|
(153) The Application of LCA to Mining and Minerals Processing. Stewart, Mary 1, Brent, Geoff1,2, Giurco, Damien1, James, Petrie1, 1 2 ABSTRACT- While much effort has been invested in developing LCA methodology for evaluation of the consumption, use and reuse stages of a material life cycle, little attention has been paid to the "cradle" stage associated with mining, minerals beneficiation and refining. The intention of this paper is to review the current application of LCA to these activities - for both energy and mineral resources - to highlight strengths and deficiencies in the current LCA methodology, and to suggest how some of these deficiencies might be addressed. In particular, we explore the role of LCA in the design, analysis and optimisation of minerals processing technologies, for it is here that the limitations of the current LCIA methodology are most apparent. Some issues which we consider include: - the lack of impact categories to describe the mining process (specifically those associated with capital plant manufacture, and the delineation between surface and underground mining) - the lack of differentiated impacts for different metal species and their extraction / refining processes - the formulation of suitable impact indicators for eco- and human toxicity as well as resource depletion - the quantification of temporal and spatial effects of impacts. Our approach is demonstrated for two case studies - that of coal mining, and the processing of copper concentrates. Some comments are offered on the extrapolation of this approach to a general impact assessment framework, which is suitable for all metalliferous products and processes. Key words: Life Cycle Impact Assessment, Mining, Minerals Processing, Resource Extraction |
