Getting the world on track to achieve the 2015 Paris agreement goal of holding average temperature rises below the +1.5C mark will necessitate a five-fold increase in global renewable energy generation by 2030, en route to achieving a zero-carbon reality by the mid-century point. But will the world be able to decarbonise power and transport to avoid the looming climate catastrophe? That will depend in part on the governance of the global mining sector. 

Certainly, the technologies underpinning renewables and EVs currently rely on a handful of key metals – lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and copper – plus rare earth elements (REEs) such as neodymium and praseodymium. Decades ago, scientists dismissed some of these materials as “mere impurities”, says David S Abraham in his book ‘The Elements of Power’. Abraham writes that we are now witnessing “a fundamental shift” in our resource demands. “At no point in human history have we used more elements, in more combinations, and in increasingly refined amounts,” he states, adding that “our ingenuity will soon outpace our materials supplies”.

With some such elements having been little used to date, there are questions over whether enough can be mined to ensure the large-scale rollout of green and renewable technologies. Another concern is the risk of bottlenecks emerging, as resource output rises to meet demand. Implementing 4IR technologies – and, crucially, upskilling workers in accordance with such deployments – will go a long way to addressing those two sticking points. Labour shortages, workplace safety concerns and rising operational costs are set to turbocharge demand for outdoor mobile robots this decade, according to a new report from ABI Research (p26), with mining a key target application for many such innovations. Meanwhile, Big Data already drives planning, managing and optimisation in the activities of the world’s most progressive miners, with the rest of the pack now beginning to follow suit. And a new EU-backed project aims to propel mining sector digitalisation to even greater heights in the years ahead (p15).

Of course, beyond volume and bottleneck-related challenges is the inevitable sustainability-focused concern – that the environmental impacts of more mining could undermine carbon savings elsewhere. For instance, across the 57 countries in which the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) reports, half of the 700 critical mineral sites impact conservation areas. Moreover, 80% of those sites are located near, or on the land of, indigenous people, or are of cultural significance. In response, the EITI’s new report – Transition Mineral Value Chains and the Role of Good Governance – sets out a framework for actors at sub-national, national, and international level to engage in transparent and ethical mining (p08).

The unavoidable challenge from an environmental perspective is the fact that most low-carbon technologies use far more mineral resources than their fossil fuel equivalents. Indeed, as the EITI Chair herself is keen to note: “The bottom line is the world needs more mining”.

In a paper ahead of this year’s Future Minerals Forum (p30) in Riyadh, Peter Bryant – an ESG innovation specialist and Chair of the Development Partner Institute – concludes that: “Tackling this challenge requires a mindset shift, an investment in innovation, and – most importantly – a multi-stakeholder approach that takes into account the goals and incentives of each player in the value chain.” Ultimately, innovation and collaboration in the mining industry will hold the key to achieving the clean, just and sustainable transition that our world urgently needs.