TOP MINERS READY FOR CHALLENGES TO COME
Facing the Future in Good Shape
Miners face many challenges. Among them, meeting ESG requirements. 247Solar’s HeatStorE™ batteries convert solar and grid heat to electricity without combustion or emissions. Even when fully discharged, the turbine can burn most liquid and gaseous fuels, including hydrogen, for 24/7 dispatchability.
“The market for mining materials is reconfiguring in fundamental way”
– PricewaterhouseCoopers ( PwC)
2021 was a banner year for the world’s 40 top mining companies, as revenues increased by nearly a third and net profits rose by 127% vs. 2020. This is according to the recently released Mine 2022 report from global consultancy PwC.
This means, say the authors, that the companies surveyed are well-positioned to face an unprecedented set of challenges on all fronts.
On the demand side, PwC sees that “the energy transition and the race to reach net-zero emissions are creating a surge in demand for critical materials,” such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite, as well as copper, aluminum, silicon, uranium, and rare earth. Yet, “the supply of such materials will struggle to meet near-term demand.”
This, the authors say, creates a strategic imperative [to make] “major investments in exploration, production, processing, and refining in a responsible and sustainable fashion.” At the same time, miners face a wide array of challenges. “Prices for critical materials can be volatile. New projects take time to permit, finance, and construct. Global geopolitics continue to present a range of risks. And expectations for environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues continue to rise.”
In sum, the report asserts that miners need to focus on four key areas.
- Evaluating their position with respect to critical minerals
- Identifying opportunities to own or influence more of the supply chain
- Deploying capital sufficient to meet the needs of the transition to net-zero
- Increasing focus on ESG
Download the full PwC report here.
Learn more about 247Solar’s HeatStorE Battery solution.
OUTSIDE PRESSURES RISE ON MINERS IN CHANGING ENVIRONMENT
One of the world’s biggest gold refineries will look to stop sourcing metal from mines that fail to meet standards on carbon emissions.
Customer Demands
Mining.com highlights the pressures miners can feel from their customers.
Miners are being pressed to change long-standing practices and business models like never before. Pressure from outside stakeholders, both upstream and downstream of mining operations, is having increasingly tangible effects. Two recent posts from Bloomberg via Mining.com bring this sharply into focus.
According to Bloomberg, MKS PAMP, one of the world’s biggest gold refineries, will look to stop sourcing metal from mines that fail to meet standards on carbon emissions. In a statement, the company said plans to curb emissions that come from its supply chain by 27.5% before the end of the decade. As a result, the Geneva-based firm may have to refuse gold from mines that create too much carbon dioxide.
“We may refuse to deal with some gold mines because we believe they are not doing the right thing,” CEO Marwan Shakarchi is quoted as saying in an interview. “We took a conscious decision on this. We will make less money.”
Community Engagement
In remarks to Bloomberg’s inaugural New Economy Gateway Latin America event in Panama City, Robert Friedland, Ivanhoe Mines’ executive chairman, and founder cited community protests that have stalled output at Chinese mining firm, MMG Ltd.’s Las Bambas copper mine in Peru for more than 400 days since 2016. The protesters, who originally lived on the land where the mine now stands before they were relocated, accuse the company of failing to meet its social investment commitments.
The article quotes Friedland as saying,
“Miners need to reexamine the enterprise from day one to try to prevent that kind of problem from occurring.” With regards to ESG, he said: “Companies that get it right will inherit the industry. Companies that don’t, will die.”
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