remains rather concentrated on major metals (iron, copper, manganese, nickel, chromium). As things stand, other forms of electricity production consume smaller quantities of metals. This study concludes that the shift to a “clean” mix, as described in the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook, should, at a constant amount of electricity produced, increase the electrical system’s consumption of iron by 23%, copper by 242%, silver by 633% and tellurium by a factor of 10. Of course, these results must be put into perspective, particularly because we do not take into account the importance of the production of these metals and the potential for production increases, since the current consumption of the electrical system plays a minor role in the consumption of most metals.
Of course, these studies also bring with them other areas of shadow, on the one hand because they often reason in isolation; that is, they consider only the material necessary for the manufacture of the wind turbine but not necessarily the mining waste brought by the extraction of the neodymium incorporated in the permanent magnets of the latter (except for this last study). On the other hand, the environment is often excluded from the electrical production system. So, what about the material footprint of the connection of offshore wind turbines and back-up, smart-grid or storage solutions necessary for intermittent renewable energies to perfectly replace fossil fuels? In the same vein, these studies often ignore the intra-technological complexity of power generation systems by considering only large groups (onshore wind, offshore wind, photovoltaics, etc.), whereas there is a significant intratechnological variability in the material footprint, especially for certain specific metals. It may be added that while the share of electricity in the energy mix is expected to increase in the future, metals used in the energy sector are not limited to the production of electricity alone, but also concern other sectors of energy production or use, which themselves consume metals (LEDs, batteries, electric vehicles, etc.). Finally, reasoning in partial equilibrium, ignoring other sectors, induces large blind spots, for example by ignoring the conflicts of use between the digital and energy sectors for metals such as cobalt and lithium (electrochemical batteries) and also indium and gallium (flat screens, printed circuit boards and thin-film PVs).
However, more than these studies, the awareness of the media, the public and decision-makers has probably taken place through the epiphenomenon of the rare earth crisis (used in many offshore wind turbines). The soaring price of lanthanides quickly triggered deep concerns among industrialists and the general public. And what if, beyond the geopolitical crisis, our world was to enter a mining impasse, sending the boom in renewable energies halfway into limbo for lack of metals?
Moreover, the many reports and photos of workers in artisanal cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in rare earth mines in China remind us that environmental sustainability in industrialized countries is meaningless if it is not also part of a socially just and economically secure support for all citizens of the world.
Figure I.1. Material footprint of various power generation production systems (source: data from Boubault (2018)). For a color version of this figure, see www.iste.co.uk/fizaine/mineral1.zip
Figure I.2. Metal footprint per kWh by type of power generation system (source: data from Boubault (2018))
Figure I.3. Share of metal footprint of the electricity sector by power generation system (source: data from Boubault (2018)). For a color version of this figure, see www.iste.co.uk/fizaine/mineral1.zip
Although a number of technological impasses have been identified and many points of tension on particular resources must be thwarted with these insights, the realization has nevertheless opened up a lot of thinking on all fronts.
I.1. Systemic mechanics associated with multiple corollaries: insights provided by interdisciplinarity
This book aims to explore, identify and explain the possible bottlenecks associated with the use of mineral resources. The question of the use of mineral resources does not only arise in terms of the quantities available. An open, prospective and interdisciplinary reflection is, thus, necessary to accomplish this task. We have, therefore, mobilized a large team of researchers and thinkers on various issues associated with mineral resources. There are economists, of course, and also physicists, engineers, geologists, lawyers and geographers. This book also helps to bring together specialists working on this theme, often still too isolated and without any real lasting connections. Of course, there are many initiatives, such as the Association française des économistes de l’environnement et des ressources (FAERE, French Association of Environment and Resource Economists), the team around the “Cyclope” report or the contributions to the mineral-info.fr site, but these are still too fragmented or monodisciplinary compared to other much more unified fields like energy. It is also because energy is already entitled to large interdisciplinary teams that we have chosen to focus on mineral resources and exclude energy minerals from our scope of analysis.
To initiate this reflection, we have decided to adopt a structured approach based on three axes: context, issues and leverages of action, spread over two separate volumes. In Volume 1 of this work, the first axis – context – retraces a few elements that allow for a better understanding of the situation of mineral resources.
First of all, while mineral resources are at the heart of the most advanced technologies, a detailed knowledge of their flows is required in order to assess their demand. This is what Raphaël Danino-Perraud, Maïté Legleuher and Dominique Guyonnet (Chapter 1) focus on in relation to the cobalt market. For example, extraction and refining are highly concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo and China, respectively. The assessment of its demand in Europe uses the so-called “material flow analysis” (MFA) approach, which traces these flows and takes into account the multiple forms and uses of cobalt and its recycling possibilities, all the way to the “urban mine”. This MFA of cobalt, coupled with a value chain analysis based on European data, makes it possible to question the strategies of European groups that, anxious to position themselves in high value-added segments, end up dependent on operators working upstream (extraction and refining).
Some mineral resources are financialized while others are not and this has important consequences on the transparency and price dynamics prevailing in these markets. With this in mind, Yves Jégourel (Chapter 2) describes the role of the financialization of ore and metals. More specifically, the author reviews the organization and mechanisms of futures and their alternatives. The author also discusses the effect of financialization on the dynamics of mineral prices and also on the transformation of the sectors using them.
Beyond the financial aspects, the supply of mining resources is also part of institutions – in the first place, state policy. As such, not all countries seem to follow the same rules. While many have established a doctrine for the management of energy resources, this is not the case for mineral resources. Didier Julienne (Chapter
