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Yes, strip mining obviously doesn't happen underwater, but large global destruction of one the few ecologies that mankind hasn't yet obliterated is something I
by rob_c 5y ago
Yes, strip mining obviously doesn't happen underwater, but large global destruction of one the few ecologies that mankind hasn't yet obliterated is something I think we should probably think twice about.
Of course Li-ion is a singular example, but the problems with ion based battery solutions are scale, cost, reliability and longevity. Not to mention requiring more material in the long run to be mined or extracted from difficult to access areas of the planet.
If we make a quantum leap for longevity and reliability for an ion battery (a battery with modest early 2000's densities which lasts 100years+) I would say we should be seriously investing in this if it wasn't made from say 99% yttrium or dark-matter would be the way the obvious way to go.
Uranium, Thorium and other more "readily" nuclear-fissable materials are surprisingly plentiful (and in regions we already mine) when factoring in the next 200-300 years of expected energy demand and by that point hopefully we would be talking about fusion levels of energy density so we'd be pouring serious investment into improving fusion as a power source.
- pfdietz 5y ago> Yes, strip mining obviously doesn't happen underwater, And rare-earth elements aren't produced from the ocean.
- rob_c 5y agohttps://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02242-y https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02242-y
- pfdietz 5y agoAn article that starts by implying copper, nickel, and manganese are "rare-earth elements" is not a credible source of information.
- rob_c 5y agohttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016703799000241 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00167... https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-23948-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-23948-5 https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304760604576425230759407002 https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304760604576425...
- pfdietz 5y agoThe first of those is simply talking about REEs as tracers. This is a common practice in geochemistry. The other two are not talking about any current mining. Seafloor mining has been discussed for decades, and generally has gone nowhere.