Mapping the global flow of tungsten to identify key material efficiency and supply security opportunities

Tungsten is an economically important metal with diverse applications ranging from wear resistant cutting tools to its use in specialized steels and alloys. Concerns about its supply security have been raised by various studies in literature, mostly due to trade disputes arising from supply concentration and exports restrictions in China and its lack of viable substitutes. Although tungsten material flows have been analysed for specific regions, a global mass flow analysis of tungsten is still missing in literature and its global supply chain remains opaque for industry outsiders. The objective of this paper is to create a map of global tungsten flows to highlight and discuss key material efficiency (i.e. using less of a material to make a product or supply a service, or reducing the material entering production but ending up in waste) and supply security opportunities along tungsten‘s supply chain that could be incorporated into the planning and prioritization of future supply security strategies. The results indicate the existence of various intervention alternatives that could help to broaden the supply base and improve the overall material efficiency of the system. In particular, future policy and research and development (R&D) efforts to improve tungsten‘s material efficiency should focus on minimizing tungsten losses as fine particles during beneficiation and extraction (current global losses estimated at 10–40%), as well as on evaluating alternatives to improve recycling collection systems and technologies, which could lead to 17–45% more tungsten discards being recycled into new products.E. Petavratzi, T.J. Brown and A.G. Gunn publish with the permission of the Executive Director of the British Geological Survey. David R. Leal-Ayala and Julian M. Allwood were supported by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through a Leadership fellowship (reference EP/G007217/1) and a research grant awarded to the UK Indemand Centre (reference EP/K011774/1). We thank Michael Dornhofer, Felix Gaul and Markus Ettl from Wolfram Bergbau und Hütten AG for their generous contributions to the paper.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344915300367

A bottom-up building stock quantification methodology for construction minerals using Earth Observation. The case of Hanoi

Increasing demand for significant volumes of construction materials, especially sand for use in concrete, in rapidly developing urban environments is becoming a significant socio-economic and environmental issue. The consumption of concrete (comprised of sand, aggregates and cement) is especially concerning on a city level as vast volumes of materials are extracted within the urban hinterland, causing direct impacts locally and the potential for supply issues directly impacting city level metabolism. Excessive consumption and poor management of these materials make it increasingly hard for society to ensure new urban development and infrastructure projects, essential for maintaining the health of cities, meet sustainable development objectives. However, it is difficult to implement suitable resource management policies without first understanding how materials are produced and consumed at an appropriate spatial level. For many areas, especially on a city level, such data is absent, especially so for sand and aggregates which can further exacerbate these local supply issues and environmental impacts. This study attempts to address this data gap via combining earth observation datasets with estimates of materials contained within urban infrastructure (material intensities) to calculate the rapid increase of construction material stocks in Hanoi. Spatial data on buildings have been gathered using, producing, and collating a variety of spaceborne open-source datasets on built up areas (GlobalMLBuildingFootpint, World Settlement Footprint 3D, Open Street Map) and land use classification maps. Linking this spatial data with estimated quantities of sand, gravel, cement and concrete in typical buildings in Hanoi enables quantification of building stocks for a range of building types over a time series. The results show that for every new km2 of urban infrastructure approximately 520,000 tonnes of concrete, or 360,000 tonnes of sand, 580,000 tonnes of gravel and 115,000 tonnes of cement are required. If the Hanoi Masterplan is to be achieved by 2030, then the material demand is likely to be for 106 million tonnes of concrete or 73 million tonnes of sand, 118 million tonnes of gravel and 24 million tonnes of cement. These all exceed historical consumption trends and are far in excess of current extraction rates and therefore careful planning is required to ensure access to sustainable resources into the future

