Full documentary - Responsible Mining in Europe: A new paradigm to counter climate change
Summary
TLDRThe video explores the European demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy, which necessitates mining for metals like lithium, nickel, and cobalt. Despite a negative perception of mining, the documentary highlights Sweden's Boliden as a model for ethical and responsible mining. Boliden uses green energy, prioritizes worker safety, and innovates to reduce environmental impact. It also repurposes mining waste into construction materials, aligning with the European Commission's push for sustainable mining practices. The film challenges the hypocrisy of wanting green technologies without supporting the necessary mining and advocates for a shift towards responsible mining to meet climate goals.
Takeaways
- 🌍 European demand for electric vehicles and green energy technologies is increasing, necessitating a significant boost in the mining of metals like lithium, nickel, and cobalt.
- 🏭 Despite a common misconception, Europe does possess resources for these metals, but there is resistance to local mining due to environmental and social concerns.
- 🔄 The push for ethical and responsible mining is growing, with a focus on reducing the environmental impact and ensuring social responsibility in mining operations.
- 🚀 The European dependency on imported metals for energy transition is nearly 100%, highlighting the urgency for local mining to achieve self-sufficiency and reduce vulnerability.
- 🔋 The International Energy Agency predicts a substantial increase in demand for metals like lithium and cobalt, emphasizing the need for new mining operations to meet future requirements.
- 🌿 Swedish mining company Boliden is showcased as a climate leader, implementing practices like electrified trucks and using green energy, setting an example for responsible mining.
- ♻️ Boliden is also working on innovative solutions for waste management, such as biolaching to recover valuable metals from tailings and converting waste into construction materials.
- 🏗️ The construction industry's potential to reduce its CO2 emissions is highlighted by the use of mining waste as a substitute for cement in concrete production.
- 🚧 Despite the technological and environmental advances, there are still significant barriers to opening new mines in Europe, including conservative standards and public perception.
- 🌱 The European Commission is advocating for ethical mining and is working towards creating conditions that allow the mining industry to be sustainable and competitive.
Q & A
What is the main concern Europeans have regarding mining for metals needed for electric vehicles and renewable energy?
-Europeans want the benefits of electric vehicles and renewable energy, such as Teslas and wind turbines, but they are concerned about the environmental and social impacts of mining for the necessary metals within Europe, viewing it as hypocritical to not want mines in their backyard.
What is the significance of the term 'ethical mining' in the context of the script?
-In the script, 'ethical mining' refers to the responsible and sustainable extraction of metals, ensuring that the process is environmentally friendly and socially responsible, aligning with European values for a green transition.
Why has Peter Tom Jones, a climate activist, changed his stance on mining?
-Peter Tom Jones has changed his stance on mining because he recognizes the necessity of mining for metals like lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth to achieve climate neutrality through the rollout of electric vehicles, wind turbines, and batteries.
What is the current dependency of Europe on imports for energy transition metals, and why is this a concern?
-Europe is almost 100% reliant on imports for energy transition metals from outside Europe. This dependency is a concern because it makes Europe vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and price volatility, as seen with the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
How does the Swedish mining company Boliden address the environmental concerns associated with mining?
-Boliden addresses environmental concerns by using electrified trucks powered by green electricity from hydropower and wind, focusing on worker health and safety, using less reagents in production with lower environmental impact, and engaging in biodiversity projects to compensate for the loss at the mine site.
What is the significance of the 'multi-metal, zero waste approach' mentioned in the script?
-The 'multi-metal, zero waste approach' signifies a mining strategy that aims to extract multiple metals from a single ore and repurpose waste products, such as tailings, into new materials, thereby minimizing waste and reducing the environmental footprint of mining operations.
What is the potential of using mining waste as a cement replacement in the construction industry?
-The potential of using mining waste as a cement replacement is significant as it can reduce the CO2 footprint of concrete production by up to 20-60% depending on the reactivity of the tailings, contributing to lower carbon emissions in the construction industry.
