Understanding the effects of mining and processing parameters on Life Cycle Assessment of Greenbushes Spodumene production

Abstract

The rapid transition to clean energy has intensified demand for lithium, a critical element for battery production, yet lithium extraction imposes substantial environmental burdens. While the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) provides a snapshot of environmental impacts, it does not account for dynamic changes in mining and processing operations, such as declining ore grade. This study conducts comprehensive LCAs of Spodumene ore and concentrate production from 2009 to 2023 at the Greenbushes project, empirically analysing how variable parameters influence environmental impacts. Regression analysis identifies the waste-to-ore ratio as the most significant factor affecting most of the mining-related impacts, while ore grade and yield play a dominant role in processing operations for most of the impact categories. Consequently, the global warming potential of producing Spodumene concentrate increased by almost 42.7 % between 2011 and 2023. Moreover, electricity and grinding media consistently contributed the most to the carbon footprint throughout the study period, though their combined share declined from 81.1 % to 57.1 %, whereas diesel consumption rose from 3 % to nearly 20.1 %, mainly due to site expansion.