Rock-to-Metal Ratio: A Foundational Metric for Understanding Mine Wastes.

ABSTRACT: The quantity of ore mined and waste rock (i.e., overburden or barren rock) removed to produce a refined unit of a mineral commodity, its rock-to-metal ratio (RMR), is an important metric for understanding mine wastes and environmental burdens. In this analysis, we provide a comprehensive examination of RMRs for 25 commodities for 2018. The results indicate significant variability across commodities. Precious metals like gold have RMRs in the range of 10⁵-10⁶, while iron ore and aluminum are on the order of 10¹. The results also indicate significant variability across operations for a single commodity. The interquartile range of RMRs for individual cobalt operations, for example, varies from 465 to 2157, with a global RMR of 859. RMR variability is mainly dr

SUBMITTER: Nassar NT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9118561 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature