Battery minerals from Finland: Improving the supply chain for the EU battery industry using a geometallurgical approach (original) (raw)
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Geological Society, London, Special Publications
The Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) has over 130 years of history in mapping and studying mineral resources and their sustainable use. This has resulted in a globally top-ranking geodatabase and profound knowledge of Finnish geology and mineral resources, and has had a crucial impact on the continuously developing mining and exploration business in Finland. The basic mandate of the GTK has remained the same, but the strategic focus and mode of operation have changed considerably to meet new demands. Today, the GTK plays a vital role in providing geoscientific expertise and specialist services for a wide range of stakeholders and commercial clients in government, the business sector, academia and the wider community, in Finland and internationally. The GTK is actively building new ways to cooperate with universities, research organizations and companies to support future development and to expand its own expertise. This is further supported by the proactive use of cutting-edge technologies, such as the geomaterials research infrastructure, which allows studies from the nanoscale up to kilotons for diverse applications of mineral materials. The GTK plans to further strengthen its role as a key player in the minerals sector innovation ecosystems with a focus on primary minerals, the circular economy, digital solutions and water issues, which are expected to be essential factors for sustainable development through the 2020s and beyond. The GTK's main challenge is to ensure the continuous enhancement and renewal of expertise, to adapt and respond to future opportunities.
Geological Society, London, Special Publications
Europe is mainly relying on imports of critical raw materials (CRM) for its industry, not least the vital ones for emerging green energy technologies. Among the main metal and mineral producers in Europe today, the Nordic countries (here: Greenland, Norway, Sweden and Finland) share a diverse geology with various deposit types formed over a long geological time span. This has led to large near-future potential with regards to CRM production. Based on current knowledge and datasets, we assess the Nordic geological potential for the CRMs which are specifically relevant for green technologies, namely: cobalt, graphite, hafnium, lithium, niobium, platinum-group metals, rare earth elements, silicon, tantalum, titanium, and vanadium, describing the most important deposits, their setting and characteristics. Several Nordic CRM resources stand out in a European and even global context, such as the giant REE(-Nb-Ta-Hf) deposits in Greenland, while the REE-Nb-(Hf) deposits at Fen (Norway) and...
Geological Society, London, Special Publications
Europe relies mainly on imports of critical raw materials (CRMs) for its industry, not least the vital ones for emerging green energy technologies. Among the main metal and mineral producers in Europe today, the Nordic countries (specifically, Greenland, Norway, Sweden and Finland) share a diverse geology with various deposit types formed over a long geological time span. This has led to large near-future potential with regard to CRM production. Based on current knowledge and datasets, we assess the Nordic geological potential for CRMs that are specifically relevant for green technologies, namely cobalt, graphite, hafnium, lithium, niobium, platinum-group metals, rare earth elements (REEs), silicon, tantalum, titanium and vanadium, describing the most important deposits, their setting and characteristics. Several Nordic CRM resources stand out in a European and even global context, such as the giant REE(–Nb–Ta–Hf) deposits in Greenland, while the REE–Nb–(Hf) deposits at Fen (Norway)...
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Sustainable minerals and metals for a low-carbon future
Science 367 (6473) (January 3, 2020), pp. 30-33., 2020
Climate change mitigation will create new natural resource and supply chain opportunities and dilemmas, because substantial amounts of raw materials will be required to build new low-carbon energy devices and infrastructure. However, despite attempts at improved governance and better corporate management, procurement of many mineral and metal resources occurs in areas generally acknowledged for mismanagement, remains environmentally capricious, and, in some cases, is a source of conflict at the sites of resource extraction. These extractive and smelting industries have thus left a legacy in many parts of the world of environmental degradation, adverse impacts to public health, marginalized communities and workers, and biodiversity damage. We identify key sustainability challenges with practices used in industries that will supply the metals and minerals—including cobalt, copper, lithium, cadmium, and rare earth elements (REEs)—needed for technologies such as solar photovoltaics, batteries, electric vehicle (EV) motors, wind turbines, fuel cells, and nuclear reactors. We then propose four holistic recommendations to make mining and metal processing more sustainable and just and to make the mining and extractive industries more efficient and resilient.
Edition: Revised Version 3.1 (2013) of 3rd Version March 2009 (2008, 2007) Publisher: http://etpsmr.egsmigration.info/index.php?option=com\_content&view=article&id=10&Itemid=5, Editor: European Technology Platform SMR - Sustainable Mineral Resources Author is member of the authoring team and steering commitee ETP SMR since 2005. The ETP SMR has come a long way since its creation. It has extended its membership and responded actively to the economic and political changing circumstances. However, its main objectives and goals remain unchanged. Acknowledging the partial lack of knowledge and the restrictions imposed by the limitations of the locally available mineral deposits in Europe it supports the whole sector in striving for the economic and responsible utilization of Europe’s mineral resources in order to support the EU economy in its Agenda 2020 growth objectives. It supports through research and innovation • the purposeful and responsible exploration, exploitation and use of min...