What are the challenges faced in opening new mines in Europe despite the need for energy transition metals?
-Challenges include public perception and resistance to mining within Europe due to environmental and social concerns, a lack of awareness about modern mining practices, and conservative European standards and legislation that hinder the adoption of new mining and construction materials.
How does the European Commission view the necessity of mining for energy transition metals within Europe?
-The European Commission acknowledges the need for mining energy transition metals within Europe but emphasizes the importance of ethical and responsible mining practices, ensuring that mining is sustainable and competitive while meeting societal and environmental standards.
What is the role of gender and ethnic balance in the social responsibility of mining companies according to the script?
-The script highlights that Boliden, a mining company, maintains a gender balance close to 50-50, with more than 50% female truck drivers, showcasing their commitment to social responsibility through inclusive hiring practices.
Outlines
🌍 European Dilemma: Desire for Green Tech vs. Mining Necessity
The paragraph discusses the European public's demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies, while simultaneously opposing local mining operations that are essential for sourcing the required metals. It highlights the hypocrisy in desiring green technology without supporting the mining of necessary metals. The speaker, Peter Tom Jones, a climate activist and director of the K leuven Institute, argues for ethical mining and European self-sufficiency in metal production for a successful green transition. The paragraph also emphasizes the need for more mines to meet the Paris climate agreement goals, contrasting the European reliance on imported metals with the potential for responsible mining within the continent.
🚜 Innovative Mining Practices for Climate Leadership
This paragraph delves into the operations of Boliden, a Swedish mining company, and its efforts to become a climate leader as recognized by the Financial Times. It showcases the company's use of electrified trucks, which run on green energy sourced from hydropower and wind power, significantly reducing diesel consumption. The company also focuses on worker health and safety, production efficiency, and the use of less harmful reagents. Additionally, Boliden is involved in biodiversity projects to compensate for the environmental impact of mining. The paragraph highlights the company's efforts to address the tailings issue through a pilot plant that recovers valuable metals from mining residues, aiming for a near-zero waste approach.
🌿 European Metal Deposits and the Challenge of Resource Recovery
The paragraph features a discussion with Gwen gwezaneck of the French Geological Survey, addressing the misconception that Europe lacks energy transition metals. It points out that Europe does possess such metals, including rare earth elements, lithium, and cobalt, which are crucial for renewable energy technologies. However, the paragraph also acknowledges the technological challenges in recovering these metals and the limitations in meeting the full demand. The conversation underscores the importance of developing technology to extract these metals efficiently and the potential for Europe to reduce its dependency on external sources.
🏗️ Transforming Mining Waste into Sustainable Construction Materials
This paragraph discusses the potential of using mining waste as a sustainable alternative to traditional cement in the construction industry. It describes a pilot project where mining waste is used to create eco-friendly concrete, which could significantly reduce CO2 emissions. The conversation highlights the technical and legislative challenges in adopting such innovative materials, emphasizing the need for performance-based standards that focus on the end-use capabilities of materials rather than their composition. The paragraph concludes with a demonstration of the successful application of this new concrete, showcasing its potential to revolutionize the construction industry.
🌐 Societal Acceptance and the Future of Mining in Europe
The final paragraph explores the social acceptance of mining in Europe, contrasting the general resistance with the positive reception of mining operations in North Scandinavia. It touches on the importance of local commitment, gender and ethnic balance, and environmental responsibility in gaining public support for mining. The discussion includes the future of mining in Europe, with a focus on the need for sustainable and financially viable operations. The paragraph concludes with a light-hearted exchange about the potential for the mining site to become a recreational area after its operational life, symbolizing the harmonious integration of mining with nature and society.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Ethical Mining
💡Green Transition
💡Self-sufficiency
💡Climate Neutrality
💡Energy Transition Metals
💡Responsible Mining
💡Tailing Pond
💡Multi-metal Mining
💡Zero Waste Approach
💡Biodiversity Projects
💡Acid Mine Drainage
Highlights
Europeans desire Teslas but are reluctant to accept the mines necessary for metal production in their region, reflecting a perceived hypocrisy.
Contrary to common belief, Europe does possess metal resources, and there's a push for ethical mining practices.
Peter Tom Jones, a climate activist, acknowledges the need for mining to support the green transition, advocating for responsible mining methods.
The demand for lithium and other metals is predicted to skyrocket, and Europe's reliance on imports makes local mining more urgent.
Bolidan, a Swedish mining company, is recognized as a climate leader by the Financial Times, showcasing a new paradigm in mining.
Electrification of mining trucks at Boliden's mine reduces diesel consumption significantly, aligning with green energy goals.
Bolidan prioritizes worker health and safety, striving to make mining one of the safest professions.
The company uses fewer chemicals and seeks biodegradable alternatives to minimize environmental impact.
Bolidan engages in biodiversity projects to compensate for ecological disturbances caused by mining.
Innovative solutions for managing tailings, such as biolaching, aim to recover valuable metals and reduce waste.
The potential of tailings as a resource for battery materials for electric vehicles is explored.
Sweden's mining industry demonstrates how low-grade ores can be processed efficiently with minimal environmental impact.
Multi-metal mining is highlighted as a key strategy for resource efficiency and reducing reliance on imports.
The potential for Europe's own metal deposits to contribute to the continent's energy transition is discussed.
Recycling alone is insufficient; primary mining remains necessary to meet the growing demand for metals.
A near-zero waste approach in mining can lead to the development of low-carbon construction materials.
The construction industry's CO2 emissions can be reduced by using mining waste in concrete production.
European legislation and conservative standards are identified as barriers to the adoption of eco-friendly building products.
The potential for a symbiotic relationship between the mining and construction industries is proposed for mutual benefit.
Despite the need for new mines, public perception and regulatory hurdles make their establishment challenging in Europe.
Sweden's mining industry serves as a model for social responsibility and environmental stewardship.
Transcripts
Europeans want Teslas but they don't
want the mines that produce the metals
in their backyard and that's extremely
hypocritical the common perception is we
don't have any resources in Europe but
it's wrong we want to know that the
metals that go into the wind turbine
that it is produced in a good way so we
want ethical mining basically for me
responsible and ethical are quite close
I would very much support the European
self-sufficiency of metals if you don't
have Metals there's no green transition
foreign
[Music]
Jones is on his way to the North of
Sweden more specifically to one of the
largest mines in Europe Jones is the
director of the K leuven Institute for
sustainable metals and minerals in
Belgium he is also a well-known climate
activist and author of many books
foreign
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[Applause]
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in Peter Tom Jones's ideology mining was
regarded as bad for our planet but in
recent years he has gradually changed
his mind
yeah so I must admit I have changed my
mind not regards mining to make the
transition to climate neutrality we need
the massive rollout of electric vehicles
wind turbines batteries this is only
possible if you have sufficient
quantities of lithium nickel Cobalt Rare
Earth and to provide these Metals we
really need more mines but obviously we
need to do it in a more responsible way
we need responsible mining
to meet the Paris climate agreement
goals the demand for lithium in 2040
will increase 42 times compared to 2020
for Cobalt 21 times after nickel 19
Times Higher for all these energy
transition metals Europe is almost 100
reliable on imports from mines outside
Europe
this dependency makes us vulnerable
and the exploding energy and metal
prices due to the Ukraine Russian
conflict makes this transition to more
autonomy even more urgent
so we need more mining of energy
transition metals in Europe and yet
mining has such a bad reputation in
countries like China Congo many places
in Latin America mining is associated
with dire social conflicts environmental
pollution child labor so how is it
possible that the financial times
recently established this Swedish
company as a climate leader what is
going on let's try to find out today
Peter Tom Jones has a meeting with Ander
sand the r d manager of the Swedish
mining company bolidan they are visiting
the itik mine Europe's largest open pit
copper mine it soon becomes clear why
this mining company has become a climate
leader according to the financial times
okay so here you see one of our
electrified trucks and you see it by the
pantograph at the front end
is this fully electric it also has a
diesel engine so you can you can switch
between Diesel and electric but when you
go up the hill you will have a trolley
line that will it will follow along and
then it will be electrified on the way
up electric is great of course but is it
green electricity you're putting in yes
it is here in the north because here we
would have hydropower and wind power so
we have green energy in the north it is
an impressive sight when the
electrification of the whole Fleet is
completed go leaden will save up to a 30
million liters of diesel a year and this
is only one of the steps this mining
company makes to become climate neutral
by 2050.
