Peak minerals and metals in Australia: strategies for maximising future value
The concept of 'peak minerals', namely a time-series description of when minerals production will peak, and decline, has recently been described in Australia for a range of metals (Mudd, 2007). Further research is required to understand:
- What are the implications of peak minerals for Australia from the local to national scale and what can be learned from studying the peak phenomenon of other resources (e.g., peak oil, phosphorus); how do minerals differ?
- How might our response to these implications be affected by local and global institutional arrangements; by alternate future scenarios?
- How much could inertia to technological change and the dominance of current technology influence peak minerals trajectories?
- Alternatively, how might new technologies and consumption patterns alter the peaks of different minerals?
- What role could ocean-based resources or end-of-life scrap play in substituting for declining production from terrestrial ores?
- What structures can be developed to maximise value from mineral wealth over generations that are linked to delivering services in a sustainable economy?
This project would link with the work of ISF as part of a Mineral Futures Cluster of research with CSIRO and other universities. Top up scholarships may be available through CSIRO.
For further information about this topic contact Dr Damien Giurco
