Critical minerals miners urged to integrate circularity, communities from start
Circularity and community engagement have emerged as key factors for critical minerals mining as more countries and companies turn their focus to the “new” minerals required for green energy and decarbonisation technologies globally. African countries, in particular, need to take this into consideration to garner investment for their rich endowment of these minerals. Projections by American think-tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies indicate that more than 300 new mines extracting lithium, cobalt, copper and other critical minerals will be needed by 2030 to prevent a crippling supply shortage and meet demand for electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage batteries.
Circularity and community engagement have emerged as key factors for critical minerals mining as more countries and companies turn their focus to the “new” minerals required for green energy and decarbonisation technologies globally. African countries, in particular, need to take this into consideration to garner investment for their rich endowment of these minerals. Projections by American think-tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies indicate that more than 300 new mines extracting lithium, cobalt, copper and other critical minerals will be needed by 2030 to prevent a crippling supply shortage and meet demand for electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage batteries.
