ORCID Profile
0000-0002-0565-4762
Current Organisation
University of Melbourne
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Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 25-08-2023
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-04-2023
DOI: 10.1038/S43247-023-00805-6
Abstract: Mining is of major economic, environmental and societal consequence, yet knowledge and understanding of its global footprint is still limited. Here, we produce a global mining land use dataset via remote sensing analysis of high-resolution, publicly available satellite imagery. The dataset comprises 74,548 polygons, covering ~66,000 km 2 of features like waste rock dumps, pits, water ponds, tailings dams, heap leach pads and processing/milling infrastructure. Our polygons finely contour the edges of mine features and do not include the space between them. This distinguishes our dataset from others that employ broader definitions of mining lands. Hence, despite our database being the largest to date by number of polygons, comparisons show relatively lower global land use. Our database is made freely available to support future studies of global mining impacts. A series of spatial analyses are also presented that highlight global mine distribution patterns and broader environmental risks.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2016
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2017
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 18-06-2015
Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC
Date: 02-2023
DOI: 10.21203/RS.3.RS-2469411/V1
Abstract: Global nickel demand is projected to double by 2050 to support low-carbon technologies and renewable energy production. However, biomass carbon emissions from clearing vegetation for nickel mining are rarely included in corporate sustainability reports or considered in sourcing decisions. Here, we compiled new data for 481 nickel mines and undeveloped deposits to show that the footprint of nickel mining is approximately 5 to 500 times greater than previously reported (depending on the mine site), and thus the environmental impacts of nickel products, including batteries, have been greatly underestimated. We found large variation in biomass losses among mines, and, in many cases, these unaccounted carbon emissions were significant relative to other Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions from nickel extraction and processing. Reporting emissions from biomass losses from mining is key for strategic decision making on where to source the nickel needed for effective climate action.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2017
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 25-09-2016
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2017
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 29-01-2018
Abstract: Indium is a specialty metal crucial for modern technology, yet it is potentially critical due to its byproduct status in mining. Measures to reduce its criticality typically focus on improving its recycling efficiency at end-of-life. This study quantifies primary and secondary indium resources ("stocks") for Australia through a dynamic material-flow analysis. It is based on detailed assessments of indium mineral resources hosted in lead-zinc and copper deposits, respective mining activities from 1844 to 2013, and the trade of indium-containing products from 1988 to 2015. The results show that Australia's indium stocks are substantial, estimated at 46.2 kt in mineral resources and an additional 14.7 kt in mine wastes. Australian mineral resources alone could meet global demand (∼0.8 kt/year) for more than five decades. Discarded material from post-consumer products, instead, is negligible (43 t). This suggests that the resilience of Australia's indium supply can best be increased through efficiency gains in mining (such as introducing domestic indium refining capacity) rather than at the end of the product life. These findings likely also apply to other specialty metals, such as gallium or germanium, and other resource-dominated countries. Finally, the results illustrate that national circular economy strategies can differ substantially.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-07-2018
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-05-2023
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 26-05-2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-10-2023
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 22-08-2020
DOI: 10.3390/MIN10090745
Abstract: The Australian landscape is affected by abandoned mines that pose environmental, public health and safety risks. To promote the beneficial reuse, rehabilitation and/or remediation of these sites and understand their spatial arrangement, we compiled, classified and analysed a country-wide geospatial database of all known inactive hard rock mine sites. Following extensive review and classification of disparate records of such sites that have been terminated, neglected or classified as heritage, plus those under care and maintenance in Australia, we assessed state-by-state reporting and cross-border rehabilitation requirements. This was enabled by the development of the Mining Incidence Documentation & Assessment Scheme (MIDAS) that can be used to catalogue and compare active or inactive mine data regardless of reporting conventions. At a national level, and with four case studies, we performed GIS-based spatial analyses and environmental risk assessments to demonstrate potential uses of our database. Analyses considered the proximity of sites to factors such as infrastructure and sensitive environmental receptors. As Australia struggles to manage the ongoing technical, socioeconomic and environmental challenges of effective mine rehabilitation, the insights enabled by this national-level spatial database may be key to developing coordinated responses that extend beyond state boundaries. Our classification and methodology are easily transferable, thereby encouraging more formalized, systematic and widespread documentation of abandoned mines worldwide.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2017.11.350
Abstract: 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.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2017
No related grants have been discovered for Tim Werner.