LCA as decision support for innovations and development in the mining sector – prestudy

Purpose and goal:

The purpose of this feasibility study is to create a basis for a full-scale project, in the form of defining the scoop, objective and activities in such a project, and building a broad and inclusive consortium. The purpose of the planned full-scale project is to investigate how life cycle perspectives are used in the mining industry today, how to more efficiently and harmoniously use methods, tools, models and databases, as well as to prepare for new and upcoming legislation and eligiility rebquirements.

Expected results and effects:

The results of the full-scale study are a description of how life cycle perspectives and LCA modeling are used in the mining industry today, nationally and internationally, relation to legislation and policy, needs analysis of data and methods, and hotspot analyzes with focus on sustainability (e.g., case studies). Expected effects are increased ability to show progress in the sector´s sustainability work and innovations, compare different alternatives (eg technology, process or and sourcing), and contribute to transparency and clarity in local and global goal conflicts.

Approach and implementation:

The project has three parts: shorter literature study, planning and implementation of the workshop, as well as evaluation and compilation into a basis for proposal for a full-scale project. In the literature study, we produce information on an overall level about how LCA is used today in the mining industry, nationally and internationally, as well as what existing and future legislation and policy with an impact on LCA look like.

The information forms the workshop base-line, from which the participants prioritize between different needs and how to adress these in a full-scale project.