LEADING THE ENERGY TRANSITION

MINING HAS A LARGE PART TO PLAY IN THE WORLD'S TRANSITION TOWARDS NET-ZERO.

- 

The mining industry stands at a crossroads as global economies push towards net-zero emissions.

Accenture managing director Eric Croeser sat down with Australian Mining to outline the challenges and opportunities miners face in the decarbonisation journey, stressing that the transition is already well underway.

“There’s been significant movement forward,” Croeser said. “More than 50 per cent (of mining companies) are actually implementing things, and within those 50 per cent, they have a wide array of levers that they are pulling in all ways and forms.”

The three pillars of decarbonisation

According to Croeser, mining companies need to focus on three key areas to drive the transition: investment, operations and policy.

The first area, investment, is where miners are putting their money as they look to what assets they acquire and develop.

“If you have a look at all of the acquisitions that are being made, any of the mergers that are happening, it’s across either copper, high-grade iron ore, or lithium deposits,” Croeser said.

“These are the commodities needed for renewable energy infrastructure, battery storage and electric vehicles.”

The second area, operations, encompasses technology adoption within existing operations.

“Are we seeing miners actually transitioning and bringing in some of these new technologies? The jury is out, it's sort of a 50-50 split at the moment,” Croeser said.