{"id":21679,"date":"2022-05-23T11:03:58","date_gmt":"2022-05-23T10:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=21679"},"modified":"2022-05-23T11:03:58","modified_gmt":"2022-05-23T10:03:58","slug":"copper-for-tomorrow-sustainable-copper-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/copper-for-tomorrow-sustainable-copper-production\/21679\/","title":{"rendered":"Copper for Tomorrow: Sustainable copper production for a clean energy future"},"content":{"rendered":"

As copper is needed for the transition to clean energy, the Copper for Tomorrow bid aims to solve challenges in the value chain to increase sustainable copper production.<\/h2>\n

Copper is essential for the successful transition to a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable future. Forecasts predict a looming supply shortfall which will present opportunities for expanding and growing copper production. In turn, this will provide an economic boost with investment and create jobs for mining companies and suppliers along the value chain. Without copper, nations will not be able to transition to a green energy society and meet their net zero goals.<\/p>\n

Gavin Yeates, mining futurist and Bid Chair, explained: \u201cThe current approach to copper production is energy- and and water-intensive, a trend increasing as grades decline, and produces more emissions and waste products. It will not be possible to meet future demands for copper through the recycling of scrap alone. New exploration and mine development will not meet the demand either, as exploring for new, near-surface deposits is challenging and time-consuming, and it can take over a decade to move from discovery to operating a mine. Markets in the future green economy may not buy copper that has not been sustainably produced.\u201d<\/p>\n

Professor Volker Hessel, Bid Research Director, commented: \u201cWe have a sustainable copper paradox: how do we increase the production of copper needed for a green energy society, and do so by processing lower grade ores, without using more energy and water and producing greater volumes of waste? The paradox at least doubles in intensity when considering that the electrification of mining machines will not allow the same intense operation that diesel-powered machines could do, even though this should be an inherent component of any transition from fossil to renewable fuels. We have to learn to do \u2018more with less\u2019 for the benefit of our environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 iStock\/VvoeVale<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Copper for Tomorrow bid<\/h3>\n

An Australian coalition, with a bid sponsored by the University of Adelaide\u2019s Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Resources (ISER) (which in April 2022 replaced the Institute for Minerals, Energy and Resources), stands together with leading senior advisors from industry, along with experts from the University of South Australia, Curtin University, and the University of Queensland, to provide a cooperative, industry-led research approach to address these global challenges and opportunities. The team is looking to establish a centre with the Australian Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) funding scheme and is preparing a bid to the Australian Government for funding in 2022.<\/p>\n

By bringing together industry and researchers, the proposed Copper for Tomorrow<\/a> CRC will help solve the challenge of sustainably meeting copper demand while addressing business opportunities through helping companies achieve or exceed their environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) targets and remain profitable. The team has had input from industry and expert advisors to devise integrated, multidisciplinary research priorities that cut across the value chain.<\/p>\n

Priorities for the Copper for Tomorrow CRC<\/h3>\n

The Copper for Tomorrow CRC mission is to help the copper production industry achieve its ESG goals, while also increasing the profitable production of copper from lower grade, more complex ore bodies.<\/p>\n

To transition to a clean and sustainable economy across the globe, it is estimated that we will need more copper in the next 30 years than we have ever mined. We would need to double current global production \u2013 an effort that will require cooperative research and innovation to do so sustainably.<\/p>\n

Professor Michael Goodsite, ISER Director (Acting Research Program Leader for Economics of Sustainable Copper), posed: \u201cCopper is required to power the green economy but how do we increase profitable production of copper from low grade deposits without increasing the environmental impact from mining?\u201d<\/p>\n

A dedicated CRC will focus on research and development priorities to solve technical challenges across the copper value chain to:<\/p>\n