Challenges and opportunities for a successful mining industry in Europe

Luís Martins

Sustainable Mining Conference 2019

Brno, 6th-8th November

THE ACTUAL CONTEXT

A GLOBAL DILEMA

A GLOBAL DILEMA

Modern models of sustainable economic growth are metals-intensive and will not be successful in future without ensure a continuous supply of mineral-derived products.

Despite of this evidence, there is still a significant reluctance regarding mineral exploration and mining activities, often reflected in: (i) unfavourable public opinions; (ii) absence of political measures or continuity of agendas

that actually appreciate the way minerals are produced and the players directly or indirectly involved in this production.

0

500 000 000

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2 500 000 000

1919

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World production (in metric tons) of 14 minerals and metals essential to the world economy, from 1919 to 2007

(Al, Cu, Pb, Zn, Fe, Cr, Phosphate rock, K20, Pt Group Metals, Co, Au, Mn, Ni, Baryte)Data source: USGS Data series 140 - http://minerals.usgs.g

The

BRIC

take-off

In about 90 years, world production of the listed commodities increased 420x (with strong acceleration since 2002 ...)

1) Increasing needs of emerging countries;2) Rapid industrial innovation (“green technologies”, digital devices, electric mobility, etc.)

Co, Ga,

In, Nb,

Ta,W,

PGE, REE,

Cu, Ni, Pb, Bi, Li, Ag, Au

B, PGE, Nd, Dy

The recent evolution in demanding of minerals is mostly due to the:

50 millions of vehicles/year in 2050!(estimates of the International Energy Agency)

Batteries for electric cars: challenges, opportunities, and the outlook for 2050. The Boston Consulting Group, 2010

ParadigmSUPPLY

ParadigmSUSTAINABILITY

• Better environmental performance• Social concern is growing• Increase in technological investment• Environmental requalification

Recycling & Rehabilitation

Mineral Raw Materials Cycle

Minerals (raw-materials) in Circular Economy

Feb. 2017Mining and primary raw materials are the backbone of circular economy!

PR

OD

UC

TIO

N

Reciclagem, reutilização e redução

do consumo; aumento de reservas

através do incremento da tecnologia

extractiva, preços mais elevados e

novas descobertas

Reciclagem; aumento de reservas

através do incremento da tecnologia

extractiva, preços mais elevados e

novas descobertas

Mining, use, discard; prices

decreasing; lack of new discoveries

PRESENTDepletion

t = B

Depletion

t = A

Depletion

t = C TIME

A

B

C

Adapted from:Tyler M.G. (2000)Living in the Environment. Wadsworth Publishing, New York

Risk mitigation can be accomplished bysearching the adequate mixing of sources ineach time, facing the existing needs andinvolving various proportions of productsderived from:

Exploitation of primary & secondary (miningresidues) resources + urban mining.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 28.11.2018

COM(2018) 773 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN

PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

AND THE EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK

A Clean Planet for all

A European strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and

climate neutral economy

Raw materials are indispensable enablers for carbon-neutral solutions in all sectors of the economy. Given the scale of fast growing material demand, primary raw materials will continue to provide a large part of the demand. But a reduction of materials input through re-use and recycling will improve competitiveness, create business opportunities and jobs, and require less energy, in turn reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Sustainable and responsible mining and sourcing of raw materials approaches are needed to decouple climate objectives from negative environmental impacts associated with necessary technology materials.

Public acceptance in these areas will be key to ensure the competitiveness of EU industry as it transforms.

SOMEPROPOSALS

So ...

To succeed, mining industry will have to (re)define its strategy and find innovative approaches to old problems, clearly demonstrating that mineral products can be efficiently delivered to support global development and assist suitable paths to welfare and quality of life, providing also real value to all concerned.

