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THE LEADER VOLUME 16 • NUMBER 4
The Green Transition
The mining industry is critical to success in the struggle to arrest climate change . In January , at the AME Roundup Conference 2021 , Robert Friedland , Executive Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines , and the most successful explorationist in the industry today , forecast greater demand for all kinds of minerals and metals to fuel the Green Transition of the global economy . Friedland predicted a rise in commodity prices and emphasised the need to discover new , Tier 1 copper deposits , including new mines in Canada and the US .
He is quite right , but the problem is that scientists tell us we need to impact climate change within 10 years and bringing large mines from discovery to production takes two decades . Producing the metals and minerals we need to accelerate the Green Transition will require a focus on dramatically increasing the productivity of existing energy-related metals , as well as critical minerals such as lithium and rare earths .
Friedland also highlighted the importance of Environmental Social Governance ( ESG ) as the factor affecting future metal prices , and of course , he is right again . The longest delay in bringing new mineral deposits into production is not the speed of mine development , but the time it takes to get social licence to operate . Local communities are concerned about mine tailings management and continuing with conventional approaches is the enterprise risk for the mining industry . The key is to recognise that implementing innovation in tailings processing and ESG is an investment that generates a significant return , bringing new mines into production years earlier , maximising value and eliminating liabilities . This reduces mining ’ s environmental impact and improves the economics of the business .
Mining needs a two-stage transition . First , to accelerate the green transition within 10 years , we must increase the productivity and mine life of existing operations . Typically , labour and power are the largest operating costs , so more profitable mines will rely on low-energy , autonomous systems that significantly decrease the cost of production and reduce cut-off grades . Second , to sustain the Green Transition beyond 10 years , we need to discover new mines and bring them into production much faster than we do today . Implementing progressive tailings treatment processes , like the waste diversion efforts in other industries , will leave behind no hazardous waste material and free up clean , silt-clay mafic minerals that can help increase crop yields .
This is change at a pace many companies are not comfortable with – disruptive innovation . Getting to a low-carbon future is not going to be comfortable – and not getting there will be much worse . The Green Transition is the greatest economic , social and technological challenge of our generation . To succeed , the world needs mines to deliver more metal and minerals , produce them at a lower cost , and be more profitable . This means converting successful research into practical solutions that can be commercialised quickly – within five years . Solving these challenges is urgent because analysts already project supply deficits for many of the metals that are critical to making the Green Transition possible . Supply shortages and higher metal prices will not help displace low-priced carbon technologies – and risk stalling the Green Transition .
The issues that confront the mining industry today are complicated , and there are few simple solutions . CEMI has embraced a network approach that proactively seeks out multiple solution providers in Canada and globally and then identifies the synergies they create .
There are innovators in every sector of the economy , and each small-medium enterprise ( SME ) has point solutions that can help mining meet all the needs of the future . The Innovation For Mining ( IFM ) network extends to global mining jurisdictions so that solutions can be adapted to address the challenges in arid and tropical conditions , and where helping mining operations become compatible with agriculture and forestry is especially critical . IFM seeks to draw the best innovations from wherever they are found and integrate them to create the practical solutions to drive the Green Transition forward . Many SME innovators have already developed the solutions needed to achieve this – what they lack is the investment required to commercialise solutions and companies willing to implement them . CEMI ’ s effort to achieve this is called MininGreen2030 .
Governments and corporations are committing to net-zero carbon targets decades in the future , but we need to reduce CO 2 in the atmosphere , not limit its increase . This is the opportunity for the mining sector to play a leading role in arresting climate change , accelerating implementation of the innovative technologies the world needs to help meet the many challenges of the Green Transition . Commercialising innovation will rebuild economies more quickly after the COVID-19 impact – the economic effect of a ‘ return to normal ’ or ‘ research ’ will be slow .
The global transformation to a low-carbon future is a massive undertaking and mining has a critical part to play . The Green Transition needs an orchestrated , multi-sector approach to help all major industries play their part in arresting climate change and CEMI ’ s IFM is one way to achieve this .
To paraphrase Churchill : “ The era of procrastination , of half-measures , of soothing and baffling expedients , and delays , has come to its close and we have entered a period of consequences .” This is the time for mining to implement innovation with a scale and scope not seen for 40 years , make mineral and metal production more cost-effective and sustainable , integrate it into the needs of agriculture and forestry – and help save the planet . Doug Morrison President & CEO
Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation ( CEMI )
APRIL 2021 | International Mining 3