Central European Geology, 2015
This article evaluates the known rare earth elements (REE), Ti and Li occurrences and exploration potential in Finland, based on existing data combined with new geochemistry and mineralogy, heavy mineral studies, geophysical measurements, geologic mapping and recent drilling of new targets. The potential rock types for REE include carbonatite (Sokli, Korsnäs), alkaline rocks (Otanmäki, Lamujärvi, and Iivaara), rapakivi granite and pegmatite (Kovela), and kaolin-bearing weathering crusts in eastern and northern Finland. The highest REE concentrations occur in late magmatic carbonatite veins in the fenite area of the Sokli carbonatite complex. Detailed mineralogical investigations have revealed three distinct types of REE mineralization as phosphates, carbonates and silicates in the studied areas. Mineralogical and mineral chemical evidence demonstrates that hydrothermal processes are responsible for the REE mineralization in the studied rocks and confirms that such processes are predominant in the formation of REE minerals in carbonatite, calc-silicate rocks and albitite. Titanium occurs as ilmenite in hard rock deposits in Paleoproterozoic subalkaline mafic intrusions. The Otanmäki ilmenite was mined together with vanadium-rich magnetite from 1953 to 1985 from a small gabbro-anorthosite complex, which still contains potential for Ti resources. Other major ilmenite deposits are within the Koivusaarenneva ilmenite gabbro intrusion and Kauhajärvi apatite-ilmenite-magnetite gabbro complex. Possible Ti resources are included in Ti-magnetite gabbro of the large layered mafic intrusions in northern Finland, such as at the former Mustavaara vanadium mine. For several years, Rare Element (RE)-pegmatite of the Kaustinen and Somero-Tammela areas has been the objective of Li exploration by the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK). At Kaustinen, Li-pegmatite occurs as subparallel dyke swarms in an area of 500 km 2 within Paleoproterozoic mica schists and metavolcanic rocks. Li pegmatite contains more than 10% spodumene as megacrysts (1-10 cm), albite, quartz, K-feldspar, muscovite and accessory minerals such as columbite-group minerals, apatite, tourmaline, beryl, Fe-oxide minerals and garnet. The Kaustinen spodumene pegmatite and Somero-Tammela petalite-spodumene pegmatite contain potential Li resources for the battery industry in EU countries.
“Urban Mine” A Modern Source of Materials: Part I Battery Recycling
Modern Concepts in Material Science, 2020
Bit implementation of collection and recycling processes could lead to a large decrease of environment impact and important recovery of resources. To maintain a sustainable and safe supply chain to the economic cycle of the battery segment, it is critical to operate a deep change. The Circular Economy is the most relevant to face this challenge [6]. Urban Mine and Circular Economy This new concept of Circular Economy is based on strong modification of traditional model based on "production of goods-use said goods by the society-put through away at end of life". One of the pillars of the circular economy is recycling in order that wastes will be converted to valuable materials substituting the natural resources. A link between recycling /recovering/reuse and circular economy is the status of the waste. For this reason, "Urban Mining", concept developed since 2004 [7] is now well integrated in the recycling and sustainability landscape and largely used as key concept within any end-of-life sustainability approach. Scarcity or strategic metals [4,5] as well as Climate Change issues [8,9] are pillars supporting this concept We built this concept on our experience on primary recycling batteries [10], Steel Dust from electrical arc furnace [11], Fly ash from Municipal Solid Waste Incineration [12], Asbestos conversion [13] and lithium ion [14]. In particular, within a study for EU Commission during 5th Framework Program (1999
Strategic Research Agenda of European Technology Platform on Sustainable Mineral Resources (ETP-SMR)
Author is member of the authoring team and steering commitee ETP SMR since 2005. History (http://etpsmr.egsmigration.info/) Following previous networking programmes under FP4 and FP6 and the establishment of a European Minerals Research Council (EMIREC) the extractive industry and related technology and machinery providers decided to make use of a new tool and set up a European Technology Platform to address the future technological and societal challenges. The European Commission’s reports on the competitiveness of the EU’s extractive industry and the adopted Raw Materials Initiative which highlights the short-comings of the current EU’s and Member States’ raw materials supply policies highlight the urgent need to address research and technological development questions in the sector for the benefit of the downstream EU economy as well as for the regions for which the extractive industry is the backbone for employment and development. Major projects were launched under FP 7 and wil...