Tue, 07/20/2021 - 5:42pm
Clean energy may mean less mining for coal, but it also means opening or expanding mines to unearth minerals such as cobalt for use in alloys and batteries, tellurium for solar cells and semiconductors, and germanium for transistors in electronic devices.
That’s according to Dr. Michael Moats, professor and interim chair of materials science and engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology, who says reducing carbon emissions from energy systems in the United States will increase the need for metal production by two to six times per kilowatt of energy production.
“We could eventually reach some of our materials needs by recycling, but there is very little to recycle at this point,” says Moats. “So, we’re going to have to bring on new mines to meet the demand.”
Green energy increases the need for mining and metals production
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Clean energy may mean less mining for coal, but it also means opening or expanding mines to unearth minerals such as cobalt for use in alloys and batteries, tellurium for solar cells and semiconductors, and germanium for transistors in electronic devices.
That’s according to Dr. Michael Moats, professor and interim chair of materials science and engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology, who says reducing carbon emissions from energy systems in the United States will increase the need for metal production by two to six times per kilowatt of energy production.
Green Energy Will Drive The Need For More Mining And worldenergynews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from worldenergynews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
One such example of the dilemma is southern Utah’s Colt Mesa, which was removed from within the boundaries of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument under the Trump administration and stands to be swept back in under Biden.
Nick Proctor, who with his father owns the Colt Mesa’s mining claims, said the area contains grades of cobalt at higher concentrations than cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which produces more than 60% of the world’s supply via thousands of child laborers.
In fact, some of the world’s largest tech companies like Tesla and Apple are being sued by families of dead or injured children from Congo who worked in the mines. The litigation asserts the companies’ unquenched thirst for cobalt necessary in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries is fostering human rights abuses.
Utah tellurium mine creates new US supply of key mineral sfchronicle.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sfchronicle.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.