WCEF2023

How can mining and the use of materials become circular and sustainable?

Decisive action is needed to diversify sustainable material sourcing. Much work remains to identify how and where circular solutions can best be integrated at mine sites and along mineral supply chains. The session illuminates the key aspects of circularity in mining and shares learnings from real-world projects from across the globe.

To decarbonise our energy systems, we must circularise the supply of critical minerals while investing in responsible extraction. What collaborative strategies are required to meet the scale of change required? How can strategic alignment and collaboration across and along value chains be achieved?

As industry pursues decarbonization, reduced waste, and social equity, circular approaches unlock new strategies, levers, business models/revenue flows, and technologies. The session will seek to identify how collaborative efforts among different stakeholders can move the industry forward - beyond incremental efficiency gains. Practitioners throughout mineral value chains, from the mining industry to manufacturers, investors, policy makers, and civil society actors, will be invited to share their strategic priorities and solutions in pursuit of sustainable innovation.

What are the greatest opportunities for collaboration to ensure circularity in the supply of metals and minerals? This workshop will bring together stakeholders from across metals value chains and outside to develop creative solutions to the supply of these key materials.  

The energy transition is built on metals, with many low carbon technologies needing vast quantities of metals and minerals. All parts of metals value chains need to collaborate to ensure that these value chains are as circular as possible, from mining and refining, to use and reuse. In this highly interactive workshop, we will focus on a number of key value chains to develop, test and reimagine opportunities. The session will bring together those working within metals value chains, including miners and users of metals such as automotive and technology companies, with a broader set of stakeholders including circular economy thought leaders, policy makers, investors and those from other industries to ensure that we are not siloed in our thinking. The session will contribute directly to work being carried out by ICMM and Circle Economy, to be released in 2024.