An original strategy and evaluation of a reaction mechanism for recovering valuable metals from zinc oxide dust containing intractable germanide

A novel leaching-roasting-leaching strategy was used to recover valuable metals from zinc oxide dust containing intractable germanide. In the ultrasonic enhanced oxidation leaching stage, potassium permanganate and ultrasonication were introduced to strengthen the dissolution of sulphide. During the roasting stage, sodium carbonate and magnesium nitrate were added to promote the reaction between the insoluble tetrahedral germanium dioxide and complex forms of germanium-containing compounds. Simultaneously, the sulphur produced in the ultrasonic enhanced oxidation leaching stage was used to change the phases of tin dioxide and zinc ferrite, thereby releasing germanium into its lattice. Finally, the germanium in the roasting slag was recovered by conventional leaching, and the grades of lead and tin in the residue were enriched to 35.21% and 11.31%, respectively. Compared with the conventional acid leaching process of enterprise, the total reaction time of this method was shortened to 80 min, and the recovery rates of zinc and germanium increased by approximately 10% and 40%, respectively. The entire process is clean and environmentally friendly and does not cause adverse effects on the recovery of lead and tin. Overall, this study provides new insights into the design of valuable metal recovery methods for zinc oxide dust containing intractable germanide.

Exploring the potential of circular solutions to replace inorganic fertilizers in the European Union

The use of inorganic fertilizer in agriculture is linked to the consumption of finite mineral resources. The demand of inorganic fertilizer is unsustainable since the current practices mostly follow a linear economy pathway incurring in a significant loss of nutrients. Accordingly, circular solutions to close the nutrient loop should be implemented to increase the sustainability of agriculture. However, the implementation of circular solutions is neither straightforward nor always beneficial. The present analysis investigates the circular solutions to replace inorganic fertilizers currently available considering the type of feedstock required, the technology implied, and the specific crop response. A major element of novelty is that accounting for the specific crop response allows the present study to capture the actual potential of circular solutions revealing that unspecific law-enforced figures can remarkably underestimate such potential, likely inducing further loss of nutrients and environmental impact. This paper reveals a set of available solutions discussing their feasibility and limitations and analyzing their efficiencies compared to traditional fertilizers. The flaws affecting the current practices, which are hampering the exploitation of the full potential of such solutions are highlighted. By means of the illustrative example of the EU pork industry, a qualitative assessment of the potential to substitute the use of inorganic fertilizers with efficient and feasible solutions is provided. The example focuses on barley, maize, and wheat, as the main domestically sourced feed crops. The proposed novel, more comprehensive, approach to the problem of circular nutrients flows opens the pathway to future policy-oriented quantitative analyses.

Resources curse hypothesis and COP26 target: Mineral and oil resources economies COVID-19 perspective

In recent times, industrialized economies have focused more on achieving a sustainable environment while maintaining economic prosperity. However, it is clear from the current research that natural resource exploitation and decentralization substantially affect environmental quality. To experimentally validate such data, the current study examines decentralized economies during the previous three decades (1990-2020). This study discovered the existence of long-term cointegration between carbon emissions, economic growth, revenue decentralization, spending decentralization, natural resources, and human capital using panel data econometric techniques. The findings are based on non-parametric techniques, indicating that economic growth and revenue decentralization are the primary barriers to meeting the COP26 objective. Human capital drives down carbon emissions and contributes to meeting the COP26 objective. On the contrary, decentralization of spending and natural resources has a mixed influence on carbon emissions across quantiles. This report recommends investing in human capital, education, and research & development to speed up COP26's target accomplishment.

