Page 279 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

12

Application of LCA in Mining and Minerals
Processing - Current Programs and

Noticeable Gaps

Dr. Mary Stewart, Dr. Peter Holt and Mr. Rob Rouwette
Energetics Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia

Abstract
This chapter focuses on a status check on life cycle assessment (LCA) and its use in
the mining and minerals sector. References to existing work on LCA within Rio Tinto
and BHP Billiton (BHPB) are provided, as well as scope 3 emissions quantification
where this information is available in the public domain. The main findings are that
while assessments are being conducted, users are only partially incorporating the
information to make decisions. It is clear that supply chain discontinuities through
international commodity exchanges have completely divorced customers from the
producers of the raw material they are purchasing. However, the expectation exists
that there is a more direct link between producer and customer, as seen, for example,
with the jewellery stewardship council, where they are demonstrating a chain of cus-
tody between mining and product.
The authors considered a gap analysis of where the missing elements lie, with context
given to the business case for sustainability in the sector. This extends considerations
to the complete, complex value chain, and highlights the value of approaches such
as design for recovery and recycling. Current market structures make it extremely
complicated for the extraction-focused companies to engage with the final, end-use
stage of the value chain. Insights are offered where LCA might assist in the identification
of the business case for companies to extend their activities beyond primary processing.
Keywords: Life cycle assessment, mining, minerals, processing, refining

12.1 Introduction

When we speak of the mining and/or mining and minerals processing industry
in this chapter we are referring to the mining, concentration and refining of met-
als and the mining and recovery of stones. In other words those points of the
value chain which result in commodities available for manufacturing. The min-
ing and minerals industries consist of a range of sectors and sub-sectors that can
be characterised by the type of material that is being extracted. These materials

Mary Ann Curran (ed.) Life Cycle Assessment Handbook: A Guide for Environmentally
Sustainable Products, (267-290) © 2012 Scrivener Publishing LLC

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