XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3 5
technologies, permits, downstream processing capabilities,
and other aspects roughly contained in the business model
for mineral production. Even though, on a global scale,
minerals in the earth’s crust may be plentiful, developing an
operating mine can take decades, these long lead in times
often do not match the urgency of critical mineral demand.
Because the net-zero emission challenge must be met
globally, it is important that we accelerate a shared inter-
national effort in securing the supply of critical minerals.
Two BGS-led studies review activities and policy related to
Critical Raw Material (CRM) standards and resource man-
agement and give an assessment of the strengths and weak-
nesses of current approaches to managing the CRM supply
(Bide et al., 2021, Bide et al., 2022).
Globally, a wide range of policy related to mineral
resources has been developed aiming to:
• Improve security of raw material supply.
• Reduce carbon emissions associated with the life
cycle of raw materials.
• Reduce environmental and societal harm related to
raw material production and consumption.
• Promote the development of a circular economy.
These objectives, and the urgency of the energy transi-
tion, require long-term sustainable management of mineral
resources which is fundamentally dependent on improv-
ing our understanding of how raw materials are produced,
the impacts of their production and use, and how they
flow through society. Tools that have been developed to
achieve this understanding and improve the management
and governance of resources include the United Nations
Framework Classification (UNFC) and the United Nations
Resource Management System (UNRMS). These are eval-
uated in Bide et al. (2021) to show how the UNFC can
provide metrics in support of those objectives and how
the UNRMS can act as a toolkit for managing resources
throughout the supply chain.
Bide et al. (2022) develops a series of recommenda-
tions for improving the security and sustainability of CRM
supply. These give particular consideration to ESG aspects
and encompass a wide range of activities across mineral
value chains from mineral exploration and CRM resource
definition, through processing and manufacturing, to recy-
cling and disposal.
The over-arching recommendations include:
• Improve the understanding of CRM resource data
• Encourage mineral exploration and economic
development
• Improve our understanding of secondary resources as
potential sources of CRMs
• Improve the ESG performance of the mineral indus-
try and transparency along CRM supply chains
• Improve data collection and availability
• Improve collaboration and communication
• Understand the entire value chain and identify circu-
lar economy interventions for CRMs
From Bide et al., 2021
Figure 4. The UNRMS principles
technologies, permits, downstream processing capabilities,
and other aspects roughly contained in the business model
for mineral production. Even though, on a global scale,
minerals in the earth’s crust may be plentiful, developing an
operating mine can take decades, these long lead in times
often do not match the urgency of critical mineral demand.
Because the net-zero emission challenge must be met
globally, it is important that we accelerate a shared inter-
national effort in securing the supply of critical minerals.
Two BGS-led studies review activities and policy related to
Critical Raw Material (CRM) standards and resource man-
agement and give an assessment of the strengths and weak-
nesses of current approaches to managing the CRM supply
(Bide et al., 2021, Bide et al., 2022).
Globally, a wide range of policy related to mineral
resources has been developed aiming to:
• Improve security of raw material supply.
• Reduce carbon emissions associated with the life
cycle of raw materials.
• Reduce environmental and societal harm related to
raw material production and consumption.
• Promote the development of a circular economy.
These objectives, and the urgency of the energy transi-
tion, require long-term sustainable management of mineral
resources which is fundamentally dependent on improv-
ing our understanding of how raw materials are produced,
the impacts of their production and use, and how they
flow through society. Tools that have been developed to
achieve this understanding and improve the management
and governance of resources include the United Nations
Framework Classification (UNFC) and the United Nations
Resource Management System (UNRMS). These are eval-
uated in Bide et al. (2021) to show how the UNFC can
provide metrics in support of those objectives and how
the UNRMS can act as a toolkit for managing resources
throughout the supply chain.
Bide et al. (2022) develops a series of recommenda-
tions for improving the security and sustainability of CRM
supply. These give particular consideration to ESG aspects
and encompass a wide range of activities across mineral
value chains from mineral exploration and CRM resource
definition, through processing and manufacturing, to recy-
cling and disposal.
The over-arching recommendations include:
• Improve the understanding of CRM resource data
• Encourage mineral exploration and economic
development
• Improve our understanding of secondary resources as
potential sources of CRMs
• Improve the ESG performance of the mineral indus-
try and transparency along CRM supply chains
• Improve data collection and availability
• Improve collaboration and communication
• Understand the entire value chain and identify circu-
lar economy interventions for CRMs
From Bide et al., 2021
Figure 4. The UNRMS principles