MINING | APPLICATION REPORT


MINING THE FUTURE


A lower carbon world needs more copper. Also more nickel,


more aluminium, more lithium, more cobalt, more rare earths ... and therefore more mining. Julian Champkin reports on the mine lifting industry’s response to the carbon-zero imperative.


R ABB’s Ability Performance Optimisation system analyses performance indicators.


one. Global mining activities, including both metal and mineral mining, are estimated to take 6.2% of all the energy used in the world each year. (Source: Holmberg et al, Tribology International, vol 115, Nov 2017, pp 116-139). Haulage, including lifting in mines, accounts for 24% of that. We need to increase our production of


S


renewable zero-carbon energy. However sustainable energy, wind and solar power


32 | July 2022 | www.hoistmagazine.com


ince the earliest of times mining has been a necessity, a high energy-use business and therefore a high carbon-footprint


as just two examples, needs more metal, and more minerals, than traditional energy sources. Copper in particular is needed for anything electrical. Onshore wind farms use approximately 3.5 tons of copper for every MW of capacity. Offshore Wind requires 26 tons of


copper per turbine. Copper usage averages up to five times more in renewable energy systems than in fossil fuel or nuclear power plants. Aluminium is also required, especially


for solar power. In the most optimistic climate scenario, where renewable energy caps global warming at 1.5 degrees


celsius, demand from the solar sector would account for 12.6% of total global aluminum consumption by 2040 — up from 3% in 2020. (Source: energy research consultancy Wood Mackenzie, Aug 2021.) The situation for nickel and for mineral


resources is similar (see box opposite.) To reach the goals of the Paris


Agreement – that is, to keep the global temperature rise below 2°C – would mean a quadrupling of mineral requirements for clean energy technologies by 2040. To hit net-zero globally by 2050 would


require six times more mineral inputs in 2040 than today.


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