suppliers—is the primary basis for this analysis, reflecting Still Bright’s operational approach and unique ability to utilize renewable electricity as an input compared to other copper processing methods. The climate change of impact of RACER is further analyzed as a function of process stage, as well as input to the process. Table 4 – Climate change impact by stage. Stage Share kg CO₂ eq. per kg Cu Cathode Copper Concentrate (upstream) 80% 3.77 RACER Process 16% 0.74 SX/EW 4% 0.18 The dominant finding is that 80% of the total climate change impact originates upstream of Still Bright—in the mining and flotation of copper concentrate. Within that upstream burden, electricity consumption in mining and beneficiation is the largest driver. RACER’s own direct process footprint is small. The electrochemical reduction step accounts for only a fraction of total impact, and Still Bright’s commitment to utilizing renewable electricity renders SX/EW’s electricity contribution negligible. This pattern reveals the leverage available when applying RACER to lower-intensity upstream feedstocks, as explored in Section II. 4. LCA Results - Rougher Concentrate Feedstock Rougher concentrate feedstock (19% copper by weight) is produced with a rougher flotation and rougher scavenger. A cleaning flotation and regrind steps are not used. In this scenario, it was found that climate change impact of the process is 3.3 kg CO2 per kg Cu cathode, a reduction in the finished concentrate baseline by 30%. Water use is reduced significantly by removing the cleaning flotation and regrind stages: an 80% reduction in water is estimated. Acidification is also greatly reduced by 50%. These results demonstrate the significant environmental benefit that RACER provides by processing upstream feedstocks. Table 5 – LCA results for rougher concentrate feedstock, including climate change impact, acidification, energy demand for the RACER process only, and water use. Climate Change Impact 3.3 kg CO₂ eq. per kg Cu cathode Water Use 2.65 m³ world eq. per kg Cu cathode Electricity demand 0.57 kWh/kg concentrate Acidification 0.058 mol H⁺-Eq per kg Cu cathode
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