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World Mining Frontiers Volume 2 2021


Editorial Editor Nicholas Kenny


nicholas.kenny@progressivemediainternational.com Sub-editor Lizzie Waymouth Production manager Dave Stanford Group art director Henrik Williams Head of content Jake Sharp


Commercial Client services executive Ruchita Marwaha Publication manager Roy Morris roy.morris@progressivemediainternational.com Managing director William Crocker


World Mining Frontiers is published by Progressive Media International John Carpenter House, John Carpenter Street, London, EC4Y 0AN, UK Tel: +44 207 936 6400 Fax: +44 207 724 9800 www.nsenergybusiness.com ISSN 2054-4219 © 2021


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oal. It provides the electricity that lights and heats our homes, is used to make the cement that holds our buildings together and is a key ingredient in steelmaking. It has been used as a fuel source for thousands of years, but its usage was limited until the Industrial Revolution and the invention of the steam engine. In 2020, coal provided about one- third of the world’s electricity. That same year, however, it also emitted 14 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide – 40% of global fossil fuel emissions. With COP26 in our rear-view mirror, it’s clear that coal is now the centrepiece of the conversation around decarbonisation. The biggest moment at the conference occurred when 196 countries pledged to “phase down” coal use across the world, though this was watered down from the original “phase out”. Of course, there’s reason to be sceptical over how seriously countries will take this commitment, with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison stating that the coal industry will continue to exist for “decades to come”. At the same time, it’s hard to ignore UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s statement that COP26 has sounded “the death knell for coal power”. The drive to decarbonise pushes the mining industry into an uncertain future, but there are opportunities here too. In its 2021 report, ‘Fostering Effective Energy Transition’, the World Economic Forum claimed, “The production of minerals such as graphite, lithium and cobalt could increase by nearly 500% by 2050 to meet the growing demand for clean energy technologies.” Any decarbonisation revolution needs the mining industry just as much as the Industrial Revolution did. Similarly, movements by the industry to decarbonise their processes and reduce their environmental impact can go a long way towards moving mining’s image away from its status as one of the heaviest emitting industries.


The coal case C


In this issue, we look at a number of ways in which the industry is looking to make itself safer, cleaner and more efficient. We look into the UK’s plans to open up a new coal mine in west Cumbria, and speak to some of the people on both sides of the debate, on page 8. Some mining sites are looking into the potential posed by hydrogen to electrify their operations and power their vehicles, as we learn on page 34, among other things. On page 21, we see how radar images collected by orbiting satellites are being used to allow mining operators to detect tailings dam failure at an early stage. There’s a bright future ahead for mining – whether it’s with coal or without.


Nicholas Kenny, editor


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