Life cycle assessment of copper concentrate production and improvement potentials for tailing management.

Abstract

Due to the widespread application and development of copper, there is growing concern about increasing pressure on available resources and significant environmental repercussions. To support improvements in copper mining, this study addressed the life cycle assessment of copper concentrate production from cradle to gate, along with the feasibility of tailings reuse, which has received less attention. To fill a critical gap, the alternative use of tailings in building and landfilling disposal was also conducted. Sodium hydroxide (36.63%-95.22%), copper concentrate (4.73%-99.4%), and carboxymethyl cellulose (0.06%-46.35%) were identified as the main contributors. Marine ecotoxicity was prioritized in terms of environmental burdens (31.28%) followed by human toxicity and freshwater ecotoxicity potential. It is interesting to note that photovoltaic systems and treated wastewater provided the required energy and water for copper concentrate production, which alleviated the final impacts. For tailings management, it was initially found that landfilling intensified the environmental impacts by 1.67-65.15 times higher than copper production processing. However, the utilization of tailings in cement production and road construction provided environmental benefits and conserved resources. Summing up, this study provided additional insights into environmental indicators of the copper industry and tailings efficiency for future applications.