Copper and the environment: Can miners have it both ways?

Did you know that the push to decarbonize the world requires immense volumes of copper?
Statistics show that the annual demand of copper could reach 50 million metric tonnes by 2050.
However, large scale extraction of this vital mineral carries enormous cost to the environment.

Copper remains a vital mineral powering modern development, but its extraction comes at a significant cost to both the environment and economies.

According to the Vice Provost for Research and Enterprise and the Armourers and Brasiers’ Chair in Materials Science at Imperial College London, Prof. Mary Ryan, “Copper brought us out of the stone age, as an alloy, copper makes bronze and the latter is responsible for most all modern development.”

The scientist, in a report titled Mine copper without destroying the planet? she adds, “today, copper is the indispensable metal needed for almost all electrical wiring, plumbing, and industrial machinery… we owe a lot to copper.”

The report notes that manufacturers are now investing to expand the usage of the mineral to include the manufacture of electric cars, renewable power plants, and other devices that will help the planet move towards net zero.

Study findings show that this metal has become essential for powering devices ranging from smartphones to electric vehicles because it transmits electricity with minimal loss of power and is resistant to corrosion. The report adds that global decarbonizing will require immense quantities of the conductive metal copper.

It further reveals that in excess of 22 million metric tonnes of this mineral were mined in 2023, reflecting a 30 per cent increase from 2010, and its annual demand is projected to reach around 50 million metric tonnes by 2050.

However, therein lies the dellemma because “unrestricted extraction could cause widespread ecological devastation,” Prof Ryan warns. Furthermore, she cautions that such an output will have enormous environmental consequences, because the mining process of this mineral uses acids that poison rivers, contaminate the soil, and pollute the air.

According to the report, producers such as Peru, Chile, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have seen natural habitats destroyed, wildlife populations wiped out, and human health damaged near mines.

“Deep-sea mining has been proposed, but the idea horrifies marine biologists, who say such enterprises would devastate sea life,” the report goes on to caution.

Copper: Environment safe mining solutions

The new Rio Tinto Centre for Future Materials at the Imperial College London in partnership with several international university groups are looking to address this problem. According to the report, a total of $150 million has been set aside for its first 10 years of operations.

“The world needs to electrify its energy systems, and success will absolutely depend on copper,” comments Prof. Ryan.

In a recent interview with the Observer, the scientist said; “The metal (copper) is going to be the biggest bottleneck in this process. So, in setting up the center, we decided copper would be the first challenge that we dealt with—though we will turn our attention to other materials in future.”

Backing this argument, Sarah Gordon, the center’s co-director said; “Our first aim is to find new, responsible ways to source metals—in particular copper. Can we extract it without disturbing rocks at all? Or could we use viruses and bacteria to harvest copper?”

Commenting on the mineral’s extraction process, the chairman of geological fluid dynamics at Imperial College Professor Matthew Jackson explains; “We typically extract it from minerals that have crystallized out of very saline, copper-rich brines.”

“However, this process requires huge amounts of energy to break open the rocks and bring them to the surface and also generates a lot of waste as we extract copper from its source ores,” he explains.

The Prof. is currently working with international partners searching for underground sites where copper-rich brines are still in liquid form. “These brines are created by volcanic systems which can, crucially, provide geothermal energy for extraction,” explains Prof. Jackson.

“That means we can extract the copper by pumping the brines to the surface via boreholes—which is relatively easy—and also use local energy to power the mine itself and possibly provide excess energy for nearby communities,” details the professor.

“Essentially, we are seeking to build self-powered mines and have already pinpointed promising sites in New Zealand, and there is potential to explore conventionally barren areas such as Japan,” he adds.

The report says, this is one way, but, it goes on to quote a different approach that is being pursued via another Imperial project led by Imperial PhD students Franklin Keck and Ion Ioannou.

“They have used genetic technology to develop plant-bacterial systems that have an enhanced ability to extract metal from the soil,” the report explains, adding “Essentially, you will be able to grow these crops on land contaminated by waste left over from the mining of metals such as copper, and they will extract that metal.”

In Ioannou’s comments, he underlined the fact that; “The world will need more copper in the next 10 years than has been mined in the whole of the last century.”

“Currently, we do not have enough in circulation to meet this demand. We therefore need to both reduce our demand for copper and work out how to extract it in the most sustainable way possible, and that is what we aim to help to achieve at the centre,” he said.

Copper mining in Africa: Tanzania

Geological reports suggest that there is a large deposit of copper in Tanzania, with major companies like Baridi Group Ltd, already investing in exploring and extracting the mineral at various sites.

According to Baridi; “Tanzania is known to have some of the largest copper deposits in East Africa, and the country is also home to other valuable minerals.”

The company says the potential for mining the mineral in Tanzania is significant, and Baridi Group Ltd is well-positioned to benefit from this resource.

“The company’s focus on sustainable mining practices and community engagement ensures that the benefits of mining are shared equitably, and the impact on the environment is minimized,” it reports.

In Tanzania, Baridi Group Ltd holds 37 licenses for both exploration and extraction of of this mineral. According to the company report; “these licenses cover a total area of over 600 square kilometers, which is a significant amount of land for mining activities.”

However, it is research work like the ones been conducted at the new Rio Tinto Centre for Future Materials at the Imperial College London that will determine the future of mining this critical element the world over, including in Tanzania.