CHAPTER 7
7.5 RISK MITIGATION OF SUPPLY SHORTAGES
Technological, political, social, environmental and market risks make the critical materials subsector one of the highest risk subsectors in the mining sector. Policy makers can adopt several strategies to mitigate these risks.
Developing a circular economy The current economic model in the mining industry is linear: extract, process, manufacture, manage and dispose of waste. The circular economy seeks to close the loop, by conserving resources after they are used and reintroducing them to the life-cycle of a certain product. Mined resources can be conserved in several ways. The first is by reusing a product that has reached the end of its technical lifespan when possible (Box 7.2). For example, lithium-ion batteries whose capacity has declined by 70%–80% of their initial capacity can still be used for stationary energy storage applications in the electricity grid. If there is no viable option for reusing a product, it can be remanufactured, by using primary, secondary and repaired materials (Gaustad et al., 2018). A third option is recycling.
Developing a circular economy, product innovation, strengthening research and international co-operation, and promoting international governance are different strategies that policy makers can adopt to mitigate risks
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