The document discusses several sustainability issues facing the mining industry, including declining ore grades, energy sources and reserves, water scarcity, and decreasing productivity. It presents technical solutions but notes the need for a systemic approach given the interconnected nature of these problems in the industrial sector. Charts show decreasing ore grades over time, rising energy consumption in mining, and peaking of global production for oil, gas, coal and other resources. The document argues that the current business model is not sustainable given these finite resource and environmental constraints.

1. 14/7/2014

2. Summary
• Technological and sustainability gap in mining
• The lowering of ore grade
• Energy sources and reserves
• Water
• Several possible technical solutions presented
• Systemic interaction of these issues in the industrial sector
2

3. Conventional Model for Sustainable Priorities
A completely new
business model is
now appropriate
Business has been done a certain way for the last
100 years. Now lets do it for another 100.
3
At this time, globally it seems, all sustainability work in mining is totally
targeted at community and social engagement; even the environmental aspects
are about planting trees and supporting local wildlife; nothing on reducing
waste/energy/toxins

4. Dynamic Self Regulating Finite System
This system is not growing and
has been stable for some time
4

5. Oil
Coal
Gas
5
Exponential growth in a finite system is not
sustainable
Consumption of all natural resources are
following this basic pattern over time

6. Try this for size…
Enough for everyone, for ever
If you are not considering all three of these things then you are not
sustainable
6

7. 48% Decrease in Multifactor Productivity
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
Indexed2000-01=100
Topp et al. (2008) Australian Bureau of Statistics (2012)
7

8. MFP growth in Australia, selected sectors,
average annual growth
Most of the slowdown in Australia MFP
attributable to mining and electricity
generation, water and waste 8

9. Conventional mining practice is struggling to remain
economically viable
Ore Grades Are Decreasing
9

10. 1800’s North American Continent
Large nuggets found in river beds
Yes that’s a nugget of pure copper!
Smaller nuggets found in streams
Grade 15-20%Finally started to dig Cu out of the ground 1850’s
10

11. 11

12. Metal Price Cost (Indexed to the year 2000)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
RealPrice
Indexed2000-01=100
Au Cu
Pb Zn
Ag Ni
Al Fe Ore
Year 2008
(GFC)
CurrentMiningcrash
ABS 1350.0 Financial Markets - Long term
http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/1350.0Jul%202012?OpenDocument
ABARES - Australian Mineral Statistics March 2011 12

13. Source: Nature 26 Jan 2012, Vol 481 Comment Price $50 USD/barrel Price $147 USD/barrel
Peak Conventional Oil Production - 2006
International Energy Agency
http://makewealthhistory.org/2010/11/11/iea-peak-oil-happened-in-2006/
Source: EIA, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_Megaprojects, Tony
Erikson “ace” theoildrum.com
GFC
2008
World Crude Oil & Lease Condensate Production,
Including Canada Oil Sands
13

14. Oil Demand & supply & the GFC
GFC
Oil is the ability to do work
14

15. GFC
Oil Production Static
15

16. China industrial demand dominated the
rest of the planet
China now dominates manufacturing and resource consumption
16

17. We are 8 years into an era of industrial
transformation
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
RealPrice
Indexed2000-01=100
Au Cu
Pb Zn
Ag Ni
Al Fe Ore
Oil supply became
inelastic
Chinese industrial
demand
17

18. Total Mining costs have also risen
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
160,000
180,000
200,000
Total Income
Total Expenses
ABS 1350.0 Financial Markets - Long term
http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/1350.0Jul%202012?OpenDocument
ABARES - Australian Mineral Statistics March 2011 18

19. Source: Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) 2008
Energy consumption in mining increased 450% in the last 40 years
19

20. 20

21. Total energy consumption by process path
This is a very different conversation to recovery efficiency.
Different mineralogy's require different process paths
Source: Energy efficiency and copper hydrometallurgy J.Marsden 2008 Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold
Energy efficiency may be a priority for process design as soon as 2018 21

22. Total energy consumption as a function of ore
head grade for various process routes
Many new proposed operations are considering a cut-off grade of 0.1% on leach pads
Source: Energy efficiency and copper hydrometallurgy J.Marsden 2008 Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold
22

