The global energy transition is running the risk of a slowdown due to low levels of investment in the global mining sector for such critical minerals as copper, said Rio Tinto chairman Dominic Barton as cited by Reuters.
Speaking at the Ecosperity conference in Singapore, he noted that the gap between the future demand and investment in future projects is humungous.
“I am actually very worried about whether we will be able to close [this gap],” he added.
"The mining industry has reduced its investments significantly since the 2015-2016 period ... We're hundreds of billions of dollars below what we need."
He said the industry needed to build trust, and had not done a great job in persuading the public of the vital role it will play in a global decarbonisation project that could require more copper in the next 25 years than has ever before been produced.
He said the industry needed to do a better public relations job, adding that Rio itself had "caused our own problems" in 2020 after destroying rock shelters considered sacred by aboriginal communities, a move Barton described as "terrible" and "embarrassing".
The amount of metals required for each kilowatt of generation capacity has risen by 50% since 2010, and electric cars require six times more minerals than traditional combustion engine, according to the International Energy Agency, Reuters noted.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief of the European bureau, Rough&Polished