Vietnam - Hanoi city material flows

This report describes the first phase of research for a minerals materials flow analysis in an Asian Megacity. This consists of a scoping study to assess the feasibility of conducting material flow analysis (MFA) for Hanoi, with a particular focus on assessing the availability of required data. The availability of data on the production, trade, consumption, and demand for constructionrelated mineral commodities at a national, regional and city level within Vietnam was assessed. Although current levels of publically available data are insufficient to allow a full MFA analysis we present the results obtained from a preliminary analysis of material supply and demand in Hanoi. Supply and demand scenarios up to 2030 for several commodities important for the construction sector have been evaluated. Recommendations are also made for future application of MFA in Hanoi. This research was supported by BGS NC-ODA grant NE/R000069/1 entitled Geoscience for Sustainable Futures. It was delivered via the BGS Asian Cities Official Development Assistance (ODA) Research Platform

Life cycle assessment and water use impacts of lithium production from salar deposits: Challenges and opportunities

This is the final version. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record. Lithium is a critical raw material for the energy transition and the salar brine deposits of South America host ∼70% of global resources. However, there are concerns regarding water use, and the associated impacts, of lithium production from these deposits. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is becoming increasingly prevalent in the analysis of raw materials sustainability, but current methods are regarded as unsatisfactory for assessing water use impacts related to lithium production from salar deposits. This work explores the challenges and opportunities for improvement in this context. We outline how the classification and assessment of water types could be improved and identify Water Availability Assessments, groundwater specific CFs, salar-specific methodologies and multiple mid-point indicators as areas for further investigation. This will aid the development of LCA methodology and enable an improved assessment of the sustainability of lithium production from salar deposits in South America and by extension help decouple decarbonisation efforts from negative impacts.Natural Environment Research Counci

Global material flows of lithium for the lithium-ion and lithium iron phosphate battery markets

We conducted a material flow analysis (MFA) model for a single year (2018) to understand the global flows of lithium from primary extraction to lithium-ion battery (LIB) use in four key sectors: automotive, energy and industrial use, electronics and other. A specific focus and quantification of lithium use in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes for LIB batteries is also given. This is to align with the overall focus of the project on LFP cathode materials and to assist in decision making for the Bolivian stakeholders of this project. The stages included in the model are: extraction, processing, cathode manufacture, other manufacture (non-battery), lithium-ion battery (LIB) manufacture, lithium iron phosphate battery manufacture (LFP) and the end-use sectors of automotive, energy and industrial use, electronics and other. We visualised the model using a Sankey diagram. Some of our key conclusions are summarised below: • The hard rock deposits dominated production of lithium in 2018. This was not the case a few years back, where lithium from brine deposits constituted the primary source. • There are significant losses of lithium to waste both at the extraction but also at the processing stages. This is due to low recovery rates. • The battery compound market did not monopolise the global lithium markets in 2018, but it has been growing fast for several consecutive years. In 2010 the lithium battery market share was estimated to be 31%, in 2018 46%, and in 2021 71% (USGS 2021b). • We have identified an oversupply of lithium compounds used in cathode manufacture in 2018. This finding is in line with several reports mentioned by market analysts suggesting oversupply of lithium in the market in this year (Shabalala 2018, Erkan 2019). • LIB LFPs were the second largest cathode market after NMC cathodes. Their manufacture and use have been taking place almost solely in China. In recent years however LFP cathodes seem to have made a comeback and projections suggest increasing demand for them from the automotive and energy storage sectors. This is an opportunity for countries like Bolivia who are willing to proceed with the commercialisation of LFP batteries. • In 2018 LFP cathodes for the automotive sector was the largest consumer of lithium, with energy storage and industrial uses being the second dominant end-use consumer. • There are data uncertainties associated with all stages of the supply chain. Data are dispersed and not fit-for-purpose, especially for the cathode and LIB manufacturing stages. Considering the global focus on decarbonisation technologies and LIBs, this means that these markets are likely to increase significantly in the short-term. It is therefore essential that material requirements and use are reported accordingly to ensure frictionless supply and proper use of resources at the end of their life. • The lithium market is extremely dynamic with significant changes occurring from one year to the next. There is a need therefore for further enhancement of our current model to a dynamic form that explores transformation pathways, develops future scenarios, looks in more detail at the environmental impacts of different stages and also includes the ‘use’ and ‘end-of-life’ stages