23. Rock breakage - There is no free lunch, or short cuts
Kambalda
0.01
0.1
1
10
100
0 5 10 15 20
Cumulative Energy, kWh/t
P80Size,mm
Flowsheet 1
Flowsheet 2
Flowsheet 3
Flowsheet 4
Flowsheet 5
40x10mm Feed
-9.5mm Crush
-3.35mm
Crush
HPGR Pass 1
HPGR Pass 2
Bond Test -
125um CS
Bond Test -
75um CS
Leinster
0.01
0.1
1
10
100
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Cumulative Energy, kWh/t
P80Size,mm
Flowsheet 1
Flowsheet 2
Flowsheet 3
Flowsheet 4
Flowsheet 5
Flowsheet 3a
Flowsheet 4a
40x10mm Feed
-9.5mm Crush
-3.35mm
Crush
HPGR Pass 1
HPGR Pass 2
Batch Grind 2
HPGR Pass 3
HPGR Pass 4
Batch Grind 3
Batch Grind 1
Mine Site ‘X’ Mine Site ‘Y’
The cumulative energy consumed to process a sample to a target P80 is
very similar across all conventional process paths.
M. Hilden
23

24. Energy Consumed kJ per lb of copper produced
Mining 6,000 (kJ/lb)
Primary crushing
& conveying
900 (kJ/lb)
SAG Milling
10,700 (kJ/lb)
Ball Milling
10,590 (kJ/lb)
Flotation &
regrinding
1,870 (kJ/lb)
Smelting
5,150 (kJ/lb)
Refining
2,700 (kJ/lb)
Transport to market 120 (kJ/lb)
Primary Crush, SAG mill, ball mill, flotation, smelt, refine
Source: Energy efficiency and copper hydrometallurgy J.Marsden 2008 Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold

25. Energy Consumed kJ per lb of copper produced
Mining 6,000 (kJ/lb)
Primary crushing
& conveying
900 (kJ/lb)
Secondary
crushing
450 (kJ/lb)
Tertiary
crushing
450 (kJ/lb)
HPGR
1,100 (kJ/lb)
Ball Milling,
10,590 (kJ/lb)
Flotation &
regrinding
1,870 (kJ/lb)
Smelting
5,150 (kJ/lb)
Refining
2,700 (kJ/lb)
Transport to market 120 (kJ/lb)
C
V
C
V
C
V
C
V
C
V
C
V
Primary Crush, Secondary Crush, Tertiary Crush, HPGR, ball mill, flotation, smelt, refine
Source: Energy efficiency and copper hydrometallurgy J.Marsden 2008 Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold

26. Energy Consumed kJ per lb of copper produced
Mining 8,000
(kJ/lb)ROM Leaching
1,440 (kJ/lb)
Solution
Extraction
1,980 (kJ/lb)
Electrowinning
3,840 (kJ/lb)
Transport to market
120 (kJ/lb)
Run of Mine (ROM) Leach, Electrowinning
Source: Energy efficiency and copper hydrometallurgy J.Marsden 2008 Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold

27. Its all about oil, gas and coal

28. US Shale Gas ‘Fracking’ Boom
96% downgrade of Monterey shale oil reserves (2/3 of US reserves)
extractable with current technology ~ 600 million barrels down from 13.7
billion barrels (Source EIA) 28

29. • Production from shale gas ‘fracked’ wells typically declines 80
to 95% in the first 36 months of operation
• For US shale gas industry to maintain 2013 production rates,
it needs to drill approx. 7200 new wells each year
• CSG in Australia is considered less productive than US
unconventional gas plays
US Shale Gas ‘Fracking’ Bust
• How did the EIA get these fantastic future predictions?
– Take the content of the best gas ‘sweet spots’ in each fracking field
– Take the highest recovery rates of the best fracking wells in each fracking
field
– Extend both of these to the entire volume of the fracking gas field
– Sum all fields together, ignore logistical issues and process issues
29

30. Peak Gas
Year 2018
Zittel, W. et al, Fossil and Nuclear Fuels – the supply outlook Energy Watch Group March 2013
CSG and shale gas has pushed Peak Gas back from approx. 2010
30

31. Peak Coal
Zittel, W. et al, Fossil and Nuclear Fuels – the supply outlook Energy Watch Group March 2013
Year 2020
Peak date contingent on China selling us their coal
31

32. Supply and demand of Uranium
There is probably enough U for existing nuclear power stations
32
Zittel, W. et al, Fossil and Nuclear Fuels – the supply outlook Energy Watch Group March 2013

