After two administrations, the mining industry is finally seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, but the challenge to ensure responsible mining by minimizing its impact to the environment and community remains.
David, a geologist and expert in environmental science, added that the climate emergency is driving the global clean energy transition, which involves the generation of renewable energy, the need for energy storage, and other new technologies, such as those related to the supporting infrastructure and manufacture of electric vehicles—which boosts the idea of mining the so-called “green” metals or energy transition metals.
Of the nine clean-energy technologies, seven need copper: electric motors, carbon capture and storage, electric vehicles, nuclear power, solar photovoltaics, light-emitting diodes, and wind. Asked if the volume of production of these energy transition metals in the Philippines is sufficient to make the country a key player in the global green metals market, Toledo said possibly, yes… but there are numerous factors to be considered.
Aside from the significant cost and investment in putting up the plant, a nickel processing plant, to be operational, will require upwards of 100 million tons of raw nickel ore for at least 20 years to be considered viable, Bravo said. Meanwhile, Chile, the top copper producer globally with 29 percent of global copper production, will remain the world’s biggest copper producer in the foreseeable future, says Toledo.
For its part, the Philippine Nickel Industry Association , headed by its president, Dante Bravo, said the country is one of the most mineralized countries in the world, and in a unique position to be a major supplier of green metals, as far as nickel requirement is concerned. For his part, Bravo said presently, the mining sector continues to be a major contributor to the economic recovery and a significant employer of the country’s workforce despite global headwinds and inflation.
“McKinsey also estimated nickel demand to increase from 2.2 million tonnes in 2020 to 3.5 million to 4.0 million tonnes by 2030,” he said.SO, how much can these demands be supplied by mining companies operating in the Philippines? Toledo said: “It is quite difficult to provide an estimate on how much of the demand can be supplied by operating mines here.
“As such, our mining sector should be further supported to help ease the projected supply shortfall in metals needed to produce renewable energy technologies. Apart from extracting minerals, miners may also explore the option of building recycling into their supply chain.