Critical minerals such as graphite, cobalt and lithium will play a crucial role in the transition to a low carbon economy, even if there is push-back against more mining and exploration, according to Rio Tinto Minerals chief executive Sinead Kaufman. Delivering the Sir George Fisher Lecture at the AusIMM Critical Minerals Conference in Townsville on Thursday night, Ms Kaufman said the growing demand for critical minerals for clean energy technologies such as wind turbines, batteries and electric vehicles was “eye-watering”.

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The World Bank has predicted production for critical minerals could increase by nearly 500 per cent by 2050. It estimated that more than 3 billion tonnes of minerals and metals will be needed to deploy wind, solar and geothermal power as well as energy storage required to meet international climate goals. “However, the global minerals industry is facing a conundrum where the positive aspects of mining – namely the production of critical minerals to underpin a low carbon future – are offset by environmental and social risk that may impede both current mining and exploration activities as well as future metal and mineral production,” Ms Kaufman said in her speech.

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“There are also issues of security of supply of critical minerals in advancing R&D into new technologies to assist the world’s transition to a low carbon economy.”

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Amid the push by environmentalists to stop coal and gas projects, Ms Kaufman said Rio Tinto and other companies would face a “social and environmental challenge” to justify mining for the critical minerals that would deliver the renewable technologies for the march to net zero by 2050. “This is no mean feat, as clean energy technologies often require more critical minerals than their traditional counterparts,” she said. Ms Kaufman said technological innovation – such as Rio Tinto’s cutting-edge approach for developing scandium (used in aerospace, lasers and electronics) from leftover material from mining, as well as its ElectraLith technology to cut production costs for lithium – would be crucial to helping the transition. The Rio Tinto Minerals boss welcomed the federal government’s $243 million package to help unlock critical minerals in Australia. The investment aims to leverage $1 billion in private investment to develop new mines, processing facilities and jobs.

Rio Tinto has already committed to sourcing four gigawatts from renewable energy for its aluminium smelters and refineries in Gladstone in Central Queensland by the end of the decade. Ms Kaufman said the company had received proposals for “a lot more” than four gigawatts, alluding to the fact the project could be bigger than originally proposed.

“Watch this space,” she said. “If we are successful with our Queensland plans, for instance, Rio Tinto will remain Australia’s largest industrial consumer of electricity and we will become, by far, the nation’s biggest industry user of renewable wind and solar.“ Rio Tinto has already signed an informal partnership with Brisbane-based Graphene Manufacturing Group about integrating some of its energy-saving products into operations, as well as supplying aluminium for GMG’s commercial battery operations that could be based in Gladstone.

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