technology

Copper may be one of the earliest identified metals – there is evidence of Stone Age societies between 9000 BC to 2000 BC using it (without smelting) and it had its own archaeological period a long time ago — but its versatile properties make it one of the most sought-after materials even today, and perhaps more than ever.

Its conductivity makes it a key component of decarbonization and electrification technology ranging from solar power to hydro, thermal and wind energy, as well as energy storage and transportation.

The looming copper gap, to which ARPN called attention years ago, has prompted industry and academia to once more harness the materials science revolution providing advances in materials exploration and development, to join forces to identify sedimentary hosted copper deposits.  According to a newly-founded consortium of stakeholders led by the University of Western Australia’s Centre for Exploration Targeting (CET), these deposits offer a “promising and more sustainable alternative for meeting the increasing global demand for this energy transition critical mineral.”

According to mining.com, the deposits “account only for 20-25% of the world’s total copper production today and offer several advantages compared to non-sedimentary alternatives (…) being globally more widely distributed [and] present ESG opportunities by promoting economic distribution and reducing transport emissions.”

The sedimentary deposits are said to require less energy-intensive processing methods, and, as an added benefit in light of surging demand of battery critical materials against the backdrop of the green energy transition, sedimentary hosted copper deposits also contain significant amounts of cobalt.

The consortium, which also comprises the University of Warsaw, First Quantum Minerals, Teck Resources, BHP and Getech, a locator of subsurface resources, has launched a three-year Kupferschiefer project to create maps of promising areas within the Central European Basin using “proprietary gravity and magnetics data, as well as Globe earth model and spatial analytical expertise.” 

The materials science revolution appears to once more deliver, and the project is a promising endeavor with long-term prospects.  However, as followers of ARPN well know, the looming copper gap warrants immediate action.

The Financial Times predicted that copper’s growing application in this field will result “in it being dubbed the ‘metal of electrification’, with forecasts that it will double to a 50mn tonne market by 2035 compared with 2021 levels, according to S&P Global, which predicts a ‘chronic gap’ between supply and demand.”

U.S. import reliance for copper hovered around 30 to 35 percent in the 2010s, but in the 2020s, that number has gone up to more than 40 percent in the 2020s, according to the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries. 

In addition to looking to turning to newly unlocked (courtesy of the materials science revolution) deposits the Wall Street Journal outlined earlier this fall that mining companies are also targeting “a new but also old source – closed mines, also known as brownfield sites.”  The Journal points to Sweden-based miner Bluelake Mineral, seeking to reopen a mine site in northern Norway that closed 25 years ago, as well as to Rio Tinto’s Resolution Copper project near Superior, Arizona.

As ARPN outlined earlier, the project is considered one of the most significant undeveloped copper deposits in the world and would reuse the historic Magma Mine which started production in 1910 and operated until 1996. While the project has strong support from the surrounding community, and began the permitting process in 1997, it is still awaiting permits to begin operation.

For all its uses and growing demand profile, copper incredulously has not (yet) been added to the overall U.S. government’s critical minerals list (though the Department of Energy recently designated the material a critical material as part of its 2023 Critical Materials Assessment).

However, with demand and geopolitical volatility surging, securing key mineral supply chains becomes more pertinent than ever, and stakeholders should look to embrace a multitude of opportunities – both traditional and new – to diversify away from our adversaries and unleash our domestic mineral potential where possible.

Irrespective of where you come down on the political spectrum, there is no denying that we find ourselves in the midst of a green energy transition. At ARPN, we have long made the case that the current push towards a lower-carbon future is not possible without mining, as green energy technology relies heavily on a score of critical metals and minerals.

Testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources chaired by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) this fall, Dr. Morgan Bazilian, Director of the Payne Institute and Professor of Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines told committee members:

“The future energy system will be far more mineral and metal-intensive than it is today. Many of these advanced technologies require minerals and metals with particular properties that have few to no current substitutes.

The opportunity for the mining industry is tremendous. An industry that has experienced enormous public pressure and critique, accompanied by offshoring production overseas, can now evolve into one fundamental to supporting a shift to a low-carbon and sustainable energy system based on domestic natural resources.”

Representing one of the most “energy-intensive industry” on the planet, mining companies are increasingly “recognizing their responsibility and trying to meet the increased expectations of consumers, society and governments,” as Fleming Voetman, VP for Public Affairs at the International Copper Association outlined earlier this year. Advances in technology, make it possible increasingly to restore a balance between mining and environmental protection, and the industry is working to meet the challenge.

Sustainably greening the future begins with responsible sourcing, an area where consumer electronics companies like Ericsson and mining companies like Rio Tinto have been overhauling their supply chain policies to ensure suppliers conform to certain environmental and social standards, and companies like consumer electronics maker Phillips and mining company Teck are supporting local communities.

The World Bank’s Climate-Smart Mining Initiative, a new program designed to help “resource-rich developing countries benefit from the increasing demand for minerals and metals, while ensuring the mining sector is managed in a way that minimizes the social, environmental and climate footprint” also ties into this context. As part of the initiative, earlier this year, the World Bank’s “Climate-Smart Mining Facility” – a multi-donor trust fund with the initial backing of the German government, as well as private sector companies Rio Tinto and Anglo American – was launched. The trust fund has the stated goal of “help[ing] resource-rich developing countries benefit from the increasing demand for minerals and metals, while ensuring the mining sector is managed in a way that minimizes the environmental and climate footprint,” and will support specific projects aimed at helping developing countries and emerging economies devise and implement “sustainable and responsible strategies and practices across the mineral value chain.”

But it does not end here. In an effort to offset some of the carbon costs of resource development, mining companies have started to incorporate renewable power sources into their operations. These include, for example:

• Rio Tinto looking at incorporating renewables and battery storage into its main mining sites in Australia, for example as part of its $1 billion upgrade for its Pilbara ore project

• Fortescue Metals having partnered with a power utility to – with the backing of the Australian federal government – help power its Pilbara operations with solar energy and battery storage

• Gold Fields planning to predominantly operate its Agnew gold mine in Western Australia (WA) using renewable energy by partnering with a global energy group and investing in an energy micro grid combining wind, solar, gas and battery storage

• Antofagasta partnering with a utility company to turn its Zaldívar mine into the first 100% renewable energy-powered Chilean mine with a mix of hydro, solar and wind power

• Rio Tinto looking to reduce its carbon footprint at its Kennecott Utah copper mine by as much as 65% through the purchase of renewable energy certificates

These are just a few examples, and we can expect more companies to follow suit in the coming decade.

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