Europe's cobalt resource potential for supply to low carbon vehicles
Cobalt is classed by most developed countries as a critical raw material. Its economic importance is increasing owing to its use in the electric vehicle batteries essential for the energy transition. However, there is a risk of supply disruption and shortage, due in part to the by-product nature of...
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University of Exeter
2023
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ftunivexeter:oai:ore.exeter.ac.uk:10871/134832 2024-01-21T10:04:12+01:00 Europe's cobalt resource potential for supply to low carbon vehicles Horn, S Petavratzi, Evi Naden, Jonathan Shaw, Richard A Gunn, Andrew Gus Wall, Frances Glass, Hylke 2023 http://hdl.handle.net/10871/134832 unknown University of Exeter Camborne School of Mines http://hdl.handle.net/10871/134832 2025-03-31 Under embargo until 31/3/25. I wish to publish papers using material that is substantially drawn from my thesis. http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved Cobalt Critical Mineral Battery raw materials Europe UNFC Mine waste ESG sustainable mining Resources Thesis or dissertation PhD in Geology Doctoral Doctoral Thesis 2023 ftunivexeter 2023-12-22T00:05:07Z Cobalt is classed by most developed countries as a critical raw material. Its economic importance is increasing owing to its use in the electric vehicle batteries essential for the energy transition. However, there is a risk of supply disruption and shortage, due in part to the by-product nature of cobalt but also especially to the concentration of the global supply chain in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (primary mining) and China (processing). This thesis investigates the opportunities and challenges of increasing the supply of cobalt from European primary and secondary resources, while also following good practice for sustainable and responsible mining. For the first part of this thesis, a review and resource inventory of cobalt-bearing deposits across Europe, in collaboration with several overseas geological surveys, revealed that there is a large geological potential for cobalt. A total of 1 342 649 tonnes of cobalt metal were identified and classified based on development status by using the Unite Nations Framework classification. Resources are hosted in different deposit types, chiefly magmatic Ni-Cu sulfide deposits, metasediment-hosted Cu-Co-Au, black shale-hosted deposits in Fennoscandia and Ni-Co laterite deposits in the Balkans and Turkey. However, the majority of these resources are associated with high uncertainties in their estimates and only 8% are currently considered commercially viable to be mined for cobalt. The second part of this thesis focusses on selected exploration projects and used multicriteria analysis to assess political and legal, environmental, social and economic factors that may influence mine development. The analysis included several projects in Finland, Norway and Sweden, which all have well-established mineral governance, ensuring good environmental protection and societal trust in government decisions. However, many of these are situated in the vulnerable ecosystem of the Arctic and impact the local indigenous people. Turkish laterite deposits (i.e. Çaldağ) have the ... Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Arctic Fennoscandia University of Exeter: Open Research Exeter (ORE) Arctic Norway |
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University of Exeter: Open Research Exeter (ORE) |
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unknown |
topic |
Cobalt Critical Mineral Battery raw materials Europe UNFC Mine waste ESG sustainable mining Resources |
spellingShingle |
Cobalt Critical Mineral Battery raw materials Europe UNFC Mine waste ESG sustainable mining Resources Horn, S Europe's cobalt resource potential for supply to low carbon vehicles |
topic_facet |
Cobalt Critical Mineral Battery raw materials Europe UNFC Mine waste ESG sustainable mining Resources |
description |
Cobalt is classed by most developed countries as a critical raw material. Its economic importance is increasing owing to its use in the electric vehicle batteries essential for the energy transition. However, there is a risk of supply disruption and shortage, due in part to the by-product nature of cobalt but also especially to the concentration of the global supply chain in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (primary mining) and China (processing). This thesis investigates the opportunities and challenges of increasing the supply of cobalt from European primary and secondary resources, while also following good practice for sustainable and responsible mining. For the first part of this thesis, a review and resource inventory of cobalt-bearing deposits across Europe, in collaboration with several overseas geological surveys, revealed that there is a large geological potential for cobalt. A total of 1 342 649 tonnes of cobalt metal were identified and classified based on development status by using the Unite Nations Framework classification. Resources are hosted in different deposit types, chiefly magmatic Ni-Cu sulfide deposits, metasediment-hosted Cu-Co-Au, black shale-hosted deposits in Fennoscandia and Ni-Co laterite deposits in the Balkans and Turkey. However, the majority of these resources are associated with high uncertainties in their estimates and only 8% are currently considered commercially viable to be mined for cobalt. The second part of this thesis focusses on selected exploration projects and used multicriteria analysis to assess political and legal, environmental, social and economic factors that may influence mine development. The analysis included several projects in Finland, Norway and Sweden, which all have well-established mineral governance, ensuring good environmental protection and societal trust in government decisions. However, many of these are situated in the vulnerable ecosystem of the Arctic and impact the local indigenous people. Turkish laterite deposits (i.e. Çaldağ) have the ... |
author2 |
Petavratzi, Evi Naden, Jonathan Shaw, Richard A Gunn, Andrew Gus Wall, Frances Glass, Hylke |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Horn, S |
author_facet |
Horn, S |
author_sort |
Horn, S |
title |
Europe's cobalt resource potential for supply to low carbon vehicles |
title_short |
Europe's cobalt resource potential for supply to low carbon vehicles |
title_full |
Europe's cobalt resource potential for supply to low carbon vehicles |
title_fullStr |
Europe's cobalt resource potential for supply to low carbon vehicles |
title_full_unstemmed |
Europe's cobalt resource potential for supply to low carbon vehicles |
title_sort |
europe's cobalt resource potential for supply to low carbon vehicles |
publisher |
University of Exeter |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10871/134832 |
geographic |
Arctic Norway |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Norway |
genre |
Arctic Fennoscandia |
genre_facet |
Arctic Fennoscandia |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10871/134832 |
op_rights |
2025-03-31 Under embargo until 31/3/25. I wish to publish papers using material that is substantially drawn from my thesis. http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved |
_version_ |
1788694613761982464 |