The Tent Mountain Renewable Energy Complex development is a novel, real world approach to re-imagining and then physically re-purposing an idle coal mine. It takes advantage of natural topography and previously disturbed areas, market and political support for both clean hydrogen fuel and a grid stabilizing energy storage system.

The development is one that achieves many objectives across Indigenous, social, political, environmental, and energy transition elements. Importantly, it is a both financially viable and technically feasible decarbonization.

It is a compelling transformation that is an example of what is possible when multiple, diverse skills and thinking are brought together to solve a complex challenge of transforming a legacy mine.

The shift towards clean energy technologies is having a significant impact on the mining industry, with the demand for minerals such as copper, nickel, cobalt, lithium, manganese, and graphite increasing exponentially. To meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, mineral requirements for clean energy technologies would need to quadruple by 2040, and to achieve net-zero globally by 2050, mineral inputs in 2040 would need to be six times more than today.
The most significant driver of mineral demand is electric vehicles (EVs) and battery storage, with lithium seeing the fastest growth, and copper demand doubling over the same period due to the expansion of electricity networks globally. The demand for these minerals is expected to rise significantly as investments in clean energy technologies continue to grow in the future. As the world moves towards a decarbonized economy, the minerals industry is under increasing pressure to reduce its environmental and social impacts and meet the increased demand for minerals.
Mining companies are facing additional challenges due to the depletion of near-surface mineral deposits globally, with more mines transitioning from open pits to underground. The transition to underground mining requires the right strategy to economically access deeper mineable inventories and to keep up with future clean energy technology demands to achieve net-zero globally by 2050. One key way to achieve this is through decarbonization using ‘green’ mining technologies such as replacing current primary diesel mining fleets with battery electric vehicles (BEVs). However, these measures through electrification overlook the bigger opportunity to maximize the socio-economic returns from the mine while also reducing the overall carbon footprint.

The mineral sector clearly recognises that its decarbonisation efforts will constitute an essential contribution to achieving global net zero carbon emissions. Mining companies have been communicating publicly their decarbonisation goals and targets, whilst also recognising that there can be vulnerabilities in the multitude of strategies that are being developed. Broadly, decarbonisation requires: (1) mitigating risks arising from climate change, (2) reducing emissions from operational activities (categorised as Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions) and (3) reducing emissions in the total value chain (Scope 3 emissions). Decarbonisation will also increase demands in critical minerals, with a range of environmental challenges to be managed and mitigated. This translates into a myriad of activities, as is evident from the variety of topics discussed in this conference theme: re-evaluating environmental risks arising from updated climate data sets; adjusting mine planning methods to account for Scope 1, 2, 3 emissions; transitioning from a reliance on fossil fuels for electricity and transport to renewable energy and vehicle electrification; transforming mine sites into renewable energy producers; using methods like Life Cycle Analysis to determine the environmental risks arising from critical materials extraction.

In this panel discussion, we will explore the avenues that are available to organise this complexity and identify key vulnerabilities. We will also examine how we can ensure that this collective action on decarbonisation efforts does not disrupt but enhances the other activities that contribute to sustainability.