Life cycle assessment on lead-zinc ore mining and beneficiation in China

摘要

China is the largest producer of lead and zinc concentrate in the world. The lead-zinc mines of China are used to produce multiple products simultaneously. To evaluate the specific environmental impact of the lead-zinc ore mining and beneficiation, life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed by SimaPro 8.5.2 software in this paper. A typical lead-zinc mine was taken as the on-site data source, midpoint results with uncertainty information were calculated by ReCiPe H method. After the normalization of midpoint results, marine ecotoxicity was identified as the most predominant environmental impact category, followed by freshwater ecotoxicity, metal depletion, human toxicity and freshwater eutrophication. Contribution analysis indicated that the processing plant can bring the more serious environmental pollution than underground mine and support systems. Tailings dam and chemicals production should be closely watched, owing to the largest pollution contribution. Besides, key processes/substances which can seriously pollute the environment, were classified in this study. Specifically, tailings pollution, copper sulfate production and electricity generation were classified as key processes; metal ions and phosphate discharged into water as key substances. According to sensitivity analysis, reducing tailings pollution should be prioritized for addressing environmental issues. Finally, technical and management measures were proposed to progress the metal industry. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.