Responsible sourcing for energy transitions: Discussing academic narratives of responsible sourcing through the lens of natural resources justice

The Paris Agreement and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals clearly demonstrate the need for global energy transitions. Evolving energy generation and the expansion of the renewable energy capacity and associated infrastructure contribute to changing and increasing demands for minerals and metals. The potential negative environmental, social and economic impacts of increased mineral resource production have been contested and are under increasing scrutiny by both academia and civil society. Responsible Sourcing (RS) has become a management approach for companies and policymakers to identify, monitor and address potential negative impacts along their raw materials' supply chains. Although RS might contribute to sustainability along the supply chain, this paper raises the question of whether it also contributes to Natural Resource Justice (NRJ) in energy transitions. Based on a bibliometric network analysis, this study investigated current narratives of RS literature and to what degree core aspects of NRJ (e.g., distribution of benefits and burdens, power asymmetries, property rights) are reflected in the RS debate following a deductive approach. The results obtained show that compared with other sectors (e.g., timber, food, biomass, textiles) debates on RS in renewable energy-related sectors are still scarce and fragmented. The analysis indicates that different foci are aligned with one or more of the traditional three sustainability dimensions (i.e., environmental, social, economic), while few addressed aspects of NRJ. The authors observed a distinct lack of holistic justice considerations in the current RS debate and only a few individual issues are discussed, such as the detection of burden shifting, accountability for supplier behavior, and sharing of financial benefits. This research contributes to the understanding of different RS approaches and extends the RS discussion to NRJ considerations in energy transitions. It also points out important paths for future research to contribute to just energy transitions.

Exploring frame conflicts in the development of a new mineral resource policy in Austria using Q-methodology

Mineral resource policy deals not only with industrial and trade aspects but is nowadays also increasingly concerned with topics such as environmental protection and social development. The tensions associated with strongly divergent opinions among various stakeholder groups cast it as a 'wicked problem'. The process of redeveloping the 'Austrian Mineral Resources Strategy' allows for examination of the different frames and identification of potential frame conflicts in consultation processes at the national level. Using Q-methodology, this paper reveals four frames represented in the Austrian policy design process and unravels conflicts between economy-focused and integrated policy framings. The predominance of the first frame indicates a narrow sectoral approach favouring domestic mineral extraction and economic growth over other means (e.g. international distributional conflicts of benefits and burdens). The article also demonstrates the suitability of Q-methodology as a tool to investigate frames and to improve their understanding in policy design processes.

Genetic engineering of extremely acidophilic Acidithiobacillus species for biomining: Progress and perspectives

With global demands for mineral resources increasing and ore grades decreasing, microorganisms have been increasingly deployed in biomining applications to recover valuable metals particularly from normally considered waste, such as low-grade ores and used consumer electronics. Acidithiobacillus are a genus of chemolithoautotrophic extreme acidophiles that are commonly found in mining process waters and acid mine drainage, which have been reported in several studies to aid in metal recovery from bioremediation of metal-contaminated sites. Compared to conventional mineral processing technologies, biomining is often cited as a more sustainable and environmentally friendly process, but long leaching cycles and low extraction efficiency are main disadvantages that have hampered its industrial applications. Genetic engineering is a powerful technology that can be used to enhance the performance of microorganisms, such as Acidithiobacillus species. In this review, we compile existing data on Acidithiobacillus species' physiological traits and genomic characteristics, progresses in developing genetic tools to engineer them: plasmids, shutter vectors, transformation methods, selection markers, promoters and reporter systems developed, and genome editing techniques. We further propose genetic engineering strategies for enhancing biomining efficiency of Acidithiobacillus species and provide our perspectives on their future applications.

Environmental and natural resource degradation in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic: a wake-up call

The study's objective is to examine the relationship between COVID-19 cases, environmental sustainability ratings, and mineral resource rents in a large cross section of 97 countries. The emergence of novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) enlarges its magnitude across the international borders and damages social, economic, and environmental infrastructure with a high rate of human death tolls. The mineral resources are also devastated, which served as a primary raw input into the production system. The adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the environment and mineral resources are studied in a large panel of countries and found that mineral resource rents and population growth improve environmental sustainability rating (ESR). In contrast, an increase in coronavirus cases decreases the rating scale across countries. Further, mineral resources first decrease along with increased COVID-19 cases due to strict government policies, including the mandatory shutdown of economic institutions. Further, mineral resource rents increase later because of resuming economic activities in many parts of the world. The high rate of population growth is another important factor that negatively affects mineral resources across countries. Through impulse response and variance decomposition estimates, an exacerbated coronavirus cases and population growth would likely negatively affect ESR and mineral resources. In contrast, COVID-19 recovered cases will likely play a more significant role in securing mineral resources over time. Therefore, the global mineral resource conservation policies and improving ESR are highly needed during the COVID-19 to keep the significant economic gains in unprecedented times.

