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  • 标题:What Is the Optimal and Sustainable Lifetime of a Mine?
  • 本地全文:下载
  • 作者:Wellmer, Friedrich-Wilhelm ; Scholz, Roland W.
  • 期刊名称:Sustainability
  • 印刷版ISSN:2071-1050
  • 出版年度:2018
  • 卷号:10
  • 期号:2
  • 页码:1-22
  • 出版社:MDPI, Open Access Journal
  • 摘要:The first stage of the circular economy, mining, is examined from the perspective of sustainability. The authors discuss how to maximize the use of phosphate rock, a primary commodity. To attract investment capital in a market economy system, a mine has to operate profitably, i.e., its lifetime must be optimized under economic conditions, for example, according to Taylor’s Rule. From a sustainability perspective, however, the lifetime should extend as long as possible and the grades mined be as low as possible. The authors examine methods for optimizing a mine’s lifetime under economic conditions according to practical experience and learning effects to optimize exploration and exploitation. With the condition of sustainability, a recently developed concept of cut-off grade for a layered phosphate deposit is examined and considerations for prolonging a mine’s lifetime are discussed. As there are big losses from the current and potential future value chains above and below the current cut-off grade, we argue that the losses and use efficiency of phosphorus are key parts of a circular economy.
  • 关键词:sustainable mining; lifetime of a mine; break-even cut-off; sustainable cut-off; resource efficiency; cut-off grade
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