Responsible sourcing of rare earths: Exploration-stage intervention including life cycle assessment

Abstract

The responsible sourcing agenda is becoming increasingly important in minerals supply. In order to provide the rare earths needed to decarbonize economies, mines will need to show that they are minimizing their environmental impacts. Even at the earliest stages of new mining projects such as the exploration phase, responsible sourcing principles can be implemented by choosing deposits with desirable characteristics from the wide range of potential sources of REE that are available. However, there is no such thing as the “perfect REE deposit.” Applying life cycle assessment (LCA) during the exploration process to predict environmental impacts, so these can be mitigated most efficiently during mine design, is a powerful tool to aid responsible sourcing. This approach matches well to the LCA techniques that are under development to aid responsible sourcing of rare earths by working mines and refineries. The LCA technique is most effective at measuring environmental sustainability. Governance and social aspects also need to be considered as key parts of responsible sourcing.