Mining Impacts · impact
Falling ore grade
Energy · Both
- Category
- Energy
- Timescale
- Both
Mitigation
Recovery improvements, recycling of metal already above ground, and selective mining that leaves low-grade material in place rather than processing it.
Mechanism
The richest deposits are mined first, so average grades fall over time — copper mined today is a fraction of a percent where it was several percent a century ago. Every tonne of metal then needs more rock moved, more rock ground, more water and more energy, and produces more tailings, with no change in practice required for the impact to grow.
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