What is said to be the “first truly authoritative book on critical metals” has been published by the British Geological Survey (BGS) in collaboration with Wiley and the American Geophysical Union.
The Critical Metals Handbook, which includes contributions from world-leading experts, is destined to become the “go-to’ reference source and will provide an excellent introduction to the world’s most critical metallic elements.”
With a greater variety of metals being used in larger quantities than ever before, ensuring secure and sustainable supplies has become a global issue. Uncertainties focus on the future supply of a group of critical metals which are crucial in manufacturing, but vulnerable to supply disruption.
The new Critical Metals Handbook has been produced in response to these concerns, and provides a general introduction to this important topic, and gives more detail on 13 metals which are vital in the delivery of new digital and low-carbon technologies including smart phones, photovoltaics and electric cars.
Edited by BGS metals expert Gus Gunn, the Critical Metals Handbook brings together a wealth of knowledge on the materials and provides a foundation for improving their future security and sustainability of supply.
Written by international experts, it provides a source of authoritative information on diverse aspects of the critical metals, including geology, deposits, processing, applications, recycling, environmental issues and markets, and is aimed at a broad non-specialist audience, including professionals and academics working in the exploration and mining sectors, in mining finance and investment, and in mineral processing and manufacturing.
It will also be a valuable reference for policy-makers concerned with resource management, land-use planning, eco-efficiency, recycling and related fields.
“Up to 60 different elements go into the manufacture of modern digital electronics, yet to date we have little information on how many of these concentrate in the earth’s crust, how to extract them from their ores, and how to use, recycle and dispose of them effectively and safely. This new Handbook presents an excellent introduction to these topics in relation to 13 of our most critical metallic elements,” says Andrew Bloodworth, director for minerals and waste at BGS, which is based at Keyworth, Nottingham, England.
