1. INTRODUCTION The global transition toward a digital and low-carbon economy has significantly intensified the demand for metals such as gold, silver, and copper, which are essential for renewable energy systems, electric mobility, and electronic devices. However, the growing reliance on these materials places increasing pressure on conventional mining systems, which are characterized by declining ore grades, high energy consumption, and substantial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout extraction, concentration, smelting, and refining stages [1], [2], [3], [4]. At the same time, global GHG emissions reached a historic maximum of 57.1 GtCO₂eq in 2023, exacerbating climate-related risks and reinforcing the urgency to decouple mineral supply from environmental degradation [5], [6]. In this context, mining countries face the challenge of securing metal supply while reducing the carbon intensity of mineral production. Parallel to this trend, the accelerated consumption of electronic devices, particularly mobile phones, has led to a rapid increase in Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), which represents both a growing environmental burden and a strategic secondary resource. By 2025, it is estimated that more than 18 billion mobile phones will be in use globally, while only 22.3% of global e-waste is formally collected and recycled [7], [8]. These devices contain high concentrations of valuable metals, often exceeding those found in primary ores, yet insufficient recycling infrastructure has resulted in the accumulation of end-of-life mobile phones and the loss of critical materials [9], [10]. Urban mining, through Recovery and Reuse (R&R) processes, has therefore emerged as a complementary strategy to conventional mining, enabling the valorization of secondary metals while reducing energy use and GHG emissions compared to linear extraction models [11]. Despite its relevance, quantitative comparisons between conventional mining and urban mining remain limited, particularly for resource-producing countries such as Peru. Although Peru is a leading global supplier of copper, gold, and silver, it also faces growing WEEE generation and limited domestic capacity for advanced electronic waste recovery, resulting in the export of high-value fractions to specialized facilities abroad [12], [13]. Existing studies rarely assess international urban mining pathways under consistent methodological frameworks or consider the joint recovery of multiple metals required for economic viability. To address this gap, this paper presents a comparative carbon footprint assessment of three metal supply models, conventional mining (Business as Usual, BAU), recovery and reuse of mixed electronic boards (R&R), and recovery and reuse of mobile phone electronic boards (R&R-MP), based on a real transboundary case linking WEEE generation in Peru with advanced metallurgical recovery in Europe. By evaluating the combined recovery of gold, silver, and copper, this study provides evidence on the potential of urban mining to complement primary extraction and contribute to more resilient, lowercarbon mineral supply chains.
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