Resource accessibility and depletion assessments: bridging the gap between geospheric and anthropospheric mineral resources

Continuous population growth and the acceleration in energy transition are raising concerns about the accessibility of mineral resources for current and future generations. Traditional methodologies, such as the Abiotic Depletion Potential (ADP) in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), try to assess it quantitatively but often overlook the dynamic nature of resources. This paper explores mineral resource depletion, addressing misconceptions and uncertainties while proposing pathways forward. The understanding that the concept of resource is intrinsically related to a function is a key starting point for the discussion. The paper navigates the discourse surrounding resources from both physical and economic perspectives, and underscores the dynamic nature of resources, shaped by technological advancements, societal needs, and economic factors. Beyond instrumental and economic values, the paper proposes to look at accessibility as the main value of resources, bringing the focus to resource preservation along their life cycle. Resource accessibility is governed by three aspects (knowledge, ESG permissibility and technical feasibility), underscoring the ability of a system to conserve the recoverability of resources. Instead of questioning how much is left to be exploited, what we do with what we exploit is the core question for sustainable resource management. Essentially, a fairer production system must be conceived by caring for durability (i.e., enhanced lifetime of products) and material functionality (i.e., societal benefits) instead of flows and profit. Any framework for sustainable resource management should be developed under the lens of critical scrutiny of existing economic and production structures.