BHP chief executive officer Mike Henry has called for collaboration on strengthened supply chains for the mining sector in order to achieve renewable goals.
In an address to the International Energy Agency summit in Paris on September 29, Henry said the challenge of supplying the minerals needed for net-zero is fast approaching, but emphasised the opportunity that would follow.
“Opening a mine, done well, creates sustainable wealth and jobs,” he said.
“It brings tax revenues, which in turn fund public services, like health and education. It creates jobs, both directly and indirectly. And it generates a base of skills that can be leveraged into other industries.”
Speaking to the need for a concerted effort from Governments and industry to meet critical minerals supply needs, Henry said expansion is essential.
“The grade, or percentage of metal in a given volume of ore, is falling at existing operations. And this means more ore needs to be mined just to stand still,” he said.
“Collaboration is going to be ever more important. We must work together to go about this in the right way – guided by common global standards and with good governance throughout the whole of the value chain.
“But of course this must be done with least possible impact to the environment.”
Henry underlined the importance of increased recycling capabilities across the industry for critical minerals and metals, as well as clear focus from authoritative bodies on ESG standards.
“There is an opportunity and need for continued lifting of the rates of recycling to reduce the need for fresh metal units and therefore the amount of mining required,” he said.
“We also have too many standards for the same ESG (environmental, social and governance) dimensions, this leads to confusion and dissipated effort. Convergence on this front would be welcome – it would result in more focused effort, for higher positive impact.
“This opportunity will only be realised through concerted effort and collaboration across industry, investors and governments, putting predictability and responsibility at the core.”