As the mining sector gathers again for the 2023 Investing in African Mining Indaba, there is likely to be both excitement and apprehension in the air, mining and engineering consultants SRK Consulting predicts.

Global trends toward decarbonisation are raising demand expectations for battery minerals, and geopolitical tensions suggest that Africa may become more of a focus for sourcing these critical commodities. Simultaneously, the changing landscape of regulations, best practice and public perception makes for a complex environment to navigate.

“Investors in Africa will want to harness the potential of commodity demand,” says incoming MD of SRK Consulting South Africa Andrew van Zyl, “but there are growing expectations from host countries and end-customers alike on how mining is conducted, and how benefits are shared”.

The mining industry’s journey is increasingly demanding the integration of disciplines in planning, operating and closing mines, emphasises Van Zyl. Project teams must start pursuing their engineering solutions with early stage input on pressing issues like environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, water stewardship, climate action and energy efficiency.

“Mining companies must not only pay more attention to mitigating their own impacts by decarbonising their operations but must also be adapting to the inevitable effects of climate change,” he says.

Van Zyl cites the early gains in decarbonisation, including the move by many South African mines toward developing their own solar or wind generating capacity, partnering with energy providers, or broadening their corporate mandates to acquire businesses specialised in renewable energy.

However, he states that the replacement of on-mine technologies that run on fossil fuels could take longer. This is in part owing to the complex supply chain alterations that would be demanded by new technologies – from battery electric vehicles to hydrogen powered trucks. An acceptable level of confidence is required in any innovation, as this would affect the cost and rate at which the ore can be extracted – and therefore underpins the ore reserve declaration.

Water Stewardship, ESG

Management of water is also posing several growing risks for the stability of mining, not just in water-scarce countries. Sufficient supply of water is just one aspect of a broader challenge, says SRK Consulting partner and principal hydrologist Peter Shepherd.

He points out that some mining areas will certainly become more drought-prone as a result of climate change, and there is a general trend to use less water and recycle as much as possible.

“It should be remembered, though, that mines are part of a natural and social ecosystem, where they will increasingly compete with other users who share their water catchment,” notes Shepherd. “Engagement and collaboration therefore become as important as good engineering to the future sustainability of a mining operation.”

This has led to the gradual embrace by the mining sector of water stewardship principles, which emphasise that mines need to look beyond their on-site water management strategies to a consideration of all stakeholders in the respective catchment area.

Similarly, ESG concerns have broadened to include the impact of mining and other industrial projects on human rights – with financial institutions requiring more details from borrowers regarding their impacts in this respect.

“Many segments of society have become increasingly mobilised around human rights, labour practice and anti-corruption measures,” comments SRK Consulting senior social scientist Dr Vidette Bester. “This has raised the potential for stakeholder concerns to boil over into serious disruption and delays, and even collapse of projects.”

This greater social involvement has also been witnessed in the field of tailings management, especially following recent fatal tailings dam failures. Principal engineer Bruce Engelsman highlights that responsible tailings management is really all about people – particularly the protection of vulnerable communities.

“As the Global Industry Standards on Tailings Management (GISTM) have further raised the bar for mine safety, the mining sector is working hard towards GISTM compliance,” says Engelsman. “The GISTM emphasises the integration of disciplines, such as specialised tailings, water and civil engineers, as well as practitioners in fields such as geochemistry and environmental and social-impact assessment.”

He notes that the highly technical nature of tailings management makes it a good example of how SRK harnesses diverse talents into its teams – from soil mechanics and water management to ESG and legal liability.

Moreover, as part of its innovation strategies, SRK Consulting’s sister company SRK Exploration Services (SRK ES) has also developed a new tool to assist companies in valuing, managing and forecasting their exploration activities. SRK ES principal exploration geologist John Paul Hunt explains the significance of Management & Valuation through Absolute Prospectivity (M-VAP).

“M-VAP provides a quantified absolute prospectivity that estimates the probabilities of making a discovery of deposits of different magnitude within an area of interest,” says Hunt. “These probabilities can then be used within a decision tree model to assess if the estimated future value warrants exploration activity.”