Toward carbon neutrality:Uncovering constraints on critical minerals in the Chinese power system

China has set up its ambitious carbon neutrality target,which mainly relies on significant energy-related carbon emissions reduction.As the largest important contributing sector,power sector must achieve energy transition,in which critical minerals will play an essential role.However,the potential supply and demand for these minerals are uncertain.This study aims to predict the cumulative demand for critical minerals in the power sector under different scenarios via dynamic material flow analysis(DMFA),including total demands,supplies and production capacities of different minerals.Then,these critical minerals are categorized into superior and scarce resources for further analysis so that more detailed results can be obtained.Results present that the total minerals supply will not meet the total minerals demand(74260 kt)in 2060.Serious resource shortages will occur for several key minerals,such as Cr,Cu,Mn,Ag,Te,Ga,and Co.In addition,the demand for renewable energy will be nearly fifty times higher than that of fossil fuels energy,implying more diversified demands for various minerals.Finally,several policy recommendations are proposed to help improve the overall resource efficiency,such as strategic reserves,material substitutions,and circular economy.

Combating Climate Change and Global Warming for a Sustainable Living in Harmony with Nature

As humanity has been polluting the atmosphere with greenhouse gases,the planet is getting warmed up which is triggering the frequency and the intensity of extreme events like heat waves,dry conditions,wildfires,cyclones,tornadoes,lightning,and massive flooding all over the planet Earth.There is considerable evidence that the concentration of greenhouse gases,especially that of CO_(2) has steadily increased in the atmosphere as a result of the indiscriminate use of fossil fuels around the world particularly during the last 70 years.The glaciers in the high mountain and polar regions are diminishing fast,sea levels are rising,and food production is being affected severely in certain parts of the world.In fact,the changing climate has currently become one of the major threats to the survival of civilization.The world scientific communities are warning of a climate emergency and requesting the decision makers to promptly respond and act to sustain life on planet Earth.To deliver net zero emissions by the year 2050,the whole world must phase out the technologies such as coal-powered thermal plants and diesel/petrol/gasoline-powered vehicles which release abundant amounts of CO_(2) and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and invest in the development of clean energies such as hydel,wind,solar,space-solar,and nuclear energies.This transition to a low-carbon economy with the help of these technologies together with other technologies such as hydrogen fuel,fuel cells,electric vehicles,and massive plantations is expected to take our planet Earth to a safe zone in the coming 20-30 years.

拜登政府的关键矿产战略

Critical minerals closely relate to the economic,environmental,defense,and intergenerational resources security of the US and are therefore infuential in US economic recovery,industrial restructuring,scientifc and technological competition,national security,and strategy toward China.Since the Obama administration,the US has been increasingly focusing on its critical minerals strategy,as illustrated by its issuance of a series of related laws and executive orders and its eforts to advance the reform of relevant agencies.The Biden administration has increased the emphasis on supply chains for critical minerals that are vital to green and lowcarbon development and pushed for more coordination among government departments and agencies.Perceiving China as a competitor to the US,Joe Biden has announced large-scale investment and procurement measures at home and promoted institutional building in concerned sectors as part of efforts to counter China’s competitive advantages.Simultaneously,he has been developing a security strategy of and advocating supply chain alliances for critical minerals based on US allies.The critical minerals strategy of the Biden administration will greatly influence the stable development of China’s supply chains.In response,China should focus on forging a new type of international relations,with an aim to promote global resource governance and ensure the sustained security of its critical mineral supplies.

Laser ablation(in situ)Lu-Hf dating of magmatic fluorite and hydrothermal fluorite-bearing veins

Fluorite(CaF_(2))is a common hydrothermal mineral,which precipitates from fluorine-rich fluids with an exceptional capacity to transport metals and Rare Earth Elements(REEs).Hence,the ability to date fluorite has important implications for understanding the timing of metal transport in hydrothermal systems.Here we present,for the first time,fluorite Lu-Hf dates from fluorite-carbonate veins from the Olympic Cu-Au Province in South Australia.The fluorite dates were obtained in situ using the recently developed LA-ICP-MS/MS Lu-Hf dating method.A fluorite-calcite age of 1588±19 Ma was obtained for the Torrens Dam prospect,consistent with the timing of the formation of the nearby Olympic Dam iron-oxide copper gold Breccia Complex.Veins in the overlying Neoproterozoic successions were dated at 502±14 Ma,indicating a temporal link between Cu-sulphide remobilisation and the Delamerian Orogeny.Additionally,we present a multi-session reproducible date for magmatic fluorite from a monzogranite in the Pilbara Craton(Lu-Hf age of 2866±19 Ma).This age is consistent with a garnet Lu-Hf age from the same sample(2850±12 Ma)and holds potential to be developed into a secondary reference material for future fluorite Lu-Hf dating.

Discovery of anomalous gallium enriched in stone coal: Significance, provenance and recommendations

Gallium(Ga)is a critical mineral that plays an irreplaceable role in consumer electronics,clean energy technologies and the aerospace industry.Nowadays competition for gallium resources at the national strategic level has begun to emerge,but gallium resources are unevenly distributed globally,and their presence is not guaranteed.New discoveries revealed an average gallium concentration of thirty-one samples from M_(1),M_(2),M_(3) and M_(4) stone coal-bearing seams of the Cambrian strata on South Qinling Orogenic Belt in central China is 157 mg/kg(9.98–747 mg/kg),which is 27.6-fold higher than the global hard coal average,as well as the existing association of Mo–V–U–Cd–Zn–Ba–Se–Mg–Ni–Cu enrichment.Ga average of these coal seams are 344 mg/kg(M_(3),44.5–747 mg/kg,n=11),270 mg/kg(M_(4),14.3–270 mg/kg,n=5),53.8 mg/kg(M_(2),22.6–75.4 mg/kg,n=8)and 19.8 mg/kg(M_(1),9.98–34.9 mg/kg,n=7)respectively,as well as the thickness of approximately 6,12,8,and 20 m,which be close to or exceed to the boundary grade standard(30 mg/kg)and minimum recoverable thickness(0.7 m)of gal-lium resources exploration.These findings indicate that the Cambrian stone coal deposits,especially in the middle and late Cambrian period,should be considered as promising alternative sources of gallium.The anomalous gallium-enriched sediments originated from a complex combination of hydrothermal flu-ids,original biomass and terrigenous materials.For the M_(1) stone coal-bearing seams,gallium most likely occurred in the mode of GaAs,Ga_(x)In_(1-x)As and GaO(OH),while modes of gallium in the M_(2) to M_(4) seams is interrelated with the organic affinity and clay minerals.The crude reserve estimate of gallium resources in central China is approximately 10.06?104 tons,corresponding to a super-large coal-hosted gallium ore deposit.The unique paleogeographic location and geological structure in central China resulted that this newly discovered deposit is a unique type of gallium-enriched deposit that has been discovered worldwide.These discoveries will provide the critical parameters when developing distinctive benefici-ation processes and appropriate extraction procedures,as well as guidance and effective for future prospecting regions of gallium resources around the globe,involving a combination consider the distri-bution of regional deep–large fault zones and the middle to late Cambrian black rock series deposits.