Global mining investment too low to support energy transition, Rio Tinto chairman says
SINGAPORE - Low rates of investment in the global mining sector have put the global energy transition at risk, widening the supply gap in critical minerals like copper, Rio Tinto chairman Dominic Barton said on Monday.
"The gap is humungous, and I am actually very worried about whether we will be able to close (it)," Barton said via video link at the Ecosperity conference in Singapore.
The global effort to slash climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions will depend on securing large supplies of minerals like copper, lithium and cobalt required to build electric vehicles, solar plants and wind farms.
The amount of metals required for each kilowatt of generation capacity has risen by 50% since 2010, and electric cars require six times more minerals than traditional combustion engine, according to the International Energy Agency.
Barton said the world isn't just facing a shortage of minerals, but also a shortage of the capital required to dig new mines, which take far longer to develop than before.
"The mining industry has reduced its investments significantly since the 2015-2016 period ... We're hundreds of billions of dollars below what we need."
He said the industry needed to build trust, and had not done a great job in persuading the public of the vital role it will play in a global decarbonisation project that could require more copper in the next 25 years than has ever before been produced.
He said the industry needed to do a better public relations job, adding that Rio itself had "caused our own problems" in 2020 after destroying rock shelters considered sacred by Aboriginal communities, a move Barton described as "terrible" and "embarrassing".
Scott Clements, a partner at Tribeca Capital, said there were still enormous opportunities in the mining sector that could "generate phenomenal returns".
"The challenge for the industry is to be seen as part of the solution and not part of the problem," he told the conference on Monday.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
M and J Mining are leading suppliers of physical support systems as used by the underground mining industry. Our selection of products are not...
VISIT SHOWROOM
At John Ratcliffe, we are aftermarket specialists for heavy-duty on and off-road vehicles. We engineer and retrofit advanced safety systems, engine...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
