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Mitigation of greenhouse gases released from mining activities: A review

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Abstract

Climate changes that occur as a result of global warming caused by increasing amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs) released into the atmosphere are an alarming issue. Controlling greenhouse gas emissions is critically important for the current and future status of mining activities. The mining industry is one of the significant contributors of greenhouse gases. In essence, anthropogenic greenhouse gases are emitted directly during the actual mining and indirectly released by the energy-intensive activities associated with mining equipment, ore transport, and the processing industry. Therefore, we reviewed both direct and indirect GHG emissions to analyze how mining contributes to climate change. In addition, we showed how climate change impacts mineral production. This assessment was performed using a GHG inventory model for the gases released from mines undergoing different product life cycles. We also elucidate the key issues and various research outcomes to demonstrate how the mining industry and policymakers can mitigate GHG emission from the mining sector. The review concludes with an overview of GHG release reduction and mitigation strategies.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Bei**g Natural Science Foundation (No. 2204084), the National Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52004015 and 51874014), the Major Scientific and Technological Innovation Project of Shandong Province, China (No. 2019SDZY02), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (No. FRF-TP-19-027A1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bei**g Key Laboratory of Urban Underground Space Engineering, University of Science and Technology Bei**g, Bei**g, 100083, China

    Li-yuan Liu, Hong-guang Ji, **ang-feng Lü & Tao Wang

  2. School of Civil and Resource Engineering, University of Science and Technology Bei**g, Bei**g, 100083, China

    Li-yuan Liu, Hong-guang Ji, **ang-feng Lü, Tao Wang, Feng Pei & Dao-lu Quan

  3. Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, EMS Energy Institute and G3 Center, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Sheng Zhi

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  1. Li-yuan Liu
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  2. Hong-guang Ji
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Correspondence to Hong-guang Ji or **ang-feng Lü.

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Liu, Ly., Ji, Hg., Lü, Xf. et al. Mitigation of greenhouse gases released from mining activities: A review. Int J Miner Metall Mater 28, 513–521 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-020-2155-4

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