November 11
@
4:00 PM
–
5:00 PM
Jennifer Dunn
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL
Sustainability analysis of critical minerals supply chains: attributional and consequential life cycle assessment
By some estimates, more than three billion tons of minerals will be needed to manufacture the decarbonization technologies necessary to limit global warming to 2°C. This demand can be met through increasing production at existing mines, developing new mines, and recovering minerals through recycling of spent devices can also contribute. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a key analysis tool to evaluate and compare the environmental effects of producing minerals from different sources. This presentation will present recommendations for attributional LCA of minerals mining based on a literature review and apply them in the development of a perspective of a proposed mine in Minnesota. While attributional LCA aims to assign a unique environmental impact to a mineral product, consequential LCA aims to quantify the overall environmental effects from a change in mining activity. We present consequential LCA results that account for global carbon stock changes arising from the construction of new mines to meet mineral demand. Finally, we explore whether water demands for expanding lithium mining in the U.S. can be met, considering changes in water scarcity that climate change will cause, and what restrictions in water supply mean for the possibility of achieving a fully domestic lithium supply. Altogether, these different forms of sustainability analysis can address the advantages and disadvantages of expanding minerals production and help prioritize technologies and strategies that minimize adverse local environmental effects of mining while pursuing materials that are an important part of the solution to the global challenge of climate change. results from both will be discussed.