Digging Deeper for a Greener Tomorrow: Towards Sustainable Mining
Summary
- Mining is critical for the transition towards renewable energy reliance.
- However, mining has inherent socio-environmental challenges, such as environmentally damaging extraction practices and social conflicts.
- The demand for critical minerals and metals will continue to increase, pushing the need for alternatives.
- This article provides an overview of the mining challenges and approaches technology companies are currently developing to tackle these challenges.
Introduction
Mining is a critical industry for extracting valuable minerals, metals, and other raw materials from the earth. It is gaining particular attention due to the growing demand for minerals to power batteries for electric vehicles, energy storage systems, and metals to support the building of renewable energy assets.
However, mining poses significant environmental and social challenges. The mining process often leads to land degradation, deforestation, soil erosion, habitat destruction, and the release of toxic chemicals and pollutants into the air and water, causing harm to local communities and ecosystems. In addition, the demand for minerals has led to increased competition for finite resources, often resulting in conflicts over the control of mines and the distribution of profits.
Read more about efforts to monitor illegal mining here (US Geological Survey) and Congo‘s mining conflict here (Time).
It’s controversial, right? We use minerals and metals, which pollute the environment by extracting and producing them, to power the storage of supposedly clean energy. As Wired puts it: “An insatiable demand for the copper, lithium and rare-earth metals required to fuel the consumer electronics and electric vehicle industries is leaving indelible scars on our fragile planet”. This highlights that the mining industry’s sustainable and responsible management and innovation have become an important issue.
We at Pace Ventures have been exploring the space and its challenges and found exciting approaches and companies trying to transform this critical industry sustainably. Read more about our findings below.
The Mining Challenge
Mining is problematic for several reasons.
Firstly, the extraction process can be environmentally damaging, as it often involves removing large amounts of earth and rock to reach the minerals. This can result in deforestation, soil erosion, water pollution, and habitat destruction.
Secondly, the mining industry has a significant impact on climate change. It is responsible for a large portion of greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from the energy needed to power the extraction and processing of minerals. Iron and steel production consumes around 7% of the global energy supply and is estimated to account for ±7.2% of the total (!) global greenhouse gas emissions (Ritchie, 2020).
Thirdly, mining is problematic because minerals are finite resources, and many of the most valuable minerals are becoming increasingly scarce, leading to conflict, and geopolitical tensions as countries compete for access to these resources. Moreover, mining regions not accustomed to water stress are projected to become increasingly vulnerable: by 2040, 5% of current gold production will likely shift from low–medium water stress to medium–high, 7% of zinc production could move from medium–high to high water stress, and 6% of copper production could shift from high to extremely high water stress (McKinsey). Such changes could be critical to a mine’s operations or operating licence.
Lastly, the extraction processes used in mining can be dangerous for workers, who are often exposed to hazardous conditions and chemicals. This can lead to health problems and even fatalities.
Even though regional and supranational regulations are in place to improve the situation of the challenges mentioned above, a massive hurdle remains regarding correct ESG measures, implementation, and monitoring.
Check out this EU law aiming to stem the trade in conflict minerals.
Mining for Renewable Energy: Snapshot
In light of these difficulties, mining outputs are crucial for various applications needed to power a more renewable future. Indeed, the transition to renewable energy is driving increased demand for certain minerals and metals. Here are a few examples:
Critical Materials Overview
- Lithium — used in batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems. Battery demand for EVs is currently driving 75% of global lithium demand. The lithium market will double in size by 2030.
- Cobalt + Nickel — also used in batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems. By 2040, it is estimated that the clean energy sector will demand more than 60% of the world’s cobalt and nickel.
- Rare earth elements (e.g. neodymium, dysprosium) — used in wind turbines, electric vehicles, and some types of solar panels.
- Copper — used in wiring for renewable energy systems and electric vehicles.
- Aluminium — used in wind turbine blades and some types of solar panels.
- Silver — used in some types of solar panels.
- Platinum — used in some types of fuel cells.
- Iron — used in the construction of renewable energy infrastructure, including wind turbines, solar panels, and other components.
- Gallium — used in the production of solar panels and energy-efficient lighting.
- Indium — used in the production of thin-film solar panels.