33. Future projection of Uranium production
2014
Nuclear power would have to increase 12-13 times capacity at peak
potential to make up for total energy supply to replace fossil fuels
33
Zittel, W. et al, Fossil and Nuclear Fuels – the supply outlook Energy Watch Group March 2013

34. Existing nuclear infrastructure needs replacing
Someone has to pay for these new reactor sites
34

35. Storage of spent fuel rods
• Spent fuel rods are
very radioactive and
generate a lot of heat
• Need to be stored in cooled
water for 10-20 years
before dry storage
This is the Achilles Heel of
nuclear technology as a solution
to our energy supply problem
35

36. Peak Oil
Tar and oil sands have pushed back the peak of total oil
supply back 6-7 years from approx. 2006
Conventional and unconventional oil supply
Zittel, W. et al, Fossil and Nuclear Fuels – the supply outlook Energy Watch Group March 2013
Discovery & Production
Year 2012
36

37. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-30/us-gasoline-consumption-plummets-nearly-75
Source: Zero Hedge, Submitted by Jeff Nielsen via BullionBullsCanada blog
2008
(GFC)
U.S. “gasoline consumption” – as measured by the U.S.
Energy Information Administration (EIA)
– has plummeted by nearly 75%
37

38. But peak oil has no influence on mining
and is not our problem
(right?)
38

39. Ore is shifted with diesel fuel (oil)
255 tonne load capacity 200kg (?) load capacity
1 truck = 3400 donkey loads
Bingham: Would we cart
5000tph of rock for
10tph of copper (0.2%
grade) without oil? Or
run 66 000 donkey loads
an hour…..
Not without its
logistical problems
There comes a point when
something has to give.
Escondida: 1/3 of total
energy consumed is in
haulage of ore from pit
floor to plant 39

40. Energy Return on Energy Invested
(EROEI Ratio)
40
Current industrial based society requires and EROEI of 10:1
New conventional oil (12-18:1)

41. EROEI
(The song and dance needed to get the energy)
• Conventional Oil 12-18:1
• Tar Sands Oil 3:1
• Shale Oil 5:1
• Coal 50-80:1
• Conventional LNG gas 10:1
• Shale Gas 6.5:1
• Hydro Power 20-40:1
• Solar Power 2-8:1
• Wind Power 18:1
• Conventional Nuclear 5:1 including the energy cost of
mining U (10:1 as quoted)
Some Perspective
European medieval
society EROEI was
Approx 1.5:1
• Biogas 1.3:1
• Bio-ethanol 1.3:1
41

42. Quantity of Energy at Application
• Current oil demand is 87.4 Mb/day or 31.9Gb a year
• This translates to a little under 62 GW of energy
• The average coal power station outputs 650MW
• The average gas power station outputs 550 MW
• The average Nuclear power station outputs 850MW
• The gigantic Three Gorges Dam hydro project in China outputs
18.2 GW
• The new solar power stations being commissioned output
350MW
• An offshore wind turbine on average outputs 3.6MW
42

43. So one year current demand for oil, could
be replaced with:
• 191 coal fired power stations each year for 50 years
• 248 gas power stations each year for 50 years
• 354 industrial scale solar power stations each year for 50
years
• 146 nuclear power plants each year for 50 years
• 7 Three Gorges Dams projects each year for 50 years
• 34 400 off shore wind turbines each year for 50 years
43

44. World supply of fossil fuels and uranium
Zittel, W. et al, Fossil and Nuclear Fuels – the supply outlook Energy Watch Group March 2013
Peak energy approx. 2017
Industrialisation in a global context will soon tip into
contracting economies - the end of growth based economics 44

45. 45
Corporate culture genuinely does not know where to start to instigate a
major shake-up of technology and approach; instead across the board,
focus has been on short term risk aversion

46. 1900
• Cu Grades of approx. 20%
• Energy EROEI of approx. 100:1
2014
• Cu Grades of approx. 0.3% (considering 0.1%)
• Energy EROEI of approx. 12-18:1
46

47. Economies of Scale Has Carried the Industry
Cheap abundant energy
Available credit for
industrial procurement
47

48. 48

49. Global Potable Water Consumption Over Time
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1995 2000
Waterdraw(km3/year)
Worldwater use by economic sector (km3
/year)
(Shiklomanov 2000)
Agriculture use
Municipal use
Industrial use
Reservoirs
Total (rounded)
49
Global water use is
divided as follow:
•70% Agriculture
•22% Industry
•8% Domestic

