Towards Sustainable Minerals for Energy Transition: LCA Insights from an Open-Pit Molybdenum–Copper Mine

China is the world’s leading producer of molybdenum–copper concentrates, an industry noted for its high energy demand and considerable environmental burdens. This study applies a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment to the production of molybdenum–copper concentrate in the Lesser Khingan Mountains, utilizing the ReCiPe 2016 midpoint method coupled with Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis. The results indicate that human carcinogenic toxicity represents the greatest environmental risk, followed by marine and freshwater ecotoxicity. Contribution analysis reveals that the grinding stage is the dominant impact driver—particularly due to hexavalent chromium emissions—affecting carcinogenic risk, climate change potential, and fossil resource depletion. Scenario testing demonstrates that upgrading grinding technology, enhancing electricity efficiency, and substituting conventional energy with renewable sources can markedly mitigate these impacts. However, because of implementation barriers, such as high capital costs, retrofit downtime, and uncertainties in the supply chain, a pilot phase is necessary before deployment at full scale. Quantitatively, the production of one tonne of molybdenum–copper concentrate corresponds to 0.05 DALYs of human health damage, 1.11 × 10−4 species.year of ecological loss, and USD 3488.82 of resource depletion. These results provide constructive references for the sustainable development of the mining industry and contribute to achieving China’s dual carbon targets through energy transformation and low-carbon technological innovation.

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Publication Details

Journal
Sustainability
Published
2025-05-25
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/su17114849
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Mine drainage and remediation techniques
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.72

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article

Towards Sustainable Minerals for Energy Transition: LCA Insights from an Open-Pit Molybdenum–Copper Mine

Ming Tao, Wei Xia, Zhao Chun-lei, Xianpeng Qiu et al.
2 citations
Sustainability
Mine drainage and remediation techniques
1.72
article

Towards Sustainable Minerals for Energy Transition: LCA Insights from an Open-Pit Molybdenum–Copper Mine

Ming Tao, Wei Xia, Zhao Chun-lei, Xianpeng Qiu, Yanyan Geng
article en
2 citations

Abstract

China is the world’s leading producer of molybdenum–copper concentrates, an industry noted for its high energy demand and considerable environmental burdens. This study applies a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment to the production of molybdenum–copper concentrate in the Lesser Khingan Mountains, utilizing the ReCiPe 2016 midpoint method coupled with Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis. The results indicate that human carcinogenic toxicity represents the greatest environmental risk, followed by marine and freshwater ecotoxicity. Contribution analysis reveals that the grinding stage is the dominant impact driver—particularly due to hexavalent chromium emissions—affecting carcinogenic risk, climate change potential, and fossil resource depletion. Scenario testing demonstrates that upgrading grinding technology, enhancing electricity efficiency, and substituting conventional energy with renewable sources can markedly mitigate these impacts. However, because of implementation barriers, such as high capital costs, retrofit downtime, and uncertainties in the supply chain, a pilot phase is necessary before deployment at full scale. Quantitatively, the production of one tonne of molybdenum–copper concentrate corresponds to 0.05 DALYs of human health damage, 1.11 × 10−4 species.year of ecological loss, and USD 3488.82 of resource depletion. These results provide constructive references for the sustainable development of the mining industry and contribute to achieving China’s dual carbon targets through energy transformation and low-carbon technological innovation.

SustainabilityVol. 17(11)
Central South University (CN), Yichun University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 17%
Mine drainage and remediation techniques
1.72
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Towards Sustainable Minerals for Energy Transition: LCA Insights from an Open-Pit Molybdenum–Copper Mine — Ming Tao, Wei Xia, et al. · Sustainability (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS