Mineral Resources and Their Implications for Our Society
The recent Inflation Reduction Act creates incentives to develop new strategies to fight global warming and accelerate decarbonization and the transition to a circular economy. However, mitigating global warming and creating the global energy transition cannot be achieved without mining additional mineral resources and discovering creative ways to sequester carbon. Such a grand societal challenge necessitates public concern. These concerns include our ability to make new major discoveries, to supply enough metals for the long run, to minimize the environmental footprint of mining operations, and to monitor the impact on human health for communities living around mining areas.
The Lundin-Snider Lecture series aims to gather citizens, scientists, and industry players in the same room to raise awareness and fuel discussion around the topic of mineral resources and mining. This will serve as a great platform for exchanging creative ideas and envision the best holistic approach to responsibly supply metals to our society for decades to come. The presentations will be hosted by Hervé Rezeau, Lundin Chair in Economic Geology & assistant professor at the University of Arizona Geosciences Department.
The Lundin-Snider Seminar Series honors the Lundin Family and Tim Snider in recognition of their leadership and gifts that have been instrumental in the development of the Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources and the School of Mining and Mineral Resources.
Make it a date and don’t be late!
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Adam Simon |
Critical metals resources required to achieve carbon neutrality: Where will they come from and are there enough?November 8th | Prof. Adam SimonIn this presentation, professor Adam Simon from University of Michigan, will contextualize carbon neutrality through the lens of the metal resources required to transition from a global energy infrastructure dependent on coal, natural gas, and oil, to one entirely reliant on a combination of photovoltaic solar, wind turbines and battery storage. Read more |
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Simon Jowitt |
Climate change mitigation and the energy transition; current and future drivers of the minerals industryDecember 6th | Prof. Simon JowittProfessor Simon Jowitt from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, will expose how climate change mitigation will require a significant decrease in the CO2 emissions associated with transport and energy generation and more. However, the metal and mineral requirements for this transition are often neglected when developing plans and policy around combating climate change. Read More |
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Clara Balasko |
Let’s reimagine our legacy of miningJanuary 24th | Clara BalaskoBy Clara Balasko, the Head of Planning and Technical for BHP Legacy Assets. As miners, the industry is expert at delivering safely at a price. Closure, traditionally, is pushed to the back of the productive life and given a myopic magnifying glass once a year to make sure its cost does not impair the balance sheet. The problem is that society demands more of us; governments are less willing to allow relinquishment, and there is real risk if the mine is sold off and the new company goes bankrupt, it will return to the balance sheet and reputation. Read more |
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Katrin Steinthorsdottir |
Carbfix – turning CO2 into rockFebruary 21st | Katrin SteinthorsdottirBy Katrin Steinthorsdottir, geologist at Carbfix and a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia. Carbfix is a technology that captures and stores carbon dioxide underground in rocks. The method imitates and accelerates natural processes. CO2 is dissolved in water, injected into the subsurface where it interacts and reacts with favorable rock formations, such as basalts, to form stable minerals in about 2 years that are safe and permanent. Read more |
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Alex Gysi |
Fluid-rock interaction and hydrothermal REE transport in critical mineral depositsMarch 21st | Dr. Alexander P. GysiIn this presentation, Dr. Alexander Gysi, professor from New Mexico Tech, gives an overview of ore-forming processes in critical mineral deposits and our current understanding of alteration zoning, mineralogy, and geochemical vectoring. The combination of field observations with frontiers in science from hydrothermal experiments and thermodynamic modeling yields key insights into the controls on REE transport, fractionation and deposition in natural systems. Read more |
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Jose Manuel Cerrato |
Transport and remediation of metal mixtures in uranium mine wastes in tribal landApril 4th | Jose Manuel CerratoFrom University of New Mexico, the superfund Research Program METALS deputy director Jose Manuel Cerrato, will evaluate the transport and potential remediation approaches for metal mixtures in uranium(U) mine wastes from sites located in tribal land in the Southwestern US investigated by integrating laboratory experiments, microscopy, and spectroscopy. Read more |
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Critical Minerals in Peace and WarMay 2nd | Isabel BartonMany minerals are critical to civilization, but some are more critical than others! From the University of Arizona, Isabel will talk about how society’s mineral needs have evolved over time, what makes minerals critical or not, and how technological and geopolitical changes can suddenly make a mineral critical – or just as suddenly, render it useless. Read more |