ores and coal ashes; 3 derived as by-product of zinc production; 4 data on resources and reserves reported together for niobium and tantalum; 5 data for high-quality silica sand/vein quartz; * United Kingdom had been a member state of the EU until 2019.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nowadays, technological progress and quality of life rely on access to numerous raw materials, the majority of which are closely linked to clean technologies, e.g., the production of PV panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and energy-efficient lighting. In order to maintain a steady, adequate, and sustainable supply of minerals, the appropriate policies should be implemented at all levels of government administration [1]. This particularly concerns mineral raw materials used in high-tech applications, e.g., electronics, digital technologies, robotics, or defense industry, which are essential for further industrial development [2][3][4][5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

On the Possibilities of Critical Raw Materials Production from the EU’s Primary Sources

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sufficient supplies of critical raw materials (CRMs) for rapidly developing technologies, e.g., Li-ion batteries, wind turbines, photovoltaics, digitization, etc., have become one of the main economic challenges for the EU. Due to growing import dependency and associated risk of supply disruptions of these raw materials from third countries, there is a need to encourage their domestic production. This is an important starting point for EU value chains crucial for the sustainable economic growth of the whole Union. This contribution has evaluated the possibilities of CRMs supply from the EU’s primary sources. A three-step approach, including an assessment of CRMs’ importance for the EU’s economic growth, their significance in at least two of the three strategic industrial sectors (i.e., renewable energy, e-mobility, defense and aerospace), and their potential availability from EU mineral deposits, has been applied. Results of the analysis have shown that, of 29 critical mineral raw materials (according to the 2020 EC list), the potential to develop manufacturing from the Union mineral deposits exists for 11 CRMs, i.e., cobalt, graphite (natural), HREE, LREE, lithium, magnesium, niobium, PGMs, silicon metal, titanium, and tungsten, while some other CRMs, namely gallium, germanium, indium, and vanadium can be recovered as by-products. Measures to mitigate EU import dependency have been also proposed.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Possibilities of Critical Raw Materials Production from the EU’s Primary Sources

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Accordingly, the UK provides a good, if complex, example of how the UNFC system can be used to produce a national resource inventory that can be compared with those of other countries that also use UNFC. This study uses baseline data compiled by a resource inventory exercise for the UK (Bide et al, 2020) for this classification exercise.…”

Section: Data Harmonisation Solutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, national and regional level estimates have been made using geospatial data in a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) environment for the purposes of a national inventory. This relies on data inferred from geological mapping, rather than supplied by the industry and the methodology used to undertake this exercise is described fully in Bide et al (2020).…”

Section: Geospatial Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For other, geologically less-complex minerals, e.g. aggregate and industrial minerals, this study was able to draw on holistic national level studies that have estimated total 'geological availability' of minerals using spatial data (Bide et al, 2020) to fill some of these data gaps. When estimates are carried out in this way, it frequently results in very large tonnages as the wide range of constraints (socio-economic, etc.)…”

Section: Data Gapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Development of decision-making tools to create a harmonised UK national mineral resource inventory using the United Nations Framework Classification

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The need to better understand how we source and consume the raw materials required for decarbonisation is driving a growing demand for data on mineral resources. A key application of these data is to understand resource potential, by evaluating known 'geological stocks' of raw materials based on estimates of mineral resources and reserves. However, the available resource data are often incomplete, totally lacking or compiled in different ways (i.e. industry reported data, which has significantly different user requirements to that of national level policy makers), making comparisons and aggregation near impossible.This study demonstrates the use of the United Nations Framework Classification (UNFC) to harmonise resource data for the UK. It highlights the benefits of this approach for improving the understanding of resource issues. Simple decision-making tools have been created, and are used to assist with classifying existing resource data using the three axes of UNFC, degree of confidence, technical feasibility and environmental socio-economic viability. These are designed to be applicable to a wide range of heterogenous datasets managed by national data providers. Their application to the UK, which has no system or national standard for collecting resource data, has served to highlight various issues relating to future mineral supply. These include variable data for deposits that may include multiple commodities such as co-and by-products, lack of data for minerals required for newly developing technologies and the variations in approaches for different commodity types.The compilation of standardised datasets can benefit national resource management, providing a 'snapshot' of the state of the UK minerals industry. For example, the results of this study facilitates inter-regional and international comparison and aggregations. In addition the consideration of the unique combination of geological, social and environmental factors by UNFC well as highlights where interventions may be needed if new projects to contribute to the green transition are to be developed. The use of the UNFC to classify mineral resource data, in a consistent way, by using the decision tools presented here, supports the creation and adoption of evidencebased raw material strategies. However, it is important to understand the limitations related to data gaps, consistency of approach and harmonisation of datasets from diverse sources.

show abstract

Mass-Balance-Consistent Geological Stock Accounting: A New Approach toward Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources

Simoni,

Drielsma,

Ericsson

et al. 2024

Environ. Sci. Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Global resource extraction raises concerns about environmental pressures and the security of mineral supply. Strategies to address these concerns depend on robust information on natural resource endowments, and on suitable methods to monitor and model their changes over time. However, current mineral resources and reserves reporting and accounting workflows are poorly suited for addressing mineral depletion or answering questions about the longterm sustainable supply. Our integrative review finds that the lack of a robust theoretical concept and framework for mass-balance (MB)consistent geological stock accounting hinders systematic industrygovernment data integration, resource governance, and strategy development. We evaluate the existing literature on geological stock accounting, identify shortcomings of current monitoring of mine production, and outline a conceptual framework for MB-consistent system integration based on material flow analysis (MFA). Our synthesis shows that recent developments in Earth observation, geoinformation management, and sustainability reporting act as catalysts that make MB-consistent geological stock accounting increasingly feasible. We propose first steps for its implementation and anticipate that our perspective as "resource realists" will facilitate the integration of geological and anthropogenic material systems, help secure future mineral supply, and support the global sustainability transition.

show abstract

Utilisation of multiple current and legacy datasets to create a national minerals inventory: A UK case study

Cited by 5 publications

References 5 publications

On the Possibilities of Critical Raw Materials Production from the EU’s Primary Sources

On the Possibilities of Critical Raw Materials Production from the EU’s Primary Sources

Development of decision-making tools to create a harmonised UK national mineral resource inventory using the United Nations Framework Classification

Mass-Balance-Consistent Geological Stock Accounting: A New Approach toward Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About