Market Size
The market size for minerals and metals used in the renewable energy transition can vary greatly depending on geography and several factors, such as the rate of adoption of renewable energy technologies, shifts in consumer preferences, and technological advancements.
For reference, the lithium-ion battery market is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, driven by the increasing demand for electric vehicles and energy storage systems. The market size for lithium-ion batteries was estimated to be around $34 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 17% through 2027 (Fortune Business Insights, GVR).
Similarly, the market size for copper is expected to grow as the demand for wind turbines, and electrical wiring for solar panels continues to increase. The global copper market was valued at around $180 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of about 3% through 2027 (Yahoo Finance, Acumen).
In short, to reduce emissions, mitigate climate change and support a speedy energy transition, the world will need vast new quantities of critical materials. But what technologies are trying to tackle the inherent environmental and social problems of mining?
Tech and Start-ups Working Towards Sustainable Mining
Several start-ups are at various stages of development and focused on ensuring supply chain integrity and creating more sustainable solutions in the minerals and metals industry. In the traceability segment, Minespider describes their approach as “tracking certified responsible minerals along every stage of the supply chain using blockchain technology.”
Start-ups are also exploring new technologies, such as bioreduction, bioleaching, and phytomining, to extract valuable metals from low-grade ores and waste streams more sustainably. Others are developing new materials and products made from sustainable, renewable, and biobased resources.
Better mineral and metal extraction practices must be set up and comply with safety and ESG measures, which must be monitored correctly. For example, London-based Minviro (£2.1M funding closed in February) is conducting Life Cycle Assessments to understand the real impact of mining. French early-stage Rosa Earth uses satellite imagery and AI to improve the sustainability, sourcing, and extraction of raw materials supply chains.
Furthermore, lower-impact mining techniques such as bioextraction and biosynthesis can extract many minerals and metals. These processes use microorganisms/biological systems such as bacteria or algae to dissolve and extract metal ions from ore or synthesize metal nanoparticles.
The microorganisms can be naturally occurring or genetically modified to increase their metal-extracting/synthesizing capabilities. SF-based Maverick Biomaterials uses enzymes to chemically break down the crystal structure of ores and extract metals and nonmetals at near-ambient temperatures and conditions.
Materials can also be replaced by alternative materials or reduced through efficiency and recycling. For example, metals used in electronics can be substituted, and construction materials can be replaced with composites or lightweight metals. Some minerals can be recycled and reused, reducing the demand for new mining. It is estimated that there are 280 billion tons of mining waste, and Phoenix Tailings uses new technology to get essential minerals out of mining waste. The start-ups focus on extracting key minerals from waste that has already been mined and uses clean energy sources, producing zero waste and thus creating a cleaner supply chain.
Another approach is phytomining, the process of extracting metals from soil or water using plants. By growing crops that are naturally able to absorb and accumulate high levels of certain metals, the metals can be harvested and processed to extract the metal ions. French Seed-stage Genomines is an example here who are enhancing plants’ natural biology to renewably mine nickel.
However, some minerals, like lithium, are essential, and there are currently no good alternatives. However, several initiatives are underway that offer an alternative to lithium batteries, given the environmental impact, such as the EU Project for new magnesium batteries.
Potential geopolitical and supply chain bottleneck challenges exist with magnesium, as over 90% of the magnesium used in Europe comes from China. When magnesium production in China almost came to a grinding halt in September/October 2021, causing severe shortages of magnesium in Europe, it looked for a while that the European production of cars, planes, and marine vessels would follow suit. One example to address the magnesium bottleneck comes from the US, where researchers have developed a new method to extract magnesium from seawater to assist the US’s transition to clean energy. A paper published in Environmental Science and Technology Letters shows how researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Washington have found a way to isolate a pure magnesium salt, a feedstock for magnesium metal, from seawater. This new method is called laminar coflow method.
Start-ups are also active in the magnesium metal space, with SF-based Magrathea Metals focused on developing alternative sustainable solutions for structural metal. The company is exploring the use of ocean-derived magnesium for commercial applications.
Conclusion
The alternative mining space is still in its infancy, but we have no doubt it will grow exponentially in the near future in light of the desperate global need to find solutions. A shift towards renewable energy is already in the making; therefore, better mining practices and alternatives should also be explored simultaneously.
We are excited about companies operating in the space and making a change! Contact us to get in touch; looking forward to hearing from you.
