There is increasing awareness thatnatural resources are finite, with many countries promoting and moving to circular economy practices, encouraging recycling, reuse and remanufacturing.
The European Union has set a target of sourcing15 per cent of its critical minerals from recycled materials by 2030, while China has developed a vast circular industrial system that includes standards for the reuse and refurbishment of critical materials.
Some countries are also using tax incentives to encourage recycling and banning exports or disposal of materials that could be recycled domestically.If these global initiatives succeed and develop further, Australia’s role as a primary exporter of raw materials may weaken over time, which could have profound implications.
Speaking at the inaugural Mining, Metals and CircularEconomy Conference held in Sydney late last year, the CSIRO’s Dr Cathy Foley suggested that market uncertainty in 2025 and beyond will require miners to consider different influences on the critical minerals sector.
“As we consider the future for critical minerals, it’s important to realise that the circular economy opportunity is both real and nuanced.”
Recovering critical minerals from used products willbecome increasingly more important for the security and sustainability of global critical minerals supply.However, Dr Foley noted the feasibility of recycling critical minerals is dependent on the specific element and in which form it is used.
For example, when recycling lithium and cobalt from batteries, more than 90 per cent can be recovered, which means there is a promising business case for recovering valuable materials in bulk, compared to the small amount of energy required and waste produced.
However, other materials such as gallium, indium and germanium are used in smaller quantities and are incorporated into other materials to produce the desired effect. Therefore, the recycling of these metals is harder and less economical.
Dr Foley said the business case for recovering scant quantities through chemical processing requires lots of energy and also produces a significant amount of waste.
“This makes it difficult to justify recycling – unless the metal is as valuable as platinum or gold.“So critical minerals that are used in very small quantities are very difficult to recycle and so not ripe for circularity.”
However, Dr Foley said it is inevitable that technology shifts will create new demands and, hence, the need for new materials.
“Modelling of battery materials shows that circularity only comes into play when a ‘saturation point’ or a change in technology is reached,” she said.
This occurs when end-of-life volumes are high enough to substantially feed production demand, and modelling projects this is likely to happen in the 2050s.
“This should serve as a call to action for Australian innovation,” Dr Foley said.
“Business as usual will not help us reach circularity and deliver on the energy transition.“We must embrace challenge-focused innovation, where industry, academia and government work hand-in hand to solve real-world problems.“Whether it’s improving the circularity of critical minerals or finding new ways to extract value sustainably, we need to encourage collaborative research that delivers solutions.
“This is how we can not only maintain our competitive edge, but also lead the way in sustainable innovation for the future.“For the mining sector, it’s about knowing where the opportunities are going to lie, where there will be growth, and building our business models around this.”
By embracing circularity, Dr Foley said, waste would be reduced and new economic opportunities generated, contributing to a more sustainable future.“To achieve this, science and technology is our friend,”she added.
“It will depend on Australia developing the right capabilities in minerals processing and innovative technology.“And it requires a shift in our attitude to the value of our minerals.”
CIRCULARITY AND RAW MATERIALS PRODUCTION
Currently, just 10 per cent of lithium-ion batteries inAustralia are collected and sent offshore for processing, with the rest either stockpiled or put in landfill where theycan cause significant environmental harm.
A 2017 report projected that recycled lithium will reach 9 per cent of total lithium battery supply in 2025(namely 5,800 tonnes of recycled lithium, or 30,000tonnes lithium), and recycled cobalt almost 20 per centof the demand, with more than 66 per cent lithium-ion batteries being recycled in China.
With these recycling rates only expected to increase, DrFoley said while it is in a distant future, eventually, primary extraction could cease to be a significant driver of some critical minerals production.
Therefore, she said, a global circular economy in critical minerals could be considered a threat to the country’s position as an exporter of ores, concentrates and refined chemicals.
“However, that’s a long way off. Primary extraction stillhas a long trajectory,” she said.
AUSTRALIA’S CIRCULAR FUTURE
A report commissioned by the Prime Minister’s NationalScience and Technology Council for the MinisterialAdvisory Group on the Circular Economy in 2023, makes recommendations on how to boost Australia’s participation in the circular economy.
Due to the complexity and cost involved in recovering and recycling materials from used products, a vital first step is public awareness of the importance of reuse, repair and remanufacture for devices containing critical minerals.
Dr Foley, who is also a member of the group, said society needs to move away from the use-once disposable culture and keep materials in use as long as possible.
“Circular economy thinking is about the value in repairing and repurposing before considering elemental recycling.”
According to the report, government procurement alsoplays an important role in driving circularity which creates demand by incentivising the purchase of remanufactured products and those containing recycled content.
“One of the challenges for Australia to undertake recycling is our absence of midstream manufacturing within individual technology value chains like photovoltaics or batteries.
“Without onshore demand for recycled content in thes esupply chains, recovered materials must be exported.”Regulatory frameworks also play a key role in safe recycling, which provide the basis for the high environmental, social and governance (ESG) reputation ofAustralia.
Dr Foley said in Australia, this will require striking a balance between safety and innovation.“For example, battery storage industries transitioning into recycling face stringent safety regulations that couldslow their progress.“We must find ways to streamline these processes without compromising environmental and safety standards,” she said.