MINING IN THE 21ST CENTURY; THE ENERGY TRANSITION, THE FUTURE OF THE MINERALS INDUSTRY AND A MORE SUSTAINABLE CONCEPT OF ORE?

Humanity currently mines more metals and minerals than at any other point in our history, reflecting the mineral and metal basis of modern society. However, the minerals industry also faces more challenges that at any other time, not just in terms of discovery and extraction of metals and minerals but also as a result of the increasing environmental, social and governmental challenges that delay project development and can result in the cancellation of exploration licenses and the removal of permission to operate. These challenges coincide with increased awareness of the importance of climate change mitigation, leading to government policy and investment and consumer demand for a move towards carbon-neutral economies and a rapid need for low- and zero-CO₂ energy generation, storage and transport. The metal and mineral requirements for this energy transition are sometimes ignored by policymakers but will require significant increases in production of key minerals and metals beyond current record levels of production, even if we can also increase recycling rates. The clash of increasing environmental, social and governmental challenges with the increased demand for metals and minerals relating to the energy transition and modern standards of living indicates we rapidly need to more sustainably define what is ore. This necessitates a move away from “ore” as being a purely economic concept to one that embraces all of the challenges and opportunities outlined above and more. This requires a rethink of the concepts of mineral and metal extraction to move towards more sustainable and comprehensive use of finite mineral resources, to develop approaches to generate wealth from minerals industry waste, to improve our understanding of mineral deposits to both aid discovery and to allow enhanced main, co- and by-product recovery, and more.