Mineral resources and the green energy transition, Introductory course

About this programme

This course focusses on the role of mineral resources in the transition to sustainable, green energy. After an introduction into the geological formation of mineral resources and the mineral resources of Sweden the course investigates the increased demand for mineral resources that are needed for transition away from fossil carbon-based energy systems towards renewable energy. The course discusses the critical raw materials, what makes these materials critical and the interplay between impending climate change at the global scale and the environmental impacts of mining at the local scale. The course focuses on specific critical raw material case studies including the battery metals including lithium and cobalt, and the rare earth elements. The aim is to provide a holistic evaluation of the role of mining in the transition to green energy. The course will be run in the as a distance course with online lectures (some given live) and some live discussion seminars. There will be 10 lectures, 5 seminars and a project and the main schedule includes one lecture or seminar per week with related reading. The project will be the main assessment and this will take the form of a report. Completion of 10 online quizzes and attendance of all seminars are required for completion of the course. Lectures There are ten different lectures which cover an introduction to mineral deposits, the concept of critical raw materials, environmental impacts of mining and key commodities such as battery metals Li and Co, copper and the rare earth elements. The lecture topics are: