Context

Simon Michaux works at the GTK's Sustainability and Circular Economy Solutions Unit. Having completed a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Physics and Geology, he earned his PhD in Mining Engineering at the University of Queensland. He has worked in research and development in the Australian mining industry for more than 18 years, spent 12 months in the private sector at Ausenco, and spent three years researching circular economy technologies at the University of Liege in Belgium. As part of Simon's longer-term goals to navigate the challenges of limited mineral supply and fossil fuel dependence, he advocates for a practical circular economy system.

The Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) is a research agency focused on geoscience and sustainability operating under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in Finland. The department pursues top-notch scientific research to be internationally recognised. In 2022, GTK published a research document entitled 'Assessment of the Extra Capacity Required of Alternative Energy Electrical Power Systems to Completely Replace Fossil Fuels' which, as the name suggests, is a modelling work outlining the current capacities and practicalities of transitioning out from fossil fuels. Simon Michaux, author of the report, was invited to the JKMRC Friday Seminars to discuss his work. The seminar series organised by the Sustainable Minerals Institute of the University of Queensland in Australia focused on covering a wide range of topics related to the minerals sector.

In Altiplano Open Research, we had the pleasure of citing GTK for the works of Simon Michaux in our Living in The Material World part II (see here). Simon's work aimed to uncover the insufficiencies of today's ecosystem to meet the growing demand in a non-fossil ecosystem from a mineral reserves standpoint, something we highlighted in a publication following a webinar at Queensland University (see here). In addition, we have recently enriched our academic library with a publication produced by Simon Michaux for the GTK (see here).

On 2 September 2024, Simon Michaux was invited again to the JKMRC Seminars to discuss his work on what he called the Purple Transition (see recording here) of which there is a very synthetic summary:

• The Green Transition won’t work because it faces serious resource bottlenecks.
• So, what might? The Purple Transition.
• A reimagined commodities sector: the Resource Balance Economy.
• Four foundation technologies (liquid fuel fission, Th MSR, Combustion of Fe powder, ammonia-fuelled ICE, non-lithium battery chemistries) of which three are already in commercial development.