Mining's Perfect Storm

These are big issues that can’t be solved by one company or one industry, says Marnie Finlayson, Managing Director, Battery Materials Portfolio, Rio Tinto, in this interview. She also discusses Rio Tinto’s strategic partnership with Nano One® Materials Corp, a Canadian battery materials provider, and Rio Tinto’s successful innovations to extract critical metals such as scandium and tellurium from its mining processes.

ENERGY AND MINES: What are some of the most significant changes for the mining industry as a result of the increased focus on ESG and climate performance?

MARNIE FINLAYSON: There is so much that has been done and can still be done in the ESG area that I am very optimistic about the contribution the mining industry can make to the energy transition.

In terms of climate performance, the key issue is ensuring a sufficient supply of critical minerals to make a successful global energy transition. And demand for critical minerals is growing very quickly as governments and businesses take action to meet the goals of the Glasgow Climate Pact under the Paris Agreement.

The geopolitical backdrop also looms large, and with the world becoming a more uncertain place, we are likely to see countries making investments and policy decisions to strengthen the security of the critical mineral supply chain. And then there is also a social and environmental challenge. Whilst much of the public commentary on fighting climate change largely focuses on the shop window – the new technologies we all see contributing to CO2 reduction – it’s equally important to watch the backend.

This means that the materials from which these technologies are made – such as wind turbines, solar panels, and batteries – also need to be sourced sustainably and responsibly.

And this is no mean feat as clean-energy technologies often require more critical minerals than their traditional counterparts. An electric car uses around five times the amount of minerals as a combustion engine machine and a wind farm on land requires around eight times the minerals needed by a conventional gas-fired power plant with the same capacity.

So what are we doing at Rio Tinto?

Firstly, we are accelerating our own decarbonization, switching to renewable power, electrifying processing, and where possible, running electric mobile fleets.

Secondly, we are increasing our investment in R&D to speed up the development of technologies that will enable our customers to decarbonize. Technology and partnerships have a key role to play.

And finally, we are prioritizing growth capital in commodities that are essential for the drive to net zero, such as battery materials - which is why we established our Battery Materials business in 2021 - to focus on finding, producing, and refining critical minerals.

E+M: Rio Tinto recently entered a strategic partnership with Nano One® Materials Corp, a battery materials provider based in Barnaby, Canada. This is exciting for the development of Canada’s clean battery supply chain. What are the key aims of the partnership from Rio’s perspective?

MF: The perfect storm of climate change, together with a shortage of supply of the sorts of minerals that are critical to finding a more sustainable and innovative path forward, is propelling the mining industry forward to new models of collaboration.

These are big issues that can’t be solved by one company or one industry. The opportunities lie in technology and the collaborations and partnership possibilities are a significant change for the mining industry and one that I am very excited to be part of.

Rio Tinto established its Battery Materials business in 2021 with a vision to harness the power of mining and sustainability to play a leading role in the world’s transition to a lowcarbon economy. We aim to build a leading battery materials portfolio to deliver essential products to customers through investments in assets, technologies, and partnerships. We recognize that localized, clean, and secure supply chains are critical for the success of the energy transition and require partnerships with innovative companies to help us differentiate, disrupt and accelerate the path to a net-zero future. This is where our strategic partnership with Nano One fits in.

We have invested $10 million in Nano One to change the way cathode active materials are manufactured, contributing to a cleaner and more efficient battery supply chain. In collaboration with Nano One, we will also study the potential use of our battery metal products, including iron powders from the RTFT facility in Sorel-Tracy, Québec, as feedstock for the production of Nano One’s cathode materials. Our investment in Nano One will give us a broader perspective of the battery materials sector, as well as insights into future battery chemistries and technologies.

And with our Critical Minerals and Technology Centre and RTFT’s metal powder production capability in Sorel-Tracy, we are uniquely positioned to support the development of a localized battery ecosystem in Quebec to serve the broader North American market.

E+M: What are the main challenges for miners and their customers in realizing carbon footprint goals for critical minerals?

MF: Many of the technologies for decarbonization are yet to be invented. This is a challenge but also a big opportunity for the mining industry to invest in technology for decarbonization and in doing so create new tools:

• for exploration, production, and recovery;

• for treating the leftover material from mining as a resource instead of waste; and

• for engineering effective recycling procedures

By way of example today in Quebec 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. This will make us one of the largest producers of scandium in the Western world. In fact, in two years we have gone from testing a process to extract this critical material in a lab, to be able to supply about 20% of the global scandium market.

This sort of out-of-the-box thinking is essential because many of the techniques for creating a sustainable supply of critical minerals still need to be invented.

Another example is at our Kennecott copper mine in Utah where we have commenced production of tellurium, becoming one of only two producers of the critical minerals used in solar panels and other critical equipment in the US. Approximately 20 tons of tellurium will be produced each year through a new $2.9 million circuit built at the Kennecott refinery. This valuable material is recovered from by-product streams generated during the copper refining process, reducing the amount of waste that needs to be treated and discarded as tailings.

E+M: Can you share a bit about what Rio has gained in terms of knowledge from its Critical Minerals and Technology Centre which is being applied to these types of partnerships?

MF: Rio Tinto’s Research and Development Centre in Canada and our Technical Development Centre in Melbourne underpin our partnership approach to developing technologies that will assist in achieving the world’s transition to a low-carbon economy.

In partnership with academia and other scientific institutions, we have been operating these centers for more than 50 years with a strong track record in innovation, having invested in technical capability, researching process improvements, and developing new products. The approximately 2,000 people who work at these centers of technical excellence are our unsung heroes, working to a long game with many roadblocks along the way.

It was at our research and development center in Canada that our scandium project was born. And it was at our Technology Development Centre in Melbourne that we pioneered the technique to recover battery-grade lithium from existing mine waste at our boron operations in California. Development of this process, drawing on Rio Tinto’s longstanding partnership with the US Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute, can produce enough lithium for about 70,000 light vehicles.

There are many more examples of innovative approaches to water recovery, recycling, electrification, and low emissions technology. Suffice it to say breakthrough technology is going to be vital, with partnerships and collaborations providing the pathway to developing diverse and sustainable sources of critical minerals for the future.