The fundamental outcome is that the long-term balance between supply and demand of mineral products requires concerted actions in different fronts aiming: (i) the safeguard of known resources; (ii) high-quality(scientifically and technologically driven) explorationsurveys; (iii) improvements in mining and mineral transformation/ beneficiation; (iv) advances in consistent combinations of primary and secondary sources of raw materials, along with higher concerns on their judicious use; (v) effective and stable mining policies; and (vi) new insights on the role played by mining industry through fruitful dialogues with the society in general.

Supply & Demand(balanced?)

Increasing Prices

• Higher exploration efforts• Higher exploration risks• New exploration models• New ore deposits / ore types

• Lower grade deposits (becoming economic)• Higher depths (becoming economic)

• Lower consumption rates• Wider obsolescence cycles• Higher material efficiency• More by-product recovery• Higher recycling rates• More substitution

Increasing Demand• Long-term availability• Increasing reserves• Increasing supply

A. Mateus (2017)

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

20

Challenges

(a) Inequality in the existing level of knowledge about the various mining districts and commodities (especially critical mineral raw materials), supported by robust data, especially in depth, stemming from the reduction of public investment and the quasi- total ineligibility of survey costs in national and European R & D funding programs.

b) Inclusion of mineral resources in land use plans and policies and managed in parity with other natural resources.

c) Lack of incentives to companies in the sector, without any tax benefit and / or related to the reduction of energy costs, in a risk activity that requires large investments, but generating employment and wealth.

d) Increase social acceptance of the mineral resources industry.

21

Opportunities

a) Mineral Potential , with several extensive and diverse mining provinces.

b) High know-how in the exploration, characterization, exploitation and processing of mineral resources in research and university institutions and in companies, working together in stablishing mineral resources value chains.

c) High know-how in mining rehabilitation and closure and mining waste management with the potential to transform residues in resources.

d) High attractiveness for investments in the mining sector, due to the legal framework, institutional support and excellent infrastructure.

e) Creation of legal instruments that allow to increase the financial contribution of mining to local municipalities and communities.

22

There is no sustainable development without wealth creation, and the latter will always depend on a healthy economy, which, in its turn, has the heavy industry as a fundamental mainstay. There are certainly industrial practices that will have to change, following the general trend of modernization notably recorded in the last three decades; but there is also a need to clearly change the consumption patterns of society, particularly those that have become usual in developed economies.

Therefore, as a concept, sustainability is no more than a comprehensive process of change that, at each stage of societal development, pursues the best balance between: (i) economic imperatives, efficiently managing the natural resources and contributing to prosperity; (ii) environmental imperatives, not exceeding the natural supply capacity provided by eco-services and recovering degraded systems; and (iii) social imperatives, placing Humanity and ethical values in the sphere of concerns that should rule the progress.

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Mining is vital to economy recover and inclusive growth, standing also as a mainstay of the so-called circular economy; it is also one of the few, large-scale economic activities that contributes to territorial cohesion, fixing the population and generating incomes directly impacting local communities. Nonetheless, public in general tends to be suspicious about exploration/exploitation works and to classify the mining industry as very conservative and reluctant to change. This common perception, not entirely true, relies often in biased judgments that the industry was not been able to contradict satisfactorily. The promotion of new communication strategies along with transparent practices involving all the stakeholders from the initial stages of exploration surveys to the mining development, is crucial to modify the existent image of this ancient (but continuously renewed) industry and determine its long-term success.

European Association of Mining Industries, Metal Ores & Industrial Minerals www.euromines.org

SDG Pyramid SPIRITUAL

ECOLOGICAL

PEOPLE

The first 10 goals align with PEOPLE and socialissues and represent the foundation that should

be covered before the next 5 goals on ecological challenges and two final spiritual

goals on peace and partnership can be achieved

PEOPLE will be always the basis

(and the reason) of Sustainable

Development

Thank you for your attention

Luís Martins

(lmartins@clustermineralresources.pt; lmartins@assimagra.pt)

Sustainable Mining Conference 2019

Brno, 6th-8th November