50. Global physical and economic water scarcity
50
Source: World Water Development Report 4. World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), March 2012.
Development of industrial sites with high potable water volume requirements will
increasingly conflict with the needs of the growing population

51. The amount of fresh water
supply provided by the
hydrological cycle does not
increase. Water everywhere
on the planet is an integral
part of the hydrologic cycle.
Many major rivers; Colorado, Ganges, Indus, Rio
Grande and Yellow are so over-tapped that they
now run dry for part of the year.
Freshwater wetland has shrunk by about half worldwide.
51

52. Access to Potable Water
In the West, we take water for granted. Most people don’t actually
think about the supply of water. Water is easy to ignore provided
you can still turn on a tap and water comes out!
We still have the same amount of water in our ecosystem but the
supply of freshwater faces a three-pronged attack from population
growth, climate change and industrialisation. As it currently stands,
there’s not enough water to go around.
The same mentality is within our industrial culture
52

53. 71.5
62.3
61.6
55.0
57.0
59.0
61.0
63.0
65.0
67.0
69.0
71.0
73.0
75.0
1980's 1990's 2000's
AverageA*b
ComminutionImpact Breakage A*b
Ore has been progressively getting harder
Softer
Harder
~3000 Drop Weight Tests
What does this
mean?
More power draw is required
to break the rock 53

54. Target Grind Size is Decreasing
54
1 mm
Target ore P80 = 150mm
10 mm
Target ore P80 = 4mm

55. General form of the Energy-Size relationship
An exponential
increase in required
power draw
A decrease in
plant final grind
size P80
=A decrease in
metal grain size
=
Energy,kWh/t
Hukki 1962
55

56. Dynamic Interaction and Exacerbation
• Power & water shortages
• Decreasing grade requires more tonnes of rock extracted for the
same resulting amount of target metal.
– More energy is needed (diesel and electrical power draw) per unit of
extracted metal
– More potable water is needed per unit of extracted metal
• Increasing ore hardness requires more power draw to crush and
grind the ore
56

57. Dynamic Interaction and Exacerbation
• Decreasing grind size due to finer mineral grains requires more
power draw to crush and grind the ore
– More water is needed per unit of extracted metal
– Water recycling is more difficult
– More disseminated finer grained rocks are usually harder to crush and
grind
• To remain economically viable operation scale has to
double/triple in size
• Metal demand is growing fast
Once our society understands what is happening and why,
everything will need to be re-engineered.
Which will require vast amounts of metal! - QUICKLY
This is where you
will be needed
57

58. Energy,kWh/t
Hukki 1962
Fine grained minerals are almost
always associated with low grade
The exponential increase in required energy as mineral
grain size gets smaller is happening at a time when
available quantity of energy is vastly reduced
Dynamic Interaction and Exacerbation
58
M. Lardelli

59. Driven by increasing demand
Production is Increasing
59

60. Economic goal posts are shifting for future
deposits
• Huge low grade deposits
• Penalty minerals more prominently present in deposit
that prevent efficient processing
• Ever decreasing grind sizes (close size 10-20mm)
• Operating on an economy of scale never been seen
before (4MT blasted rock a day, 40% of which is ore!)
• To stay economically viable, economics of scale have to
be applied. Operations will double and triple in size.
All of this based on the assumption that there is no energy or water shortage
60

61. Future underground block caves are going to be the size of
existing open pits. Open pits of unprecedented size.
61

62. With a continuing grade of 0.5% this
will require 20000Mt of Rock
With a decrease of grade to 0.2%
this then requires 50000Mt of Rock
Copper Demand Outlook
Is this sustainable?
World Cu grade 0.5%
17Mt
3400Mt of RockWorld
Cu grade
1.6%
Eventually the cost of dealing with the wastes will exceed the value of the metal…
With current estimations the demand for
copper will increase to ~100Mt by 2100
62

63. Copper is a finite resource like any other
Forecast
Historical
Global Cu production by
principal geological
deposit types
63

64. Conventional mining problem solving is if the numbers don’t
stack up, its not viable and the project doesn’t start
There is no ‘Plan B’ if higher grade easier to
work deposits are unavailable 64

