The extraction, minerals, and mining industry has taken on a sudden interest in the circular economy (CE) for example, see here, here, and here. 

There is an obvious ambivalence to CE adoption in this industry. On the one hand there is the struggle—and some would say cynical illusion—that the circular economy can make extractive industries sustainable, versus the option of letting the industry completely ignore any semblance of sustainability and let it remain with an unsustainable linear philosophy.

We acknowledge this dichotomy, but —at least for the short term—we should help try to minimize the damage caused by these industries. Mitigation in damages can be completed through CE practice and may be, into the far future ideally replace direct mining and extraction from the Earth almost completely by a circular economy and to achieve a sustainable world.

The effort has to begin somewhere, and this effort should probably be led by many parties, not just the industry monitoring itself with feel good thoughts.

Where to begin? Many extraction, minerals, and mining industries are not only at the initial levels of direct extraction from the Earth but can have integrated supply chains that include metals and minerals. What if these extracted materials are owned by the initial mining company—as a materials stewardship throughout their lives.

Metals, can have infinite loops of production and consumption. There are organizations focusing on specific metals to help with their stewardship one example is zinc, which also explains how zinc is good for kids.

With these thoughts in mind, we approached the journal Resources Policy which is devoted to the “economics and policy issues related to mineral and fossil fuel extraction, production and use” to more broadly introduce circular economy principles into this community.  We did this by editing a virtual special issue especially in emerging economies—regions of the world that have been relatively neglected in research.  A virtual special issue is a compendium of studies and publications that are spread across multiple volumes in the journal along this theme.

We wished to cover the spectrum of the extraction industries value chain with the idea of considering the impacts of CE practices in this industry and especially in where they do the most damage—emerging economies.  The resulting special issue is summarized in our editorial. 

Notice we use the word melioration which is the act or process of improving something or the state of being improved in the title because its purpose was not to solve the situation but how to improve…again, in the short term.

The special issue allowed scholars from a variety of disciplines to provide insights for this industry.  The idea was to consider cyclic product flows, regenerative practices, and product-service-systems, byproducts and materials life extensions—all of which are arguably elements of CE.

The studies ranged from larger policy implications to operational decisions made by organizations.  The eleven research studies fit into energy efficiency, materials and resources efficiency, use of digital technologies to leverage the circularity, various circular economy models, decision support tools, and policy implications categories.

The studies provide some insights into how CE needs to be reevaluated.

For example, urban mining was an alternative mining approach that can be part of a new model as mature urban locations can serve as sources of end-of-life materials, for example from old buildings and infrastructure.  These activities currently occurs and one paper tries to understand why there are barriers.

Another article on the potassium cycle provides insights into how circular economy principles can aid in hunger mitigation the first sustainable development goals (SDG 1). Potassium is a necessary resource for fertilization and addressing hunger in developing nations, but its availability can be limited and provides a series of options and evaluations.

Technology—although not a silver bullet—implications also play a role as Industry 4.0, blockchain, and additive manufacturing are all considered amongst the articles in support of various elements of CE.

What we do know is the melioration—easing the damages of basic and traditional mineral, mining, and extraction sectoral activities—can be completed by CE practices.  We also realize that for full strong sustainability this is only an initial step.  The special issue provides a step in the transition process—we also have to consider sustainable consumption not just supply and production—and thoughtful strategies such as degrowth.  But that may be another special issue in the future as we seek stronger sustainability and its linkage to the circular economy over the long-term.

Published by the SSCP KAN – Circular Economy Working Group. The Future Earth Systems of Sustainable Consumption and Production (SSCP) Knowledge-Action Network (KAN) is a global network of researchers and practitioners interested in ways that sustainable consumption and production systems can be created, nurtured, and contribute to a more sustainable world.