The Environmental Costs Of Platinum-PGM Mining: An Excellent Case Study In Sustainable Mining

The platinum group of metals (PGMs) possess a range of unique chemical and physical properties and arc increasingly finding important uses in a wide variety of environmentally-related technologies (eg. catalytic conveners, fuel cells, electronics). The typical ore grade for PGM mineralisation is similar 10 gold (gil) but the processing is more akin to base metals (at percent). The typical scheme for a PGM project is a mine, flotation concentrator, smelter and refinery. The environmental costs could therefore expected to be more significant than gold mining -in contrast to the uses for PGMs in many environmentally focussed technologies. The global production of PGMs is dominated by South Africa due to their large economic PGM resources in the Bushveld Complex, while other countries playa minor but important role. Concerns arc being raised about the long-term ability to supply PGMs to meet future technological needs, as well as allegations of significant environmental and social impacts such as water pollution, unfair village relocation and compensation issues. This paper presents a detailed review of the platinum-PGM industry and major environmental costs such as water, energy and greenhouse emissions. The relationships between production statistics and environmental or ?sustainability metrics' are then investigated with a view to understanding the current trends in PGM mining and potential future implications. The paper presents a unique case study for a group of metals which are uniquely concentrated in one major region of the earth and pose some intriguing and difficult sustainability issues for the future.