- Write by:
-
Wednesday, April 14, 2021 - 1:57:08 PM
-
506 Visit
-
Print
Mining News Pro - Copper is so crucial in electrifying the global economy that finding enough of it has become a national security issue, according to mining magnate Robert Friedland.
Mining companies will have to be “real heroes” and governments will have to accept the industry if the world is to successfully transition to clean energy and transport, said Friedland, founder and co-chairman of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., which explores and develops mines in Africa. The world is yet to grasp the scale of disruption in replacing fossil fuels, with most people in urban areas unaware of where materials in everyday life come from, he said.
“It’s all copper, copper, copper, copper, copper, copper,” Friedland told the CRU World Copper Conference on Tuesday.
While the 70-year-old billionaire is taking a long-term view, his words of warning contrast with those of some of his colleagues at the conference who are reluctant to accelerate growth plans in a cyclical market. His comments seem more in line with bullish analysts such as Goldman Sachs Group’s Nicholas Snowdon, who predicts record-high prices as the metal heads toward the tightest conditions since the mid-2000s.
Mining is suffering from years of underinvestment, with America very under-explored because for 20 or 30 years “it wasn’t cool to mine,” Friedland said. Where future supplies come from “is going to be a matter of fervent debate” as will how to tax and regulate them.
Massive investments are needed to electrify economies. The US power grid, which “is a joke” compared with China’s, needs $10-trillion and “astronomic amounts” of the right metals to get up to scratch, he said.
“In the short term, we’ve had a big rise in the price of copper,” Friedland said. “But for the medium term, copper has really become a national security issue. It’s central for what we want to do with our economy.”
While the industry should now be seen as part of the solution in global decarbonisation, it also faces challenges to decarbonise, he said. Ore quality around the world is deteriorating, meaning volume has to rise and carbon emissions increase. Mining will need both hydroelectric and nuclear power as well as renewable, he said.
People should expect a carbon tax on everything, he said.
Short Link:
https://www.miningnews.ir/En/News/612126
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has re-appointed Winston Chitando as the southern African nation’s mines ...
Anglo American Plc said it is has received an unsolicited non-binding combination proposal from BHP Group.
Toronto-listed miner OceanaGold Corp said on Wednesday it will raise 6.08 billion pesos ($106 million) through an ...
A key measure of Chinese copper demand just sank to zero, another indication that global prices are not balanced with ...
A new report by IDTechEx states that investing in e-haul trucks could result in major savings for miners due to the ...
Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM) believes it will be able to take the already mined 121,000 tonnes of ...
Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals said on Tuesday that it has cut its debt by $1.14 billion in the first quarter.
Canada and its Five Eyes Alliance partners are working on put forward a response to tackle the price manipulation of ...
Chile is expected to produce a record 5.8 million metric tons of copper in 2025, the state-run Chilean Copper Commission ...
No comments have been posted yet ...