Category Archives: Mining

Mining uses 10% of world energy

Why EV Batteries aren’t being recycled

Preface.  Talk to your typical capitalist / environmentalist and they will both agree that we will never run out of anything because we can recycle.  But we aren’t.  Especially since it’s cheaper to buy newly mined metals than to recycle … Continue reading

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Book review of “Bright Green Lies”

This is a book review of “Bright Green Lies. How the Environmental Movement Lost its Way and What We can Do About It” by Derrick Jensen, Lierre Keith, and Max Wilbert. This is a timely book.  The Biden administration is … Continue reading

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Walter Youngquist: Geodestinies Minerals

Preface. I was fortunate enough to know Walter for 15 years. He became a friend and mentor, helping me learn to become a better science writer, and sending me material I might be interested in, and delightful pictures of him … Continue reading

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Walter Youngquist: Geodestinies Metals

Preface. I was fortunate enough to know Walter for 15 years. He became a friend and mentor, helping me learn to become a better science writer, and sending me material I might be interested in, and delightful pictures of him … Continue reading

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Utility scale energy storage doesn’t scale up: limits to minerals and geography

Preface. Natural gas is finite, but aside from (pumped) hydropower, natural gas is the main way wind and solar are balanced now. Therefore, a tremendous amount of energy storage will be needed in the future as natural gas declines. And … Continue reading

Posted in Alternative Energy, Batteries, Battery - Utility Scale, CAES Compressed Air, Mining, Peak Critical Elements, Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS) | Tagged , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Not enough rare metals to scale up solar power

  Preface. Sunshine may be free, but the materials to make solar contraptions sure aren’t.  Since sunshine arrives in a diluted form, vast expanses of solar photovoltaic panels will be needed to produce the world’s 24,000 Terawatt hours of electrical … Continue reading

Posted in Alternative Energy, Mining, Peak Critical Elements, Peak Rare Earth Elements, Photovoltaic Solar, Recycle, Recycling | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

What are rare earth metals and how are they used?

Preface.  After oil, the main feature of new products will be drastic simplification. The re-use of existing stuff. Lack of precision machine tools as they rust away. Back to basics: wood, iron, and clay. Yet every high-tech object depends on … Continue reading

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Ugo Bardi’s The Universal Mining Machine

Preface. Below I’ve excerpted some of Ugo Bardi’s “The Universal Mining Machine” (24 January 2008 europe.theoildrum), but I’ve left a great deal out of this excellent article, I encourage you to read all of it if you have time. The … Continue reading

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Minerals essential for wind, solar, and high-tech, are anything but clean and green

This is a book review of Pitron’s “The rare metals war”.  To produce the metals and minerals to make a transition to wind, solar, nuclear and so on would be incredibly destructive and polluting. A fifth of China’s arable land … Continue reading

Posted in Battery - Utility Scale, Mining, Peak Critical Elements, Peak Rare Earth Elements, Peak Resources, Photovoltaic Solar, Recycle, Recycling, Wind | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

328 Million Americans use 3.2 million pounds of minerals, metals, and fuels in their lifetime

Preface. Even if you go off the grid, civilization is using up minerals at an exponential rate to maintain the non-negotiable American lifestyle, which in 2006, required 3.7 million pounds of minerals, metals, and fuels in each person’s lifetime, or … Continue reading

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