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Case Study

Granite-related Li, Sn and W mineralisation and related mine waste in Cornwall

  • Status: In Progress
  • Commodity(s): Li, Sn, W (In, Ga, Cd, Bi, REE...)
  • Location: Southwest England
  • Thematic Area: CE principles for raw materials and new geomodels

Objectives

Aim: Develop comprehensive circular economy geomodel for granite-related mineralisation and wastes.

  • Collate geological and mineralogical data to develop integrated geomodels for primary, secondary, and anthropogenic (e.g., mine wastes) technology metal occurrences.
  • Use Life Cycle Assessment and economic analysis to consider environmental, sociological, and economic implications of a technology metals industry in southwest England.

Researchers

  • Karen Hudson-Edwards
  • Eva Marquis
  • Frances Wall
  • Sam Hu
  • Xiaoyu Yan
  • Phil Bird
  • Dan Smith
  • Gawen Jenkin
  • Robert (Bob) Lee
  • Aleksandra Cavoski

Partners

Cornish Lithium drilling rig

Description

The globally iconic Southwest England metallogenic province is the location of the first case study of Thematic Area 2’s Development of Circular Economy Geomodels.

Historic mining combined with recent battery metal exploration and geothermal energy development has resulted in a nexus of opportunities for a low carbon economy in the region.

However, remnants of historic mining present social, environmental, and economic challenges for the revival of mining.

Our ambition is to model future scenarios of a technology metal industry, assess the impact of novel mineral processing and remediation techniques, and identify pathways for technology metal circularity in the region.

Find out more: Met4Tech’s Policy Brief for Technology Metal Resources in South West England (2022).