Assessment of the dustiness and the dust liberation mechanisms of limestone quarry operations

In surface mineral workings, dust is potentially generated from a range of activities like site preparation, stockpiling, loading, transportation and mineral processing operations. Aggregate quarries are one of the largest extractive industrial sectors in UK. This project investigates the propensity of a limestone ore to generate dust due to handling and comminution processes. The dustiness of a limestone ore is assessed using the Warren Spring Laboratory rotating drum (HSE-WSL). The effect of the operating parameters of the WSL rotating drum to the dustiness of limestone is evaluated prior to testing. Preliminary testing on the effect of the operational parameters to the dustiness values showed that the consistency of the end results is closely related to them, thus they need to be carefully controlled. Also, control testing took place to identify the maximum dustiness value per operational parameter, so as to define an optimum set for the limestone sample. This testing procedure is compared with the HSL proposed testing procedure and their differences are quantified. The use of the optimum experimental protocol (OPT-TP) determined by preliminary testing yielded much higher dustiness values even though the initial mass of test material is less than the sample mass used in the HSL testing procedure (HSL-TP). A variety of different fractions is tested and the dustiness indices of the total dust and the health related fractions are determined. Different limestone fractions were found to exhibit different dustiness levels, whereas the concentration of fine material in the test sample is closely related to the dust yield. The airborne fraction was collected for particle size analysis. The dust particle size distributions and the cumulative percentages of volume concentrations below 10 and 2.5 _m were determined. Experimental conclusions proved that control over operational parameters of industrial processes (i.e. conveying of materials, stockpiling) such as the time scale of a process or the limestone mass could contribute to potentially lower levels of particulate matter. Also, lower concentrations of fine material within industrial processes could conclude to lower dust yield. The minimization of fine material could be achieved through optimization practices of the degradation—classification processes (comminution, sieving, etc.). Dustiness measurements and particle size analysis are valuable tools to the mining sector, legislative parties and occupational hygienists as they can assist the development of a correct dust assessment plan as well as mitigation methodologies, work practices and health and safety regulations.E. Petavratzi, S.W. Kingman, I.S. Lownde

A bottom-up building stock quantification methodology for construction minerals using Earth Observation. The case of Hanoi

Increasing demand for significant volumes of construction materials, especially sand for use in concrete, in rapidly developing urban environments is becoming a significant socio-economic and environmental issue. The consumption of concrete (comprised of sand, aggregates and cement) is especially concerning on a city level as vast volumes of materials are extracted within the urban hinterland, causing direct impacts locally and the potential for supply issues directly impacting city level metabolism. Excessive consumption and poor management of these materials make it increasingly hard for society to ensure new urban development and infrastructure projects, essential for maintaining the health of cities, meet sustainable development objectives. However, it is difficult to implement suitable resource management policies without first understanding how materials are produced and consumed at an appropriate spatial level. For many areas, especially on a city level, such data is absent, especially so for sand and aggregates which can further exacerbate these local supply issues and environmental impacts. This study attempts to address this data gap via combining earth observation datasets with estimates of materials contained within urban infrastructure (material intensities) to calculate the rapid increase of construction material stocks in Hanoi. Spatial data on buildings have been gathered using, producing, and collating a variety of spaceborne open-source datasets on built up areas (GlobalMLBuildingFootpint, World Settlement Footprint 3D, Open Street Map) and land use classification maps. Linking this spatial data with estimated quantities of sand, gravel, cement and concrete in typical buildings in Hanoi enables quantification of building stocks for a range of building types over a time series. The results show that for every new km2 of urban infrastructure approximately 520,000 tonnes of concrete, or 360,000 tonnes of sand, 580,000 tonnes of gravel and 115,000 tonnes of cement are required. If the Hanoi Masterplan is to be achieved by 2030, then the material demand is likely to be for 106 million tonnes of concrete or 73 million tonnes of sand, 118 million tonnes of gravel and 24 million tonnes of cement. These all exceed historical consumption trends and are far in excess of current extraction rates and therefore careful planning is required to ensure access to sustainable resources into the future