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SUMMARY:Responsible sourcing of metals – geologists help get it right fr
 om the start! - Professor Frances Wall - Camborne School of Mines\, Univer
 sity of Exeter
DTSTART:20210208T170000Z
DTEND:20210208T180000Z
UID:TALK152011@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:James Craig
DESCRIPTION:Many of us buy fairtrade coffee\, tea or bananas\, but how man
 y of us think about the origin of the raw materials in our manufactured go
 ods? We may look for a forestry stewardship council tag on wooden furnitur
 e but are less likely to enquire about complex products such as cars or co
 mputers. With their thousands of components and long supply chains\, respo
 nsible sourcing of these goods is difficult to assure but is just as impor
 tant. Geologists sit right at the beginning of these supply chains and the
 re is much that we can do to be involved in the responsible sourcing agend
 a\, right from the very first stages of thinking about new potential ore d
 eposits.\nGemstones and gold in jewellery are the mineral commodities that
  make perhaps the closest analogy to tea and coffee. Companies use respons
 ible sourcing as part of their brand image.\nFor other minerals\, public a
 ttention to a few high profile issues is accelerating the adoption of corp
 orate ethics and governance schemes. It is often single high profile issue
 s such as conflict minerals (‘blood diamonds and ‘coltan’) or child 
 labour (cobalt) that are driving change.\nResponsible sourcing of minerals
  is gathering pace but there is no single ‘responsibly sourced’ badge.
  Quantitative comparison of the environmental impacts of mineral productio
 n from different deposit types via life cycle assessment (LCA) techniques 
 is a really useful way to link right from the geology of a deposit to the 
 manufacturing steps. The LCA technique can be applied during exploration\,
  at the very first stages of mine design\, so that deposits to be compared
  and production methods adjusted to reduce the environmental footprint. Th
 ese data are also an important link to the circular economy. Metals are wo
 nderfully sustainable materials if we can look after them well.
LOCATION:The talk will be held virtually over zoom. The link will be circu
 lated to members via email\, while non-members may contact jac293@cam.ac.u
 k for details
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