Pod 6: Greening the battery metals and minerals supply chain

The final content pod of the conference looked at the future of the mining sector through the lens of battery demand. Speakers told the audience that the global push for vehicle electrification is an opportunity for miners to reposition themselves, not as the environmentally damaging sector they are traditionally perceived as, but as a crucial enabler for the world’s energy transition.

On the other hand, the production of many of the minerals needed for batteries, such as copper, cobalt and especially nickel, currently comes with a hefty carbon footprint. Most nickel projects, for instance, are located either in Indonesia, the Philippines or New Caledonia, and are responsible for environmental destruction. “Nickel projects in these countries are extremely carbon-intensive, stripping tropical rainforests, some even dumping tailings in the ocean,” said Mark Jarvis, CEO of Giga Metals. Because there is currently limited supply of these minerals, car and battery makers are still investing in these damaging projects.

But some regulators are reacting to this contradiction, taking steps to clean up the zero carbon vehicle supply chain. The European Union’s upcoming Battery Regulation will require carbon footprint disclosure for every battery sold in the EU.

“Cleaning up the battery metal supply chain is becoming a bigger and bigger issue. It may not be driven by the automakers, but a regulatory framework will help with that. With the EU Battery Regulation, automakers in Europe will be compelled to ensure they’re using low-carbon inputs in their batteries. Without that I’m not sure they would do it voluntarily,” said Martin Turenne, President and CEO of FPX Nickel.

Laurens Tijsseling, Sustainability Manager at Minviro, started his presentation with the “bittersweet role” the mining sector is facing: “Minerals and metals are essential for decarbonisation, but CO2 intensity is likely to increase due to lower grades if conventional technologies are used to produce these metals.”

He advised new project developers to calculate the life cycle assessment (LCA) of their product at the planning stage, evaluating its carbon, land and water impact to find the cleanest way to produce it from the start. “80% of a product’s impact is fixed in the design phase. LCA data can be used to make environmentally informed decisions,” he added.

Several new battery mineral producers are currently developing carbon-neutral mines to supply clean vehicles. Foran Mining aims to be the world’s first carbon-neutral copper mine from day 1 of production, with ambitions to become carbon-negative in the future. “We want to show it can be done in a more responsible and sustainable way,” explained Dan Myerson, Executive Chairman and CEO. Located in Saskatchewan, the mine has access to abundant zero-carbon electricity through hydropower. And while its depth would make it possible to start as an open-pit mine, developers chose to keep it underground from the start, since underground battery-electric vehicles are already available.

Canada Nickel aims to be the world’s first net-zero nickel operation. “From day one, the focus is on integrating existing equipment into the design: trolley trucks and electric shovels in main loading equipment. Because of this design, our carbon intensity is already one of the lowest in the industry, not including the carbon sequestration from our ultramafic tailings,” said Mark Selby, Canada Nickel’s CEO. He noted that the mine would be the largest base metal mine in Canada, and that being carbon-neutral would not impact its cost curve. “Miners need to move away from elusive 2050 targets, The zero carbon opportunity is available now,” he added.

Nine years after the first Energy and Mines World Congress, it is safe to say that decarbonisation has gone from a side preoccupation to a business priority. There are different levels of commitment to reduce carbon emissions across the sector, but innovation and collaboration are moving forward at an accelerated pace. Hopefully, it won’t be long before we begin to see the effect of net-zero initiatives in the industry and on the planet.