so what makes this mine so different
from all the other mines in the rest of
the world
I think actually when you come and have
a look here you would feel that it is a
bit like any any other mind but but very
much the devil is in the details I would
say we work for instance a lot with the
health and safety of the workers
to be here is just to safest to be a
shopkeeper in Sweden or to be a taxi
driver while elsewhere is one of the
most dangerous professions
due to the very low grade that we are
mining here we have to work a lot with
the production efficiency in all part of
the production what does that mean that
you need more chemicals to recover the
metals actually here we use less
reagents than elsewhere and also we work
a lot with finding alternative reagents
with less environmental impact for
instance being biodegradable and so on
but still my mentalists will say you're
creating a huge scar in nature
what they're going to do there so we we
of course we have an impact from the
operations but we also work with the
biodiversity projects where we increase
the biodiversity elsewhere to compensate
for the loss of biodiversity here at the
mine site so actually to have a net
positive impact
foreign
is still the Achilles heel of the mining
industry this copper mine produces up to
40 million tons of tailings every year
this waste is stored in a huge tailing
Pond for decades if responsible mining
is to become the new paradigm it is
essential to tackle this problem as well
acid mine drainage is the biggest
environmental problem for all sulfidic
mining sites in the world here they have
solved the problem by separating the
high sulfur fraction from the loss of
refraction for both tailing fractions
there are finding resource recovery
opportunities and that is a huge step
towards lowering the overall
environmental footprint of this site and
that's great news
together with the European Consortium of
research institutes universities
companies and one NGO a pilot plant was
developed to tackle this waste problem
here the tailings aren't considered as
waste but as a source for new materials
what have you developed here yes here
better it's the process that we have
built for biolaching of the mining
residues for Recovery of cobalt nickel
copper and zinc say biology so how does
that work biology is the process where
we with the help of the bacteria we
provide very
I would say strong conditions in which
the oil can break can be broken down and
the metals within can be extracted and
how easy is it to upscale it to
Industrial Level I wouldn't say it's
very easy but it is doable it has been
around this technology for a while and
it would be one of the few ones that
will be used for Recovery of metals from
mining residuals so what do you do with
the solid residues after completion of
the biology process after the
bi-leaching process which are their
solid residues the goal is to produce
construction material out of them in
that case you would move towards zero
waste approach it would we would be very
close to that yes that would be great
this multi-metal zero waste approach is
the way to go and the amount of metals
in one tailing Pond is still
considerable okay what do we see here
yes what do you see what you see here
picture is the product that we have
produced from the pilot campaigns there
is copper sulfide here is zinc sulfite
and here is Cobalt and nickel sulfide
which is necessary for fabrication of
the battery material for electrical
vehicles and have you got any idea about
the overall resource potential for
Europe yes I have calculated for one of
our minds the tailings that we have in
one of our minds that it would be enough
amount of cobalt for around 2 million
Cars 2 million cars exactly wow from the
residues of one of the almonds it's
already impressive it is something
this is all live data yes so these are
continuously upgraded yep exactly this
multi-metal mining approach is something
which is in the DNA of Berlin this
Swedish mining company owned several
highly efficient mines this efficiency
is also part of our new paradigm of
responsible mining wow thank you Anders
this is really Vanguard European mining
it's impressive to see which low-grade
quality ores can be processed here and
while this is really impressive they can
treat or with a great quality of 0.2
percent 10 times lower than typical
grades elsewhere in the world and not
only is the the metal recovered but it's
also about multi-metal mining you see
for example here kevitza not only
Nicholas primary metal is record but
also copper gold platinum and Cobalt are
being recovered from this operation and
more and more these are also conflicts
Metals For example platinum and vehicle
are being produced in Russia they
control a large part of the supply chain
so it's great to see that Europe is also
