A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TOWARDS DOMESTIC CRITICAL MINERAL RESOURCES: EDUCATING ENVIRONMENTALLY, SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY AWARE SCIENTISTS AND POLICY MAKERS

The mineral intensity of the energy transition is becoming well acknowledged with an understanding that mining will need to increase, with projected demands for elements such as graphite, cobalt and lithium increasing by nearly 500% by 2050 (Hund et al., 2020). While the geologic resources exist to meet these needs, there are significant security issues associated with their supply as these elements are principally sourced from a few countries. E.g., currently >60% of graphite is from China, >60% of cobalt is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and ~50% of lithium is from Australia (Herrington, 2021). In addition, mining and supply of raw materials from these countries, and others, have been variably associated with human rights abuses, environmental damage, and politically motivated supply chain issues. To address supply securities while reducing these negative aspects, domestic, as well as global, production of critical minerals should focus on environmental, social, and economic aspects.

To work towards achieving this, I developed a course at Furman University to educate future scientists and policy makers on these issues. This contribution will include how the course covers the intersection of mineral resources, economic geology, mining, and sustainability sciences through application of case studies. The success of the course is marked by students articulating how geosciences and sustainable development, where mining to meet the needs of the present is proposed in a manner as to not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, combine to reduce risks in the supply of critical minerals for the U.S.

References:

Herrington, R., 2021, Mining our green future. Nature Reviews Materials, 6, 456-458, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-021-00325-9

Hund, K., La Porta, D., Fabregas, T.P., Laing, T., Drexhage, J, 2020, Minerals for Climate Action: The Mineral Intensity of the Clean Energy Transition, World Bank Publications, 112 p.