65. This is not a tickling competition
• Raw materials supplied by mining are required for our industrial
society to run. That supply must continue in some form
• Engineering problem solving according to new target parameters
• Knowledge of deposit ore variability needs to be matched with
sophisticated flexible engineering design
• Put less ore in the mill for the same metal output
– Sorting technology
– Unconventional exploitation of geological characteristics
• Dry process
• More sophisticated system based modelling of existing technology
• Bacterial leach
• Remove all time pressure
– NPV is no longer important
– Take the time to process each ore parcel at maximum efficiency
65

66. 1 - One process stream, flexible operation
• Engineered ability to more easily adapt to variable feed
• And to a series of dynamic conditions, that are not a steady state
• More sophisticated process control capabilities to manage
dynamic non steady state conditions
Operation can liberate and separate
most efficiently each ore parcel
in a responsive manner, resulting in
higher operational revenue
66

67. 2 - Multiple process streams in the same operation,
each with its own stockpile
Each stream with its own closing size and cutoff grade returning
the same recovery with lower CAPEX/OPEX
Geomet
Block Model
Blast
Sorting
Dump
Leach
Pad
Tank
Leach
Flash
Flotation
Flotation
Flotation
67

68. 3 - Flexible operation to process different
size fractions in different streams
• SAG mill critical particle size -
75+40mm
• SAG needs coarse fragments
and fines to run
• HPGR needs over size to be
crushed to protect it
ball Mill
2 x Cone
crush
RoM
20 mm
5mm
2mm
Pump
Sump
deagglomerate
HPGR
SAG
50 mm
pebbles
Variable
splitter
2000 tph
1000 tph
600 tph
300 tph 1000 tph
fresh
300 tph
Recycle surplus
pebbles
Cyclone
1600 tph
Each comminution unit operates
at peak efficiency resulting
in higher throughput
Prof. Malcolm Powell
68

69. 4 - Flexible operation that uses sorting to remove
waste rock throughout the whole mining system
Geomet
Block Model
Blast
Sorting
Dump
Leach
Pad
Flotation
Flotation
Sorting Sorting
Future Ore
Working Ore
Waste dump
Problem ore with
‘show stoppers’
Only a fraction of the ore volume goes to ball mil for same recovery
resulting in lower CAPEX/OPEX
69

70. 5 - Flexible Operation to meet challenging
external conditions
Engineered ability to more easily adapt to changes to external circumstances
• Power shortages, outages, power spikes
• Potable water shortages
• Fluctuating price of steel consumables
• Fluctuating price of saleable metal
Operation can still operate
and produce revenue
70

71. Change the fundamental process flow path
• All solutions presented so far are step changes to the existing
conventional mining process
• What is required is a fundamental rethink and restructure of
the mining process from the fundamental science foundation
all the way to engineering design
• A radical change in business model is also required
– We no longer have the time or capacity to meet desired production
targets
71
So completely change the approach

72. 72

73. The engineering to do this at an industrial scale
is already here
73
Solar power stations now have a capacity of the order of 350MW

74. Solar smelting of ore
• Mine then crush ore to optimum size
• Process through solar smelter unit in batches
• Exploit difference in melting temperatures
• To either extract target element directly or,
• Upgrade a low grade disseminated texture into something
more feasible
– As molten rock cools, could it be mixed in a way to bond like with like
so metal grains are larger and closer together
– Easier to process texture
– Rock more brittle and weakened in strength
74
Remove NPV time pressure and requirement for high throughput tonnages

75. Approximate Temperature
(°C)
Minerals which are molten
1200°C All molten
1000°C
Olivine, pyroxene, Ca-rich
plagioclase
800°C
Amphibole, Ca/Na-
plagioclase
600°C
Quartz, K-feldspar, Na-
plagioclase, micas.
Metal
Approximate Melting
Temperature (°C)
Density
(g/cm3
)
Aluminum 659°C 2.70 g/cm3
Iron 1538 °C 7.86 g/cm3
Copper 1083°C 8.96 g/cm3
Gold 1063°C 19.3 g/cm3
Lead 163°C 11.34 g/cm3
Magnesium 651°C 1.738 g/cm3
Nickel 1452°C 8.908 g/cm3
Silver 951°C 10.49 g/cm3
Tungsten 3399°C 19.25 g/cm3
Zinc 419°C 7.14 g/cm3
Density 1.8-3.5g/cm3
Exploit the difference in melting temperature
and density
75
ROCK ELEMENT METAL
All mineral processing exploits a physical or chemical difference
between the target element and its host rock

