Mineral Resource Economy 2

Florian Fizaine is Assistant Professor in economics at the University Savoie Mont Blanc and Visiting Professor at the IFP School and Mines ParisTech in France.Xavier Galiegue is Associate Professor in economics at the University of Orléans and a member of the Orléans Laboratory of Economics (LEO) in France.

• Introduction xiFlorian FIZAINE and Xavier GALIÈGUEPart 1. Stakes 1Chapter 1. Toward a New Geopolitics of Raw Materials in the Energy Transition 3Emmanuel HACHE, Gondia SOKHNA SECK, Charlène BARNET, Samuel CARCANAGUE and Fernanda GUEDES1.1. Introduction 31.2. Measuring the criticality of raw materials and geopolitical risk 51.2.1. Criticality, strategic materials and risks 51.2.2. The absence of a homogeneous theoretical framework 61.2.3. Criticality matrices 71.3. The geopolitics and geo-economics of raw materials in the energy transition 111.3.1. From measuring pressures on reserves to taking geopolitics into account in measuring criticality 121.3.2. Fear of cartelization or monopoly in commodity markets 131.4. How can we manage strategic materials supply risk? 241.4.1. The role of public policies 251.4.2. The issue of strategic stocks 271.4.3. Foreign investment through national companies 281.4.4. The logic of the Chinese barter 301.5. Conclusion: toward a new resource nationalism? 301.6. References 32Chapter 2. Legal Issues Regarding the Sustainable Management of Territorial and Extraterritorial Mineral Resources 39Stephanie REICHE-DE VIGAN2.1. National law regarding territorial mineral resources: the decisive issue of ownership 422.1.1. Ownership over mineral resources at the core of mineral law 422.1.2. A form of mineral ownership that may limit the government’s capacity to regulate the extractive sector for environmental reasons 472.2. International law regarding territorial mineral resources: the central role of state sovereignty 522.2.1. The principle of permanent sovereignty over natural resources for the benefit of international trade 522.2.2. A principle challenged by indigenous peoples’ rights to lands, territories and resources 552.3. International law regarding extraterritorial mineral resources: exploitation “for the benefit of mankind as a whole” 562.3.1. The legal status of the seabed and the subsoil, determined by states’ interests in the exploitation of mineral resources 572.3.2. The legal framework for the exploitation of Antarctic mineral resources, determined by ecological considerations 632.4. For a sustainable management of mineral resources 652.5. References 68Chapter 3. Mining and Societies 71Michel DESHAIES3.1. Introduction 713.2. Mines as a factor of settlement and landscape transformation 723.2.1. Mining and the population 723.2.2. Mines, landscapes and the environment in pre-industrial times 743.3. Mining in the Industrial Age 763.3.1. The transformations of the industrial energy system 763.3.2. Birth and development of coalfields 783.3.3. Conquest and development of new metal deposits 793.4. Contemporary mining transformations and challenges 813.4.1. Geographic trends in mining 813.4.2. Decline and changes in former mining regions 823.4.3. Extraction boom and risks in new mining regions 853.4.4. The limits of “responsible” mining 923.5. Conclusion 953.6. References 96Part 2. Action Levers 101Chapter 4. Maintaining or Even Developing the Mining of Mineral Resources in Europe: The Case of Wallonia (Belgium) 103Johan YANS4.1. Introduction 1034.2. Geological resources in Wallonia 1044.2.1. Extraction of mineral materials other than metals 1044.2.2. Metal extraction: a problem on several spatiotemporal scales 1054.3. Extension of sites/quantity of mining? 1064.3.1. Exploit existing and well-characterized metal resources/reserves 1064.3.2. Promoting a short circuit 1074.3.3. Promoting alternatives to the sometimes deplorable extraction conditions in some regions of the world 1084.3.4. Stimulating the local economy/employment 1084.3.5. (Re)discovering a degree of supply independence for the industry 1084.3.6. Creating the “substitution threat”: knowing that local potential exists 1094.4. Decrease in sites/quantity of operations 1094.4.1. Lack of local skills (being addressed) 1094.4.2. NIMBY syndrome 1104.5. Some levers for action 1154.5.1. Responsible extraction 1154.5.2. Popularizing 1154.5.3. Strengthening the administration and defining a clear public strategy 1164.5.4. Consulting 1174.5.5. Collaborating (private–public) 1184.6. Conclusion 1184.7. References 119Chapter 5. Substitution: Promises, Principles and Main Constraints 121Florian FIZAINE5.1. Introduction 1215.2. Main economic foundations of substitution 1225.2.1. The demand curve 1235.2.2. The horizons of substitution: short, medium and long term 1245.2.3. The shortcomings of the classical demand curve 1255.3. Elements, components, systems: what are we really substituting? 1255.3.1. Altenpohl hierarchy and principal forms of technical substitution 1265.3.2. Normative substitution: what to substitute for? 1275.4. The main obstacles to substitution 1295.4.1. Technical obstacles 1295.4.2. Economic obstacles 1305.4.3. Barriers related to the physical availability of the resource 1315.4.4. Cultural and historical barriers 1325.4.5. Regulatory barriers 1335.5. Other aspects to be taken into account 1345.5.1. Impact of competition and industrial strategies 1345.5.2. Is economic substitution also an ecological substitution? 1355.6. References 136Chapter 6. Resource Consumption and Decoupling 139Thierry LEFÈVRE6.1. Introduction 1396.2. Global use of resources 1426.3. Material consumption indicators 1456.4. Decoupling the economy from resource consumption 1496.4.1. Evidence of decoupling 1496.4.2. Saturation of resource use 1526.5. Responsibility for resource consumption 1546.6. Conclusion 1566.7. References 159Chapter 7. The Economics of Recycling: Ambitions, Myths and Constraints 163Alain GELDRON7.1. The recycling economy, an ancient history 1637.2. Geological and urban mines, similarities and differences in logic 1657.3. Understand the definitions and indicators of recycling in order to express its performance 1677.4. A limited deposit because we can only recycle what we have consumed 1707.5. Multiple factors influencing recycling and its effectiveness 1737.6. The technical constraints of metal recycling 1767.6.1. Preparation of materials 1777.6.2. Recycling of base metals 1787.6.3. Recycling of specialty metals 1797.7. Environmental benefits of recycling 1817.8. Conclusion 1827.9. References 183Chapter 8. Low-tech: A Path Toward the Necessary Metallic Sobriety? 187Philippe BIHOUIX8.1. Cornucopians versus doomsdayers 1878.2. The circular economy, mission impossible? 1908.2.1. Invisible dematerialization 1918.2.2. The systemic issue between energy and resources 1938.2.3. The constraints of recycling 1948.3. Toward a metallic frugality 1958.3.1. Sobriety above all 1968.3.2. “Advanced” eco-design 1988.3.3. Moderate mechanization 1998.4. A possible and desirable transition 2008.4.1. The role of the public authority, at all scales 2008.4.2. Finding the right scale 2028.4.3. Humans, the key to “repairability” and optimal recycling 2038.4.4. Positive impacts 2048.4.5. A “happy” transition or nothing 2058.5. References 206Conclusion 209Florian FIZAINE and Xavier GALIÈGUEList of Authors 221Index 223