Application Of The United Nations Framework Classification For Resources Case Studies

The United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) is a project-based classification and management system applicable to all energy and mineral resource projects including renewable energy, anthropogenic resource projects as well as injection projects for geological storage. Since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), managing energy and raw material resources in a sustainable manner has become paramount to all stakeholders such as Governments, companies and investors. This has to be viewed along with the Paris Climate Accord, which seeks low-carbon pathways in the appropriate developmental strategies. Successful resource management in the modern world requires relevant information on the resource base, understanding of the factors that are responsible for progressing the resources to production, adequate framework conditions set by the regulators and society and the enterprising capacity. A series of case studies on various resource projects from different countries are presented in this report to demonstrate how UNFC could be used for sustainable resource management.

The United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) is a project-based classification and management system applicable to all energy and mineral resource projects including renewable energy, anthropogenic resource projects as well as injection projects for geological storage. Since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), managing energy and raw material resources in a sustainable manner has become paramount to all stakeholders such as Governments, companies and investors. This has to be viewed along with the Paris Climate Accord, which seeks low-carbon pathways in the appropriate developmental strategies. Successful resource management in the modern world requires relevant information on the resource base, understanding of the factors that are responsible for progressing the resources to production, adequate framework conditions set by the regulators and society and the enterprising capacity. A series of case studies on various resource projects from different countries are presented in this report to demonstrate how UNFC could be used for sustainable resource management.

This publication includes a set of 14 case studies on the application of the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) to geothermal energy from Australia, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines and Russian Federation. The case studies presented here illustrate the application of the geothermal energy specifications for the uniform use of UNFC in different contexts. These application examples from different countries provide a range of scenarios in the classification of geothermal resources in a manner consistent with the classification of other energy resources.

This publication includes eight case studies that demonstrate the classification of uranium or thorium resources at different scales, with examples in Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Malawi, Niger and the USA, to test the application of the United Nations Framework Classification for Fossil Energy and Mineral Reserves and Resources 2009 (UNFC-2009) to Nuclear Fuel Resources. UNFC-2009, which has been developed by the UNECE Expert Group on Resource Classification, is applicable to all extractive activities worldwide with work underway to broaden application to encompass renewable energy as well as injection projects for the geological storage of carbon dioxide. Guidelines, described here, were prepared for the application of UNFC-2009 to nuclear fuel resources. They will assist those responsible for finding, classifying, quantifying, financing, permitting, mining, and processing these minerals such that they are fit to enter the nuclear fuel cycle. They must be used in conjunction with the most recent release of UNFC-2009. The eight case studies demonstrate that UNFC-2009 can be applied to nuclear fuel resources and that the Bridging Document and Guidelines are both workable documents, providing a practical basis for application.

This book covers several aspects of the application of Sustainable Development Goals to mining related subjects. The included works range from methods to assess and implement sustainability to discussions of legal impacts and relations as well as technological developments and outlooks. First, the challenges and opportunities of clean energy transition in the African mining sector are described. With regard to the assessment of sustainable developments, this book includes the applications of the sieving method, the concept of thermodynamics and the United Nations Framework Classification to mining projects and case studies. The implementation of Sustainable Development Goals into academic project work and education of geo-engineers is covered as well. The legal topics contain discussions of corporate climate liabilities and extraterritorial legal responsibilities as well as an analysis of the impact of the German Federal Constitutional Court's climate decision. Important mining aspects and technological developments like proactive water management, sustainable approaches to mine closure and implementation of ventilation on demand in underground mines are described. In addition, the state and potential of the Mongolian raw materials industry is covered. The Sustainable Smart Mining and Energy Yearbook is not only aimed at researchers and professionals, but at all who want to get an overview of current important technical and legal topics in this field.

The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has made it essential to have a ground-up review of all resources and that this indispensable for the successful delivery of all goals, notably for SDG 7 on access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all and SDG 13 on climate action. The energy and climate-related goals have a bearing on uranium resources, one of the clean, low-carbon energy sources. This report shows how uranium resources could create a platform for innovative engagement with the integrated challenge of natural resource management and climate action. The United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC), the comprehensive resource management scheme, provides the necessary tools and conditions for the redesign of the uranium resource pathway. This report argues that the conventional model of uranium as a mineral commodity needs to give way to a new model of uranium as a “critical energy material” for meeting the global sustainability objectives on energy and climate action.

This publication provides non-mandatory guidance for the application of the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) to uranium and thorium resources. These Guidelines are intended to assist all those responsible for finding, classifying, quantifying, financing, permitting, mining, and processing these minerals such that they are fit to enter the nuclear fuel cycle. With the rapidly changing uranium industry landscape and the changing UNFC framework, the guidelines are a work in progress. Updated reports and analyses will be issued in future to keep the application of UNFC to uranium resources more useful and relevant to the current realities.

This book aims, through its chapters, at providing the knowledge to make competent decisions, convince peers or top management to take appropriate action, or beat out the competition for climate adaptation measures including adjustments for design and operations. Topics discussed include business-as-usual vs. divergence; the effects of public pressure on corporate, industrial and government decision making; techniques for gathering the proper information to assess risks and hazards; the importance determining risk tolerance thresholds; the difference between tolerable risks, intolerable ones that benefit from mitigation and those that require strategic shifts; why common practice approaches such as FMEA, and risk matrices are inadequate in today’s world and do not help ensure infrastructural and systemic resilience and sustainability. Case histories and three complete case studies that can be adapted to any industry or project walk the reader step by step from client request to recommendations and conditions of validity. The ultimate aim is to understand how to reduce risks to tolerable and societally acceptable levels while simultaneously creating sustainable and ethical systems.