76. Mine Crush
0.6 MW2-5 MW
Grind Flotation Smelt
50 MW
Potable water
5 MW
Potable water
20 MW
76
A job for the JKMRC
~ 1 MW?
Dry process
Solar Smelting

77. Decreasing
Grade
Sovereign Debt
Default
Decreasing
Grind size+
Increasing
Depth+
Peak Fossil
Fuel
+
Peak
Mining
Credit
Freeze
+ Structural
Inflation
+FIAT
Currency
Devaluation
+
Peak
Finance
Peak
Manufacturing
Peak
Industrialisation
=
=
The End of the
Industrial Revolution
Expansion of production needed to stay viable
Expansion of money needed to service debt
The Industrial Big Picture
160 years after it started
77

78. The writing on the wall
• Everything we need/want to operate is drawn from non-
renewable natural resources in a finite system
• Most of those natural resources are depleting or will soon
• Demand for everything we need/want is expanding fast
• When these trends meet, there will come a point where how
we do things will fundamentally change
• None of these issues can be seen in isolation.
78

79. ‘Must’ expand exponentially Can’t expand
Deteriorating
Chris
Martenson
http://www.peakprosperity.com/crashcourse
The Pickle and the Rub…
This is the only thing that can change
79

80. Forced
Transformation
Understand
true implications
Deterioration and
Fragmentation
Decay/Collapse
Write-
off/Reset
Mounting
Stress
Weare
here Conquest of
another system
Fundamental Reform
Mounting
Stress
Existential large
scale crisis
Existential large
scale crisis
business as usual
Early small
scale crisis
All 5 Stages of Human Grief at all scales
Deterioration and
Fragmentation
Temporary solution loop
Where
we are
Where we
should be
Inelastic oil
supply 2005
Peak Total Energy
2017
With 20/20 hindsight
business as usual
Early small
scale crisis
This diagnoses a certain outcome 80

81. Systemic environmental
disruption
Natural raw materials
unavailable for
industrialisation
Energy supply
disrupted then
unavailable
• Reset all FIAT currencies – asset based
• Restructure all debt
• Need to grow into new system
• Cannot sustain growth
• Cannot grow economy system
• Change to alternative energy system
• Rebuild all infrastructure to meet
requirements of new energy system
• Cannot supply raw materials for
construction or manufacture at needed
rate or volume, if at all
• Need to reassess what is really needed
• Mine our rubbish dumps
• Cannot run any existing system for
very long
Financial
Systemic
Meltdown
GrowingPopulation
• Puts pressure on all other sectors except finance

82. Paradigm changing information is right in
front of us if we choose to see it…
Everyone should try thinking for themselves at least once
Now would be a good time 82

83. Thank you for your time
Simon Michaux Bach App Sc. PhD simonpetermichaux@gmail.com
83

84. 84

85. Case Study 2: Mogalakwena
• Mogalakwena platinum mine in South Africa hit several
sustainability limits
• The mining corporation in question was not doing
anything unusual in mining operational parameters (no
unusual site restrictions)
• Operation expanded several times
• Villages were sometimes moved to accommodate this
• Operation was in direct competition with local
population for water and power supply
• Local population depended on mine operations
economically
• Multiple power shortages & water shortages
• Mine site would occasionally crash local power grid
• In this case, the conventional mining process was in
direct conflict with the sustainability of local population
This site put the spot light on the
sustainability issue in all its forms 85

86. Peak Oil
The NET peakoil curve (or "Net Hubbert
Curve") is what really counts ... and
given that two-thirds of all global crude
oil supplies is now HEAVY SOUR (and
thus much more energy intensive to
refine), and only 1/3 is LIGHT SWEET
crude i.e., given that most of the low-
hanging fruit has already been extracted.
EROEI Ratio for
Oil extraction
Net Hubbert Curve
86

87. Energy Density of Oil
1 litre of Petrol = 132 hours of hard labour
• Put 1 litre of petrol in your car
• Drive it till it runs out
• Push car back to start point
At $15/hour
1 litre of petrol = $1981.20
87

88. Oil producing countries past their peak
Source: Ludwig-Bolkow Systemtechnik GmbH 2007 HIS 2006; PEMEX, petrobas ; NPD, DTI,
ENS(Dk), NEB, RRC, US-EIA, January 2007 Forecast: LBST estimate, 25 January 2007
88

89. Production stable
Number of rigs
going up
Has Saudi Arabia Peaked?
89