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Sustainability – the role of mineral processing and extractive metallurgy

ABSTRACT The increasing degradation of the environment and changing social values are driving the transition to sustainability. Elimination of waste and reduction of energy consumption reduce both the demand for new mineral resources and quantities of potentially harmful wastes and contribute to the transition to sustainability. These challenges provide opportunities for the application of mineral processing and extractive metallurgical principles to add value to wastes/co-products, reduce energy consumption and recycle complex and novel materials. This paper discusses the interpretations of sustainability and relates them to the minerals industry. Four strategies for minimizing wastes and energy – the application of cleaner production principles, re-engineering of processes, utilizing wastes as co-products, and closing the production loop through industrial ecology principles – are discussed and examples are given to illustrate the application of mineral processing and extractive metallurgical principles to these strategies.