Research on the innovation incentive effect and heterogeneity of the market-incentive environmental regulation on mineral resource enterprises

Problems of ecological environment and resources have become an important factor restricting the high-quality development of China's economy. How to better integrate into the sustainable development model has become an important goal of macro-policy regulation in the transition period. Mining industry is a fundamental industry in China. Strengthening the incentive role of mining innovation is of great importance for ensuring China's energy security, reducing emissions and promoting economic growth. However, whether environmental regulation can induce technological innovation ability, that is, the existence of Porter effect, is still controversial. It is helpful to study the influence of the Porter hypothesis on mining enterprises for their sustainable development. Based on the data of listed companies in China from 2003 to 2018, and against the background of the SO₂ emission trading pilot policy implemented in 2007, this paper studies the incentive effect of the market-incentive environmental regulation on the technological innovation ability of mineral resource enterprises, tests the existence of Porter effect, and discusses the heterogeneity. The results show that the market-incentive environmental regulation has a significant incentive effect on the innovation of mining enterprises, and there is significant Porter effect on mining enterprises. The robustness test confirms the correctness of this conclusion. At the same time, this paper also discusses the variation of the characteristics of heterogeneous enterprises, and finds that enterprises with utility model patents, no low-carbon behavior, and non-provincial cities and regions with high environmental regulation are more sensitive to the SO₂ emission trading pilot policy. This paper verifies the incentive effect of the market-incentive environmental regulation on the innovation ability of mining enterprises, and provides a reference for the formulation of innovation incentive policies for mining enterprises in China.

Mining in the Arctic environment - A review from ecological, socioeconomic and legal perspectives

The development of mining and other resource-based industries are among key drivers of economic development in the Arctic. The fragile environment and the presence of nature-based livelihoods and indigenous communities pose challenges for mining development. Mining operations should be optimized so that the profitability is maintained in changing market conditions and to meet increasing societal and environmental demands. In this study we present the current understanding on the interplay between mining and the surrounding socio-ecological systems in the Arctic region. The existing academic literature on the Arctic region was reviewed, covering 127 peer-reviewed publications since 2000. We investigated the mining activities from four perspectives examining: 1) environmental, 2) economic, 3) social and 4) legal dimensions, covering three life-cycle stages: 1) pre-mining, 2) mining, and 3) post-mining. The publications on the environmental and economic aspects focused principally on the impacts of mining, whereas social and legal publications discussed the interaction between people and their rights and ways of controlling their environment. Besides the need for more balanced research between different life-cycle stages we uncovered five research gaps concerning the knowledge base needed to increase the sustainability of Arctic mining: 1) impacts and adaptation to climate change, 2) monitoring the sustainability of mining using standardized indicators, 3) holistic economic assessment of mining, 4) social sustainability and conflict management, and 5) mechanisms that mitigate or compensate for the adverse effects of mining on biodiversity.

Global platinum group element resources, reserves and mining - A critical assessment

The platinum group elements (PGEs) are used in many technologies and products in modern society, especially auto-catalysts, chemical process catalysts and specialty alloys, yet supply is dominated by South Africa. This leads PGEs to be assessed as 'critical metals', signalling concern about the likelihood and consequences of social, environmental and economic impacts from disruptions to supply. In order to better understand the global PGE situation, this paper presents a comprehensive global assessment of PGE reserves and resources and the key mining trends which can affect supply. The data shows that global PGE resources have increased from 90,733t PGEs in 2010 to 105,682t PGEs in 2015, a 16.4% increase - despite global production of 2243t PGEs over this period. This suggests that the key issues facing the PGE sector are not geological or resource depletion, but clearly social, economic and environmental in nature - as highlighted by recent social issues in South Africa and volatile global economic conditions. Concerns over PGE supply reliability and the implications of any supply disruption will therefore continue to see the PGEs labelled as critical metals - but certainly not due to resource depletion.