2024 in data: trends shaping the mining sector
As 2024 comes to a close, we take a look at some of the biggest trends that have impacted the mining sector over the past 12 months.
Climate change and emissions reduction
The world’s largest mining companies have set their sights on it Ambitious goals for net zero by 2050. In Rio Tinto’s 2023 Climate Change Report, the company noted that it may not reach its planned 2025 target of reducing Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 15% from 2018 levels.
“Implementing such complex and large-scale structural changes to our energy system takes time, so actual emissions reductions will lag behind this target,” Rio Tinto CEO Jacob Stasholm noted. [target]”.
BHP has also set ambitious emissions reduction targets across all scopes, with a target of reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030, and a target of reaching net zero operational emissions by 2050. At the national level, Australian mining companies have continued to try to reduce emissions.
Most miners have set 2050 as their target year for achieving net-zero carbon emissions, according to Martina Ravini, a strategist at GlobalData. Mining technologyParent company.
She added that short-term emissions reduction targets “typically aim for a reduction of around 30% by 2030”, although some have bolder ambitions. “Mining is a difficult sector to decarbonize,” she said. “However, conversion of energy sources is the main game in the mining industry.”
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By GlobalData
Digital innovation and artificial intelligence
Mining companies continued to invest in it Artificial intelligence to enhance productivitySafety, cost effectiveness and metal detection. AI enables mining companies to deploy autonomous machinery and use data analytics to enhance operational efficiency and productivity.
Rio Tinto has partnered with space exploration company Fleet Space Technologies to map Argentina’s Rincon lithium project in 3D using artificial intelligence, and the mining giant has already integrated the technology into its operations.
explained Dan Evans, Director of Information Technology at Rio Tinto Mining technology AI offers benefits such as helping to optimize the entire mining process by looking at constraints and bottlenecks throughout the value chain.
Automation
The robotics industry is becoming an increasingly important component of the global mining sector in 2024, and will be worth $218 billion by 2030, providing productivity and a solution to the talent shortage facing the mining sector.
GlobalData revealed that service robots will be the “growth engine” for the robotics sector Robots in mining The report, which noted: “With the mining industry under pressure to reduce costs and enhance efficiency and safety, automation is a potential solution.”
Automation has also begun to introduce the mining sector Increase productivity Robots have helped simplify transportation, drilling, blasting and exploration operations.
Increasing demand for battery metals
According to the GlobalData report, Innovation in Mining: Lithium Recovery, the lithium recovery process is a key area for innovation in global mining in 2024. As environmental regulations become more stringent, the need to develop new metal and mineral recovery technologies – and process waste management – has increased throughout 2024.
Namasca Lithium, Enos and Mitsu They are among the leading patent filers for lithium recovery in 2024.
According to GlobalData’s Commodity Production Forecast, lithium production is expected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 14% between 2024 and 2030, reaching nearly 500 kilotonnes by the end of the decade. However, global supplies of lithium needed for energy Transitional technologies should reach 530 kilotons Under the revised IEA scenario, issued in 2024.
The International Lithium Association revealed higher estimates this year, predicting that a whopping 4,000 kilotons of lithium will be needed in 2035.
Gold prices and production in 2024
The price has risen steadily throughout 2024, from $2,040 per ounce in early January to $2,700 per ounce in mid-December, mainly as a hedge against interest rates and continued geopolitical uncertainty.
This in turn has led to increased global mining activity throughout the year, with gold production estimated at approx 131.4 million ounces In 2024, the global gold mining market is expected to gradually grow at a CAGR of around 1% by 2030.
China’s need for minerals
China has assumed an increasingly dominant position in critical minerals supply chains over the course of the year, and its need for a variety of critical minerals has continued to grow.
The Asian power’s increasing influence (and in some cases control) over production in regions such as Africa has raised concerns about diminished access by Western countries and mining companies.
According to IEA data, China accounted for about 80% of the natural graphite and 60% of the magnetic rare earths mined in 2024.
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