Abstract
Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) via mineral carbonation is an effective method for long-term storage of carbon dioxide and combating climate change. Implemented at a large-scale, it provides a viable solution to harvesting and storing the modern crisis of GHGs emissions. To date, technological and economic barriers have inhibited broad-scale utilisation of mineral carbonation at industrial scales. This paper outlines the mineral carbonation process; discusses drivers and barriers of mineral carbonation deployment in Australian mining; and, finally, proposes a unique approach to commercially viable CCUS within the Australian mining industry by integrating mine waste management with mine site rehabilitation, and leveraging relationships with local coal-fired power station. This paper discusses using alkaline mine and coal-fired power station waste (fly ash, red mud, and ultramafic mine tailings, i.e., nickel, diamond, PGE (platinum group elements), and legacy asbestos mine tailings) as the feedstock for CCUS to produce environmentally benign materials, which can be used in mine reclamation. Geographical proximity of mining operations, mining waste storage facilities and coal-fired power stations in Australia are identified; and possible synergies between them are discussed. This paper demonstrates that large-scale alkaline waste production and mine site reclamation can become integrated to mechanise CCUS. Furthermore, financial liabilities associated with such waste management and site reclamation could overcome many of the current economic setbacks of retrofitting CCUS in the mining industry. An improved approach to commercially viable climate change mitigation strategies available to the mining industry is reviewed in this paper.
Highlights
Global concerns about climate change have been growing over the last few decades
The Australian mining industry, as a major industrial sector, has been one of the contributors to the Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change effects. This has been through energy consumption and fugitive GHG emissions associated with mining operations and processing of minerals and metals, as well as burning coal, one of Australia’s most important commodities, in power stations
This is in accordance with the fact that mineral carbonation can occur as the result of the reaction between CO2 with elements such as calcium, magnesium, and iron [112]
Summary
Global concerns about climate change have been growing over the last few decades. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with anthropogenic origins are recognised to be the major driver of these climate change effects [1]. The Australian mining industry, as a major industrial sector, has been one of the contributors to the GHG emissions and climate change effects This has been through energy consumption and fugitive GHG emissions associated with mining operations and processing of minerals and metals, as well as burning coal, one of Australia’s most important commodities, in power stations. Recent estimates by IEA, at the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24), [10] suggest that CCUS remains well off-track to meet the IEA’s Sustainable Development Scenario (SDS) [13], which is aligned with the energy-related concerns of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [14] All of these recent trends show the importance of the application of CCUS in various industrial sectors, including the mining industry. Some of the many potential and nearer-term opportunities and synergies that exist in using mining waste for climate change adaptation are identified, in this paper
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
