Eco-Efficiency and Industrial Minerals A Resource Industry Perspective Dr Michelle Wyart-Remy IMA-Europe The Industrial Minerals Industry in the EU represented by IMA-Europe Ground/Precipated Calcium Carbonate & Dolomite (CCA-Europe), Bentonite (EUBA); Borate (EBA); Diatomite (IDPA) Feldspar (EUROFEL); Kaolin & Plastic Clays (KPC-Europe) Lime (EuLA); Silica (EUROSIL); Talc (EUROTALC) Andalusite, Mica, Sepiolite & Vermiculite (ESMA) 28 European Countries i.e. 23 EU Member States + Croatia, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine 500 companies (685 mines & quarries, 750 plants) 42.500 employees 180 million tpa, EUR 10 billion RE.gif Industrial Minerals? defined by the variety of their applications Definitions1 • Metallic ore: mineral, from which a metal can be extracted economically. • Industrial mineral: mineral, which may be used in an industrial process directly due to its chemical/physical properties. Industrial minerals are used in a range of industrial applications including the manufacture of steel, chemicals, glass, fertilisers and fillers in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, ceramics, plastics, paint, paper, and the treatment of gases and waste, etc. Industrial minerals include barites, bentonite, borates, clays, diatomite, feldspar, fluorspar, gypsum, limestone, silica sand, talc, and many others. (1) Report of the Ad-hoc WG on defining critical raw materials, (2010) http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/rawmaterials/documents/index_en.htm RE.gif Industrial Minerals (IM) “Your world is made of them” GLASS contains up to 100% minerals silica, dolomite, calcium carbonate, lime, feldspar, borate 50% of PAINT is made of minerals • Text will go here calcium carbonates, quartz, cristobalite, plastic clay, talc, bentonite, diatomite, mica A CAR contains up to 100-150 kg of minerals in rubber (talc, calcium carbonate, baryte), plastics (talc, calcium carbonate, kaolin, silica, wollastonite), glass, casting (bentonite, silica, wollastonite) Up to 50% of a sheet of PAPER is made from minerals calcium carbonate, talc, kaolin, bentonite CERAMICS contain up to 100% minerals feldspar, clay & kaolin, lime, talc, silica For one tonne of STEEL several minerals are needed: bentonite, lime, olivine, silica sand A family HOUSE contains up to 150 tonnes of minerals CementRE.gif (clay, calcium carbonate, silica sand), plaster & plasterboard (gypsum, hydrated lime, calcium carbonate), insulation, ceramics, Critical Raw 4 Materialsbricks & tiles, glass, paint, etc. 10.09.10 At global scale mineral resources are not scarce1 • Only a small percentage of the Earth’s surface and subsurface have been explored in detail. • The potential for discovering new mineral deposits is vast and the geological availability is indefinite. • The main issue concerns exploration and technological developments that will allow for a sustainable exploitation of resources, e.g. feldspar is the most common mineral on Earth forming up to 60% of the Earth crust. Silica comes second with 12% of the Earth’s crust and limestone can be found in abundance worldwide. However … (1) Report of the Ad-hoc WG on defining critical raw materials, (2010) RE.gif … however their domestic access may be severely constrained • Not all grades are widely spread and geology dictates the availability of minerals and their different qualities and grades • Extraction competes with other forms of land use, be these urban, agricultural, or other types of industrial use, but also nature and landscape protection, which themselves find their origin in geology • This is particularly true on some markets where mineral resources may be heavily constrained by local, regional or national restrictions RE.gif Most IM are not critical, but access is crucial 5,0 Rare Earths 4,5 4,0 PGM 3,5 3,0 Germanium Niobium Magnesium 2,5 Antimony Gallium Supply Risk Risk Supply Indium 2,0 Tungsten Fluorspar 1,5 Barytes Beryllium Graphite Cobalt Tantalum 1,0 Magnesite Chromium Lithium Rhenium Vanadium Limestone Borate Tellurium Molybdenum Manganese 0,5 Gypsum Diatomite Perlite Bentonite Iron Zinc Nickel Silver Silica Aluminum Bauxite Talc Clays Feldspar Copper Titanium 0,0 3,0 4,0 5,0 6,0 7,0 8,0 9,0 10,0 Economic Importance Most industrial minerals are not defined as critical, except graphite and fluorspar. However this may evolve with demand and some grades may be at higher risk than others due to heavy constraints dictated by nature, landscape, cultural interests… RE.gif Eco-efficiency definition Eco-efficiency1 is achieved through the delivery of "competitively priced goods and services that satisfy human needs and bring quality of life while progressively reducing environmental impacts of goods and resource intensity throughout the entire life-cycle to a level at least in line with the Earth's estimated carrying capacity.