A planetary boundary for geological resources: Limits of regional water availability

The regional water availability constrains the current and future production of 32 geological resources

Geological resources like metals are vital for renewable energy and storage technologies but require significant energy and water, raising environmental concerns. An international research team identified the safe operating space for geological resource production within regional water limits. The team estimated the water consumption associated with the production of 32 key geological resources across around 3,300 mines worldwide. The results revealed that water use for the production of 25 of these resources exceeded the sustainable limits of water availability. Notably, while iron production has high water consumption, only 9% of its production exceeded water constraints in 2010. In contrast, copper production, despite having lower water consumption, saw 37% of its current production surpassed the sustainable water limit. This highlights the need for sustainable water use in geological resource production, particularly for water-intensive metals like copper.

The study underscores that the constraints on resource production are not only determined by the total amount of water consumed, but also by the regional water availability. Shifting production to areas with lower water stress could alleviate some of these pressures; however, in many cases, it is not feasible to move production operations to regions with abundant water due to logistical, economic, and infrastructural challenges, and the geology of where the resources are located.

The study emphasizes the need for a more comprehensive consideration of environmental constraints in the future production of geological resources. With rising demand and growing environmental pressures, understanding and managing environmental consequences of geological resource production is crucial for achieving long-term sustainability and meeting the global goals for clean energy and decarbonization.

Caption: Proportion of current geological resource production exceeding production capacity determined by the regional water availability for the top ten geological resources with the largest volume of water overconsumption.

Papers

Journal: Science

Title: Geological resource production constrained by regional water availability

Authors: Kamrul Islam, Keitaro Maeno, Ryosuke Yokoi, Damien Giurco, Shigemi Kagawa, Shinsuke Murakami, Masaharu Motoshita

DOI: 10.1126/science.adk5318