capable of producing these Metals in our
own boundaries and to become less
dependent on the rest of the world more
responsible mining in Europe is this
possible the last 10 years not a single
new mine has opened in Europe
in the city of Michela in Belgium Peter
Tom Jones has a meeting with geologist
Gwen gwezaneck of brgm the French
Geological Survey
Peter Tom Jones wants to debunk the
widely held belief that Europe unlike
China and Russia has no energy
transition metals in its Bedrock the
common perception is we don't have any
resources in Europe but it's wrong it's
wrong yeah we have metals but a lot of
people don't want to know that we have
these Metals in Europe so give us a
couple of examples in terms of
geological potential Cobalt lithium Rare
Earth what do we have in Europe
um while for example for rarest element
we have a nice deposit in Northern of
Europe in Scandinavia we have also
lithium deposit in this part of Europe
but we can find lithium also in Portugal
in France
Cobalt is also quite common in different
deposits so yes we have Metals in Europe
assuming we would mine all of these
Metals how far do we get in terms of
meeting the European needs well it
depends on the metal for example for the
rarest element we could cover
at least most of the needs in Europe
with one deposit but for lithium and
Cobalt it's different we have these
metals and we can contribute to cover
the demand but we will not be able to
cover all the demand and also it will
depend on our ability to develop
technology to recover these Metals so
it's also a technological challenge
thank you Gwen you've really reassured
my my beliefs and I'm just convinced now
we really need to grasp this opportunity
thank you
environmental active actives will claim
we need to stop opening new minds
and we just need to focus on more and
better recycling but the number simply
don't add up the International Energy
agency has calculated that if we would
recycle all batteries by 2040 that that
merely would provide 10 percent of the
needs of new copper Cobalt nickel for
the batteries of 2040 so it's clear that
primary mining will be needed next to
recycling
an important argument to convince Europe
to open new minds for energy transition
metals is the near zero waste approach
the tailings of the mining industry can
serve as a cement replacement we are
witnessing one of the first tests on an
industrial scale so today is a very
special day tell us why yeah absolutely
today we're going to use these these
mining ways to stay Links at industrial
scale for the first time to make Ready
Mix Concrete which is nice and durable
and how far can you go in terms of
replacing ordinary part and cement so it
strongly depends on the the waste and
the tailing we get today it's going to
be 20 but for more reactive tailings we
can go up to 50 60 off of cement
replacement basically and in terms of
the Total Environmental footprint and
CO2 footprint reduction what does that
mean
um so considering the the CO2 footprint
of concrete you basically are related to
the the cement so if you can replace 20
of the cement natto you can also reduce
20 of the CO2 footprint of the concrete
and that you can extrapolate to the
entire cement production in Europe yeah
for the for the Ready Mix Concrete
there's really let's say millions of
Cubes meters produced every year so that
also translates into uh billions of
potential tons of CO2 that could be
reduced okay sounds great good luck with
your tests thank you
the construction industry is responsible
for about seven percent of all CO2
emissions worldwide with a new cement
this footprint can be significantly
reduced and the quality of this
eco-friendly concrete is equal or even
better
[Music]
this is what they call more a really
outdoor concrete Outdoors outdoor where
you have let's say exposure to freeze
store moist but not let's say what they
call a road based that is more more the
heart where there are the icing salts
we're not going to use it at a house to
start with you could you could you could
you could it's about the quality of a
house even there support the quality you
have different levels from zero to four
and we're at level three so the one with
highest level of concrete but still it's
not easy to bring these new eco-friendly
Building Products to the market the
building sector is pretty conservative
and then there is the European
legislation and if you can name one key
barrier which is stopping them what
would that be at the moment well apart
from some technical things but these are
usually more easily solved it's mainly
also the standards which are very
conservative and Performance Based what
do you mean what do you mean with
Performance Based well Performance Based
is that actually current standards
really focus a lot on the content of a
material so that there is a certain
