Decarbonising Mining In An Era Of Growing Demand For Critical Metals And Minerals

The mining industry is faced with a paradox: companies must reduce emissions to align with decarbonisation goals and improve their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, but must also ramp up production to meet the unprecedented demand for energy transitions minerals.

This will require more energy and produce more absolute greenhouse gas emissions in the process. Indeed, this creates a situation where the current rate of decarbonisation is too slow to meet science-based targets – an issue that is increasingly seen as problematic by the investors needed to fund the exploration and expansion of mining operations.

The challenges and opportunities in navigating this paradox were the focus of original research that dss+ conducted with 52 leading mining companies. Although many mining companies have committed to decarbonising their operations, our interviews with mining executives across commodities and geographies reveal that several barriers still exist. From reporting difficulties to implementation barriers, miners described the various obstacles to decarbonising their operations.

The step change required can be achieved only if leadership adopts a value-based approach to decarbonisation – recognising the value of reducing emissions, creating the appropriate cultural context, building the right organisational and individual capabilities, and developing enabling structures and processes.

Specifically, we recommend that mining companies pursue the following to overcome the barriers identified in our research:

■          Adopt internal carbon pricing aligned to net-zero targets.

■          Create a cultural context conducive to transformation.

■          Adopt new data-collection and monitoring frameworks.

■          Focus on quick wins.

■          Take a long-term view.

■          Improve coordination of decarbonisation planning between sites.

■          Co-create conducive policy and financing frameworks.

■          Demonstrate progress.

In doing so, they can drive significant reductions that are sustainable in the long term, and can thereby support more positive outcomes for all stakeholders.

Decarbonisation will very aptly be one of the key topics featured at the Investing in Africa Mining Indaba 2025 next year, an event organised under the theme “Future-proofing African Mining, Today!”.

As dss+ prepares to bring its delegation of experts to the indaba in February, we will be presenting the full findings of the research, along with specific solutions that will help mining companies to advance their efforts to decarbonise and future-proof their operations.

dss+ is a knowledge partner of Investing in Africa Mining Indaba 2025. The company is a leading provider of sustainable operations consulting services with a purpose of saving lives and creating a sustainable future.