Global, Interdisciplinary Research to Guide a Secure and Sustainable Expansion of Mineral Supply Chains

Abstract

Interdisciplinary, international research collaborations are essential to expanding resilient global mineral supply chains sustainably and responsibly. We identify key research needs to achieve these objectives that address mining water consumption and contamination through tailing management and upstream process innovations. We also explore means of reducing solid waste from mines by repurposing it as a construction material and recovering minerals from aqueous waste streams. Introducing new technologies that improve water efficiency and reduce waste generation will bring trade-offs, including potentially increasing energy consumption. Accordingly, systems analysis is an essential tool for exploring these trade-offs and identifying innovations that can minimize them. These technologies will potentially influence how communities adjacent to mines experience social and environmental effects. Developing and implementing sensor networks to support community-based monitoring of the changes that adoption of these technologies will bring can support community-mine dialogue. Finally, energy system models can explore the potential regional or global effects of these changes on overall mining sector environmental effects. Innovation in the mining sector therefore requires collaboration among engineers, scientists, social scientists, policy experts, and others across academia, industry, governments, and nongovernmental organizations. Developing a secure, resilient, mineral supply chain that maintains or restores environmental quality while meeting global mineral demand requires supporting and sustaining interdisciplinary collaborations among nations.