Oxford scientists show how green mining could pave the way to net zero and provide the metals we need for a sustainable future

June 30, 2021

Most metals dissolved in the original magmatic gas become concentrated in the dense brine, which in turn gets trapped in porous rock. We need to be thinking of low-energy, sustainable ways to extract metals from the ground. We need to be thinking of low-energy, sustainable ways to extract metals from the ground. Conventional mining extracts metals, such as copper, from deep pits or underground mines in the form of solid ores that then need to be crushed and processed. Green mining represents a novel way to extract both the metal-bearing fluids and geothermal power, in a way that dramatically reduces the environmental impact of conventional mining.

The source of this news is from University of Oxford