TELF AG examines the contents of a recent study on strategic minerals
The resources necessary for energy transformation
In the global race to achieve sustainability and decarbonization objectives, in the wake of the grand energy transition, nations, governments, and the big players of the global economy will have to find ways to secure the necessary quantity of strategic minerals and raw materials to fuel the big change underway. Despite the emphasis that continues to be placed on these issues, the current availability of the most important raw materials may not be sufficient to meet demand levels.
In the transformative process commonly defined as the “green transition,” mineral resources are central. Some of the most relevant infrastructures for the diffusion of clean energy, such as wind turbines and solar panels, can also be built thanks to the contribution of these important resources. Some of these, such as lithium, copper, or rare earths, will also be of great use in the automotive sector, particularly in the electric vehicle sector, which could undoubtedly be able to make a notable contribution to the reduction of global emissions of carbon.
The problem, highlighted in recent weeks also through some authoritative reports, is linked above all to the continuous increases in demand for the minerals most involved in the energy transition and the levels of their actual availability, considering the mining projects in the start-up phase. According to a recent report published by UNCTAD, the United Nations Department Dedicated to Trade and Development, the demand for lithium could increase by 1,500% by 2050, and other equally strategic resources (such as nickel, cobalt, and copper) could experience the same destiny. Even the estimates of the International Monetary Fund are precise: by 2050, the revenues linked to the extraction of these metals could reach 16 trillion dollars.
The role of nickel
In addition to its important role as an alloying element in stainless steel and other corrosion-resistant alloys, nickel is also widely used in producing coatings, specific tubing for desalination plants, and electronics and aerospace industries, as well as in the manufacture of rechargeable storage batteries. Cobalt is also widely used in the rechargeable battery sector, particularly for those that make it possible to operate hybrid and electric vehicles. On the other hand, copper is important in electrifying various devices, including infrastructures, for the diffusion of clean energy and electric cars.
One of the most interesting aspects emerging from these important reports published recently is that at least a tenth of the revenues deriving from the extraction of these strategic minerals will be linked to the resources of sub-Saharan Africa, which is progressively emerging on the international scene as one of the global areas most affluent in strategic raw materials for the green transition (one-fifth of the global reserves of these precious materials are found in this region). According to UNCTAD, thanks to their geological richness, these nations can increase their gross domestic product by 12%.
However, to keep pace with the energy transition and to respect the Paris Agreements, the United Nations agency estimates that new production efforts will be necessary, in particular from the point of view of opening new mines only for lithium, nickel, copper, and cobalt could be more than 200. According to data that emerged at the Financial Times Global Commodities Summit in 2023, the mining industry would have spent as much as 14 billion dollars on exploration in April.