“ The main aspects of eco-efficiency are: • Reduction of energy, water and virgin material use • Reduction of waste and pollution levels • Extension of function and therefore product/ service life • Incorporation of life cycle principles • Consideration of the usefulness and recyclability of products/services at the end of their useful life • Increased service intensity (1) "Changing Course", World Business Council for Sustainable Development, WBCSD 1992 RE.gif IM resource efficiency is manifold 1. Primary resource efficiency: efficient sourcing through sustainable mining and processing 2. Efficiency of usage: by improving the performance of the many end-use applications they contribute to developing, industrial minerals enable savings in downstream sectors 3. Secondary resource efficiency: by-products and waste valorisation, allowing waste streams reduction 4. Recycling of their end-use applications: industrial minerals are recovered through the recycling of the products in which they are used RE.gif 1. Primary resource efficiency: sustainable mining and processing • Maximising recovery to reduce ultimate waste • Lowering energy, water and chemicals consumption • Developing new downstream markets for the full range of recovered grades RE.gif 2. Efficiency of Usage: improved performance & savings in downstream sectors Water treatment & filtration Geosynthetic Bentonite, carbonates, Clay Liner lime, silica • Text will go here Bentonite Gas treatment Carbonates, Lime H2O borohydride fueled vehicle Energy saver Boron Tyres Talc, silica Agriculture & Self-cleaning Forestry Glass RE.gif Crystalline silica Borates, carbonate, CriticalLime, Raw Talc 11 Materials 10.09.10 Industrial Minerals in alternative power sources Photovoltaic Technology • Text will go here High grade Quartz Sawing Silicon Wafers RE.gif Photovoltaic solar cells require high purity silica, as well as carefully calibrated grains of silicon carbide to saw the wafers Critical Raw 12 Materials 10.09.10 Industrial Minerals in alternative power sources Wind turbines RE.gif Wind turbines require fibreglass minerals, filler minerals and minerals for casting (boron, graphite and rare earths) 3. Secondary resource efficiency: by-products and waste valorisation • By-products from IM processes may be processed to become co-products, e.g. double flotation allows the recovery of Ni concentrate from Finnish talc ore • While some IM premium grades are used as feed additives, lower grades can be valorised as processing aids • Mining waste and demolition waste valorised in road undercoats RE.gif 4. End-applications recycling: IM are recovered • Retrieving IM from the complex matrix of their end use applications is technically highly complex and makes no sense from an energy perspective • Therefore, the recycling rate of most IM stricto-sensu appears very low or even nil • However many of the products containing IM are recycled in such a way that IM performance is retained, allowing secondary usage (glass, PP) or downgrading RE.gif To conclude • Reduction of resource use per se is not key for non- critical resources that nevertheless play a major role in achieving low-carbon, environmentally-friendly solutions • Resource efficiency for IM is a highly integrated concept which takes into account the end-use applications’ full life-cycle from cradle to cradle • Resource efficiency is quantifiable thanks to life-cycle based indicators • Resource Efficiency should not be limited to “using less”, it should promote …. RE.gif “Using better, Living better”! Thank you for your attention! Dr Michelle Wyart-Remy IMA - Europe, Brussels Tel: +322 210 44 10 [email protected] http://www.ima-europe.eu RE.gif.