amount of cement there so it's more what
the material is instead of focusing on
what it should be able to do so the
performance in view of specific
applications so it should be more
important that it can do what it should
do regardless of the origin of them so
if that would come to fruition how do
you see the the landscape developing
well I think both the mining sector and
the construction industry are sectors
that well use or produce large amounts
of materials and this can actually form
a nice symbiosis where they come
together also geographically I think in
certain locations where they can really
form close linkages that can benefit
both
it seems to look quite good it's a
beautiful piece of concrete on this
sunny day making such a nice smooth
shiny cost I'm really happy about it
perfect viscosity I saw very easy to
flow
excellent the guys don't need to work
too hard don't need to sweat too much
it's too hot to work too hard anyway so
we designed to complete for this hot
weather and it seems to work out
brilliant so technically responsible
mining in Europe is perfectly feasible
we can produce an autonomous streams of
critical metals and we can convert the
mining waste into low carbon
construction materials so why on Earth
is it so difficult to convert our
deposits into functioning open minds I
want to know what European commission
has to think about this
foreign
good afternoon
um very happy to be here Maria nieberg
is working for the European commission
more specifically in the department for
internal marketing industry she is
giving a lecture at an International
Symposium on the recycling of mining
waste we always get the impression that
European city dwellers tend to like
Tesla cars but they don't want the mines
in their backyard to produce the metals
for those cars so in a way we believe
that's very hypocritical but I think
hypocritical that is a strong word to
use I would say that it is about
simply not knowing what mining is about
having perhaps not never having seen a
modern mine of today
mining is unknown and therefore unloved
nieberg makes the comparison with a meat
industry when you buy your meat I want
to know that what I buy is produced in a
okay way ethical way in an ethical way
this also stretches into other areas of
our way of life and the way we consume
we want to know that the metals that go
into the wind turbine that is placed in
in my region that it is produced in a
good way so we want ethical mining
basically not responsible mining we need
ethical mining
uh yes well for me responsible and
ethical are quite close it's a bit of a
surprise but it turns out that the
European commission's position is not so
far from Peter Tom Jones's view after
all from our political leaders they have
a spoken to to the public in the recent
months saying that is it really uh
morally responsible
to say that we don't want the minds here
but it is okay to Source it from the
outside finally I would like to ask you
to make one prediction for the next 10
years how many new energy transition
metal mines do you think will start up
in Europe the aim of the raw materials
policy it is not about maximizing the
number of Minds it is to make sure that
the condition conditions are such that
the the mining industry which is going
to to through the transition itself
is sustainable and competitive because
any industry needs to be
financially viable at the end of the day
so we can be
as sustainable as we want if we don't
have a business that works the time is
now the International Energy agency
recently pointed out that in order to
meet the 2030 climate goals we need 50
new lithium mines 16 new nickel mines
and 17 new cobalt mines worldwide
but still opening new mind seems to be
so difficult especially in Europe nobody
wants a mine in his or her backyard
maybe we can learn something from Sweden
of Finland yet here in your backyard in
North Scandinavia we have this mine and
people seem to be in favor why is that
I think actually it is because we are
not really a fly-in fly out operation we
have a very deep commitment in the
society where we're acting we're hiring
local people we work with gender and
ethnic balance so I may ask you about
your current gender balance so here at
this site it is actually not far from 50
50. and if you take the truck drivers
for instance then more than 50 percent
are female okay so you are generally
responsible and socially responsible
what about your environmental
responsibility because I still see this
500 meter deep pits in the ground really
give that Back To Nature so at the end
of life of the mine this hole would
actually fill up with water and become
the deepest lake in Sweden you could go
fishing or swimming here in the future
the problem is I can't swim
I will teach you okay thank you
[Music]
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