Sustainable Exploitation of Materials Resources:
Future Challenges and Opportunities in Raw
Materials along the whole Value Chain
Andrea Ferrari
D’Appolonia S.p.A.
Raw Materials
what are we talking about
• From the Mineral extraction to the final products the
transformation is achieved via a number of steps
Raw Materials
what are we talking about
• From mine to market, 4 to 8
different steps can be identified
1 to 3
steps
Mining &
Extraction
Traders &
Distributors
1
step
Market
1
step
Refiners &
Processors
Manufacturing
Companies
1 to 3
steps
Challenges: Materials and the
Criticality
WHAT
• Something can go wrong in almost
every step along the value chain
• Lack of availability of a specific raw
material for the needed use
Raw Materials
what are we talking about
Challenges:
Scarcity and Criticality
• How much is still left?
• When will this mineral run out?
• Mineral scarcity: not about depleting existing stocks but about the
amount of extraction that becomes profitable under existing market
conditions
• Reserves are to be intended in dynamic and not in static way related
to mainly three parameters:
– The technical/economical feasibility of the extraction, influencing
and influenced by the final market price
– The exact knowledge where resources are located
– The political dimension, giving rise to barriers, distortion of free
market dynamics and finally tightening supply, making mineral
scarcity no longer a trade-issue but an issue of strategic interest
Challenges:
Scarcity and Criticality
• Criticality is a parameter related to a series of factors affecting
the possibility to industries of developed Countries to access
Raw Materials applied in high technology or green economy
• EC Raw Materials Initiative, July 2010
Challenges:
Scarcity and Criticality
• economy applications
• EC Raw Materials Initiative, July 2010
Challenges:
Scarcity and Criticality
• Economic causes
– Increasing demand (population x wealth)
– Increasing use of water and energy
– Non-transparent, imperfect markets
• Physical causes
– Steep demand increases
for hi-tech
– Many critical metals are
byproducts
• Geopolitical causes
– Unevenly distributed
– Strategic behaviour rising economies
– EU-27 strongly dependent on import of Raw Materials
Challenges: Sustainability of Supply
• Many challenges, as identified from the Strategic Research
Agendas of the ETPs, are relating to issues associated with Raw
Materials
• Sustainability of supply is turnkey aspect, associated to
availability of raw materials for technical applications
• Challenges in the field of Raw Materials are priorities for SRAs
and European initiatives
Challenges: Sustainability of Supply
• ETP SMR (Sustainable Mineral Resources) Nov-2011
– Metals for strategic energy technologies
– Strategic Ambition 1: exploration and inventory of resources
– Strategic Ambition 2: mineral extraction from land and sea bed
deposits
– Strategic Ambition 3: mineral processing; new ore and
concentrates processing technologies
– Strategic Ambition 4: metallurgy/
metals recovery
– Strategic Ambition 5: recycling
Challenges: Sustainability of Supply
• Water ETP / 2010
– Sustainable water management for industry
– Closing the water cycle.
• WATERBORNE / May 2011
– need for sophisticated mechanised support to exploit the sub-sea
environment to greater and greater depths, deep-sea mining
operations
Challenges: Sustainability of Supply
• Photovoltaics SRA / 2011
– Development of high throughput, energy conversion efficient optimized
processing for production of solar cells
• ERTRAC (European Road Transport Research Advisory
Committee) Oct 2009
– The availability and cost of non-renewable resources critical to road
transport will drive recycling and development of alternative technologies
Challenges: Sustainability of Supply
• ENIAC (European Nanoelectronics Initiative) 2010
– Sustainable and Efficient Energy Generation
– Reduction of Energy Consumption
Challenges correlated to Megatrends
ECONOMY AND
POLITICS
MEGATRENDS
SOCIETY AND
DEMOGRAPHY
MEGATRENDS
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
BIOSPHERE
MEGATRENDS
Economy and Politics Megatrends
Green energy
Improved manufacturing processes
Waste-energy-food-water management
CO2 emissions reduction
Growth of mineral demand - need to R&D in this field
Asian aviation growth
Cloud computing
Water management
Society and demography Megatrends
New Internet technology
Drone wars
Clinical enhancement
Intelligent Highways and New Urban Mobility Solutions
Human machine interface
Energy Saving Attitude
Intelligent Buildings / Domotic
Biosphere Megatrends
Climate Change
Shortage of Drinking Water
Soil Erosion and Desertification
Increasing Environmental Pollution
Environmental Technologies
Shortage of Oil
Relevant Challenges
in the Future Framework
• Analysis of the Megatrends provides a clearer vision on the
mutual influence between our everyday actions and the long
terms global consequences
• Decision makers are given the opportunity to gain overview
on the implications on the chain of materials – products –
wastes into the more complex aspects of the global process
value chain
• Concepts like recycling (closing the materials circle) and
substituting (alternative cycle) are integrated in future
frameworks
Opportunities:
Exploration - Mining Resources
• Building a Pan-European 3D geological mineral resource model
• Deep Sea Mining
–
–
–
–
seafloor mining tools
waste material management
hyperbaric effects
local pre-treatment of material
• Ultra Deep Mining
– underground drones or robots
– machine concentrating
several unit operations
– backfilling
Opportunities:
Processing
• Increase materials efficiency and transformation capacity
–
–
–
–
hydrometallurgy
pyrometallurgy
flexible processing and refinement
tailings management
• Water Management
– integrated water management and purification
• CO2-free thermal metals production
– capturing CO2 streams inside the process
– alternative processes
– alternative energies
Opportunities:
Recycling Resources
• Integration of different technologies for high efficiency
extraction of precious and critical raw materials from wastes
– Mineral residuals
– Spent Catalysts
– WEEE
• Urban mining
• Collection logistics
organization
• Regional and Country
level legislative support
Opportunities:
Substitution
• Focussed on Critical Raw Materials
– REE
– PGM
– Tungsten, Indium, Beryllium, graphite ...
• Hi-tech solutions
• Value-chain evaluation of the relevant
cost-effectiveness
• Uncertainty of resources and
modification of the scenario induced by
substitution itself
Challenges – Opportunities:
Value-Chain implications
Facing Challenges:
development of Opportunities
•
•
•
•
•
European Raw Materials Strategy
Launched 2008
Updated February 2011
Non-energy, non-agricultural raw materials
Recommendations (2010):
– Updated data on raw
materials
– Increase supply by stimulating
recycling and substitution
– Active mining policy
– Secure supply by
international diplomacy
aimed at free trade
Integrated
Strategy
Ensure level
playing field
to sources
Supply from
European
sources
Resource
efficiency
and
recycling
Facing Challenges:
development of Opportunities
• 4 (out of 7) Flagship Initiatives are related to Raw Materials
strategy
– An industrial policy for the globalisation era
– An agenda for new skills and jobs
– Resource Efficient Europe
– Innovation Union
• Turning Research into new and better services and products
• Integrating technology, processes, best practices, standards...
• Novel concept: European Innovation Partnership
• EIP announced 29th February 2012
Facing Challenges:
development of Opportunities
• Speeding up breakthrough innovation
– By bringing actors together across research and innovation
– Across the whole value chain
• Non-technology aspects
– Improving RM
knowledge database
– Promoting resource
efficiency
– Promoting international
collaboration
• Thanks for your attention
andrea.ferrari@dappolonia.it