The progressive decline in ore grade, in addition to rising demand and cost of energy and water, have driven research and development initiatives focused on the integration of mine to mill processes, resource and energy efficiency, known in a broader sense as "eco-efficiency."The resource efficient Europe flagship initiative established a variety of resource efficiency indicators with raw material productivity being the principal indicator. Furthermore, the roadmap to a low-carbon economy stipulates that, “by 2050, the EU should cut its emissions to 80 % below 1990 levels.”Although many mining companies have published carbon emissions production as part of their information policy for investors and the public, carbon footprint (CF) is not widely used as an indicator of process efficiency in the raw materials industry. Furthermore, as there is no specific protocol for calculating CF in mining, the carbon balance of different companies is difficult to compare. Generally, carbon emission calculations are made for extended periods, obtaining the total emissions generated per year. This does not allow for benchmarking, comparing different process designs and potential alternatives for greenfield projects, or optimization of existing mining and processing facilities. University researchers and consultants have worked to improve methods for carbon footprint analysis (CFA) in the mining and minerals processing industry, at a scale that permits measuring and evaluating independent processes, enabling a comparison of design alternatives and operating strategies. This paper addresses these issues and proposes a standard methodology to utilize CF indicators as a more practical tool for “eco-efficient” design and optimization of mining processes with regards to reducing energy and water consumption. Furthermore, a case study using CFA as a resource efficiency indicator is presented in addition to a general overview of current research and development efforts in this field.
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