-
Thea Riofrancos @triofrancos outlines the rising conflicts over minerals and mining for the green energy transition. theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/14/electric-cost-lithium-mining-decarbonasation-salt-flats-chilePermalink On twitter.com
♻️ 2 Retweets ❤️ 5 Favorites Mood -2 🙁
-
Some key points… renewable energy, energy storage, electrification of transport, and enlarging the power grid to replace on-site burning of fossil fuels for heating all have mineral (mostly metal) demands. The IEA attempted to quantify these… iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitionsPermalink On twitter.com
-
As Riofrancos points out, the scale of these demands depends on how much individual products continue to predominate over collective solutions, with cars vs mass transit as perhaps the best example.Permalink On twitter.com
-
"One report estimates that the mining sector produces 100bn tons of waste every year. Extraction and processing are typically water- and energy-intensive, and contaminate waterways and soil."On twitter.com
-
This is both a problem in terms of the industry's orientation, and an opportunity for emissions reductions… There's a lot of unnecessary mining that could be avoided thru reduced consumption and greater recycling.Permalink On twitter.com
-
However, a couple of limits to Riofrancos' argument: 1. The transition from mining fuel to mining energy capturing materials represents a huge decrease in the total volume needed for energy.Permalink On twitter.com
-
There's simply no comparison between the massive displacements implied by coal mining and the rotor, turbine, and battery replacements for them.Permalink On twitter.com
-
2. Minerals w/o long histories of extraction are often available in higher concentration sites, requiring less processing than minerals (like gold, silver) that have largely been stripped from the Earth already.Permalink On twitter.com