SPOTLIGHT: What gets measured gets managed, and what is valued is cherished

Wherever you are reading this, take a moment to pause and observe the built environment around you. It comprises an extraordinary assortment of minerals and metals. 

Whether you’re reading this on a smart phone during your morning commute, or on a computer in your home office, these materials play such an integral part in our lives. From currency to communication, paint to public transport and smart phones to solar panels, the metals of the periodic table are all around. 

But do we truly value the minerals and metals that are within our environments? Not in the traditional economic sense, but with an appreciation for what’s actually involved to produce them for use in the first place. 

2050: more people need more metals

By 2050, the global population is projected to reach nearly 10 billion people, an approximate 25% increase on today’s numbers.

With an increase in population and an expanding middle income class, there comes an increased demand for the finite mineral resources that power, move, house, and feed a modern and developed society, all with heightened societal expectations of a future that is low carbon and low impact. 

Reaching the global average temperature goals of the Paris Agreement requires extensive electrification and decarbonisation of the grid, with electricity demand “rising from a global total of ~28,000 TWh in 2022 to over ~100,000 TWh by 2050”. To enable this energy transition, the World Bank has estimated “that over three billion tonnes of minerals and metals will be needed to deploy wind, solar and geothermal power, as well as energy storage.”

For decades, the mining industry has mostly operated with a linear ‘extract and transact’ model that focuses on the mine as the asset. But will this model alone be enough to enable the industry to provide the significant volumes of these finite minerals and metals, some of which are key to supporting the low-carbon future that society expects? 

We commonly hear about the concept of ‘life of mine’ for planning and investment decisions, but what about the ‘life of the commodity’ focused on the mineral resource to maximise its useful life and minimise its impacts? 

Delivering on Sustainable Development Goal 12

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12 aims at ensuring “sustainable consumption and production patterns, which is key to sustain the livelihoods of current and future generations”. 

With resource extraction estimated to double between 2015 and 2050, there is a collective and coordinated approach needed to deliver on this ambition. And that starts with an appreciation for the minerals and metals we use, an understanding of how complex they are to produce, and to work collectively to ensure a systemic opportunity for these materials to remain at their highest potential use for as long as possible. 

Paddock to Plate. Commodity to Consumer.

As part of this, it’s important to ask ourselves: where does it come from, how was it made and where does it go next? Or simply put, we need to question the provenance, performance, and perpetuity of the minerals and metals we consume. 

Provenance refers to the source of the material (primary, secondary or other) and its geographical location. Finding, developing, and mining economic reserves of minerals is a combination of art and science, luck and skill. People build entire careers out of this craft. 

An exploration geologist once explained to me that it’s like trying to drill for a small coffee cup in a space the size of an average meeting room, relying on science and technology as your eyes. It’s a challenge, and one that is becoming increasingly difficult as existing deposits are exhausted and new deposits may be deeper, lower grade, in areas of higher safety or governance risk, and in complex operating environments.  

Manufacturing may concentrate amounts of commodities in an item. However, these materials are dispersed, widespread and are often co-mingled with contaminants. The challenge for secondary sourcing techniques, like urban mining, then becomes sourcing these small, but concentrated volumes and separating out the commodity. 

Performance considers the characteristics of the commodity, such as improving conductivity or strength, and its environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials. 

For example, historically, finite resources have predominantly been produced by consuming finite energy sources. Based on global averages, to produce one tonne of primary aluminium requires approximately 15 MWh of electricity and emits roughly 15 tonnes of CO₂e. Which, according to numbers from CSIRO, is enough electricity to power approximately 1,000 Australian homes for a day. 

Based on current consumption rates, the average human in a developed economy will use 1.2 tonnes of aluminium throughout their life. 

Perpetuity is targeted at the ongoing use and reuse of materials. According to the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, global efforts to tackle climate change have “focused on a transition to renewable energy, complemented by energy efficiency…[but] these measures can only address 55% of emissions.” The remaining 45% come from the products, and how they are made and remade. 

For instance, on average, one tonne of secondary aluminium is 95% less carbon intensive than one tonne of primary aluminium.

Today, a linear ‘extract and transact’ model means we generally have ‘one bite of the cherry’, to decide the highest use of a commodity before it is disposed. But if we work collectively to ensure a systemic opportunity, combined with research and development, its utility could be extended in perpetuity. 

An invitation to be curious

This approach is by no means the panacea to the complex global challenge of mineral and natural resource management. But I hope it invites curiosity, so that we can all appreciate how involved it can be to find and produce these commodities and cherish them accordingly.   

So, the next time you find yourself in a new built environment, take a moment to ponder the true value of the minerals and metals present, not just the sum of all parts that we see. 

Philippa Sjoquist is a multidisciplinary mining and metals professional with nearly 20 years industry experience, including site-based operations and global corporate roles. She is an advocate for low-intensity materials production, responsible resource management and has a keen interest in the circular economy.