Der Einfluss von Lagerstätteneigenschaften auf eine nachhaltige Rohstoffnutzung am Beispiel Kupfer

Analysis of resource scarcity is generally focused on non-renewable commodities such as energy and mineral resources and concerns have been expressed about the adequacy of mineral supply necessary for the maintenance of economic stability and growth. The concept of sustainable development adds another aspect to the perspective of resource availability and it requires efficient production and use of Earth materials. The demand of an efficient use of metallic raw materials leads to the question about the optimal exploitation of deposits. The availability of raw materials for the primary metal production depends on geological processes that shaped the present characteristics of the ore deposits.In the scope of the work presented the influence of ore deposit characteristics on the subsequent processes where analyzed. The metal losses where analyzed in relation to the mining and processing methods employed and in relation to the ore deposit types the ore is extracted from. The global copper production 1998 was 12.05 Mt. The calculated overall copper loss was 4.2 Mt (26% of copper contained in the initial reserve) for this year. The amount of unextracted copper varies between 18% and about 30% for different ore deposit types. The geologic-mineralogical characteristics of ore deposits provide the basis on which mining and processing methods are chosen. The methods employed influence the amount of metal losses. The calculated copper losses and the analysis of aspects influencing them alone is not sufficient for evaluating the efficiency of sites in the sense of resource use.Additionally to analyzing copper losses an evaluation of the efficiency of resource use has to be done. To evaluate the efficiency of resource use the method of statistical entropy was chosen. By the method of statistical entropy the distribution pattern of a substance in a system can be quantified. The method enables to analyse how efficient metal is concentrated at the production sites and finally leads to a conclusion about the efficiency of copper production. The results of this calculation allow for an evaluation of the resource efficiency by using a categorization. The different ore deposit types show different input and output values, but are similar to each other in the substance concentration efficiency (SCE). In the sense of sustainability high SCE values and low copper losses are preferable. The combination of both criteria can by regarded as a hint for the sustainability of a site in relation to the efficiency of resource use. The analysis shows that porphyry Cu-deposits have to be weighted as more sustainable than stratiform sediment hosted deposits or VHMS-deposits. To integrate the excavation residues as a part of the triggered mass flow the material input (MI) was calculated.Based on the quantification of copper losses, the results of the method of statistical entropy and results of the MIPS-(material input per service unit) concept an indicator for the evaluation of the use of a given non renewable resource was developed. Results of this indicator indicate that stratiform sediment hosted copper deposits have to be rated as more sustainable than VHMS-deposits or porphyry copper deposits. use of copper ore as a non-renewable resource.The case studies presented (mines Tintaya and Cuajone in Peru and mines of the polish Kupferschiefer) support the global results on a local scale.

Grantor dc:publisher

Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen University

Year dc:date

2005

Author dc:creator

• Sievers, Henrike

Contributors dc:contributor

• Meyer, Franz Michael

• info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/620
• Ingenieurwissenschaften
• Nachhaltige Entwicklung
• Kupfer
• Lagerstätten
• Rohstoffnutzung

Statement dc:rights

• info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Language dc:language

ger

Identifier

https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/search?p=id:%22RWTH-CONV-121843%22

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:publications.rwth-aachen.de:60117