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On the challenges and opportunities of climate change

鈥淐limate change is the biggest existential risk we face. One that requires an urgent response, with mining companies a part of the solution.

鈥淭he global minerals industry is facing a conundrum where the positive aspects of mining, namely the production of critical minerals to underpin a low carbon future, are offset by environmental and social risks that may impede both current mining and exploration activities as well as future metal and mineral production.

鈥淪ecurity of supply of critical minerals and advancing Research and Development (R&D) into new technologies to assist the world鈥檚 transition to a low carbon economy are other tricky problems.

鈥淭hey demand careful conversations and a deep understanding of the issues.鈥�

On the demand for critical minerals

鈥淒emand for critical minerals is growing very quickly. Indeed, the projections for demand for critical minerals are quite eye watering.

鈥淭here are many metrics and lots of data, but all of a similar magnitude.

鈥� that the production of minerals, such as graphite, lithium and cobalt, could increase by nearly 500% by 2050, to meet the growing demand for clean energy technologies.

鈥淭he World Bank also estimates that over 3 billion tons of minerals and metals will be needed to deploy wind, solar and geothermal power, as well as energy storage, required for achieving a below 2掳C future.鈥�

On how we鈥檙e supporting the energy transition

鈥淲别鈥檙别 accelerating our own decarbonisation, switching to renewable power, electrifying processing, and where possible, running electric mobile fleets.

鈥淲别鈥檙别 increasing our investment in R&D to speed up the development of technologies that will enable our customers to decarbonise.

鈥淲别鈥檙别 prioritising growth capital in commodities that are essential for the drive to net zero, which is why we established our Battery Minerals business in 2021.鈥�

On Scandium as a breakthrough technology

鈥�Scandium, sometimes classified as a rare earth, is tricky to extract from other elements.

鈥淚n Quebec, Canada, we have a commercial scale plant that is producing high quality scandium. It involves a highly innovative process developed by our team to extract high purity scandium oxide from the waste streams of the existing titanium dioxide production, without the need for any additional mining.

鈥淎nd our recent acquisition of the Australia Scandium Project, a high-grade scandium resource in New South Wales, when operational, will more than double our annual scandium production and provide us with expertise for our broader critical minerals business.鈥�

On teaming with others to decarbonise

鈥淥ur research centres in Australia and Canada have been operating for over 50 years.

鈥淓mploying around 2,000 people, the primary purpose of these R&D centres is to partner with academia and other scientific institutions in developing technologies to support the energy transition at our sites 鈥� changing not just what we produce, but also how we produce it.

鈥淥ur R&D partnerships are multifaceted and partners vary from startups, to governments and non-government organisations, through to academia, suppliers and customers.鈥�

On wealth from waste in a circular economy

鈥淲aste is such a critical issue. This not only means our tailings, but extends to mine closure and products such as scrap metal and demolition waste.

鈥淎nd given the common goals of climate change and waste mitigation, it鈥檚 in everyone鈥檚 best interest to ensure that the mining, metals and recycling industries work together.

鈥淥ne area where we will see this is in battery materials.鈥�

On people and their stories being part of the solution

鈥淭he jobs and skills required to underpin the energy transition shouldn鈥檛 be underestimated.

鈥淲e need all voices to be heard if we are to build the relationships that will provide the depth and breadth to solve problems 鈥� problems that we don鈥檛 even know about today.

鈥淎nd finally, we need to tell our story better. We need to share what it means to be a modern mining company, harnessing the transformative power of partnerships and technology."