CIRCULARITY
Circularity describes systems that aim to eliminate waste and maximise the reuse of resources. LOKI PATERA is moving towards circularity in our production through two main initiatives:
1. All casting production is now made with 100% post-consumer recycled precious metals.
2. Develop a technofossil made from gemstone offcuts, which replaces the conventionally mined gemstone.
Our precious metal castings
Our casting house in Melbourne/Naarm casts our pieces in precious metals sourced entirely from "reclaimed material that is recycled to the highest purity possible." All of their gold is recycled and refined in Melbourne, and they do not use any newly mined, minted or bullion material. In addition, any precious metals that they purchase overseas are also completely sourced from recycled material and subject to the CoC protocol (Chain of Custody - Europe).
Why use "mine-free" metals?
If you trace the origin of precious metals extracted on an industrial scale, you find a wake of destruction. For example, to mine one ounce of gold, you need to process 2.8 tonnes of ore, use and contaminate ~2,286 litres of water, and generate 800kg of CO2 [1]. And this is just a basic statistical overview that doesn't even begin to capture the extensive effects that gold mining has on the health of the surrounding environment and people. (Read: Incredibly Precious, and Increasingly Tarnished for a more in depth look at the state of the industry)
With such extensive extraction, and all the damage that comes with industrial mining, it is time to rethink how we source the materials we use. Precious metals like silver and gold are incredible candidates for circularity. They are considered 'infinitely recyclable' because their chemical and physical properties do not degrade during the recycling process. With so much metal already available above-ground, it makes sense to recycle what we have and avoid newly mined metals.
Developing a technofossil
Technofossils are human-made artefacts that can become part of Earth’s far-future geology. This research forms part of an ongoing investigation into the geology of the Anthropocene; what our society will leave behind in Earth's geologic record. The technofossils become a playful interpretation of that somewhat troubling concept, and a pragmatic way to revalue the minerals and materials we already have above-ground.
The materials for my technofossil experimentations have been scavenged through a network of relationships developed within the industry, and in my local environment. Opal suppliers have sent me fragile unusable chips and broken stones. Another stone supplier has sent all of their offcuts from the gem carving they do. A gourmet harvester on the South Coast has provided me with a box of their sea urchin spine and shell waste, a beautiful purple. Healthy macadamias felled and burned on the farm next to my house have had their ash salvaged and included.
This research is currently being channeled into a full collection that investigates the geology of the Anthropocene, aggregating and then ‘mining’ waste matter to become sustainable gemstone alternatives. The waste becomes important again – an apex material.
Why explore gemstone alternatives?
Similarly to precious metals, the industrial extraction of high value gemstones such as diamonds, cost Earth and communities greatly. To mine one carat of diamonds, you need to dig up 250 tonnes of earth, use and contaminate ~480 litres of water, and generate 160kg of CO2 [2]. This simple metric does not account for the human rights abuses within the opaque supply chain, the complex environmental impacts of deforestation and contamination, and the long term impacts that we are yet to understand. (Again, see my article Incredibly Precious, and Increasingly Tarnished for a more in-depth look at the impacts of industrial diamond mining).
Given the enormous volume of minerals, stones, ore and other materials that we already have above ground, it makes sense to reorient our material sourcing towards the technomatter - that which has already been extracted or modified by humans. How can we mine the waste of our societies to use in our designs, and avoid relying on virgin materials? How can we become the fungi of the material world, digesting the discards and turning them into something beautiful and useful?
Technofossil for Forgotten Tide Necklace, made using sea urchin spines, opal & gemstone offcuts, silver scraps, macadamia wood ash & lime from oyster shells