Ironically, humanity’s push for sustainability will require greater quantities of mineral resources than ever. To reach the UN’s Sustainable Development goals by 2050, for example, we’re going to have to mine more copper in the next three decades than we have in the entire history of civilisation. How can we do that sustainably?

Our host, Isobel Marshall, unpacks the issues with environmental engineer Professor Michael Goodsite, and PhD candidate Tom Payten, whose work focuses on the development of real-time, mineral-specific sensors.