The mineral exploration business is facing what those in the tech world call “disruption”—and they know it.
The cleantech community is paying more attention to small, early-stage mining exploration firms amid a rush to develop electric-vehicle battery materials in North America. At the Association for Mineral Exploration (AME) conference last week, where The Logic was a media partner, many geoscientist-entrepreneurs seemed eager to seize the opportunity, with one lithium company drawing outsized crowds and describing surging exploration activity.
But they must also face a slew of skeptics in the ESG movement who have historically been interested in EVs but shunned the mineral industry—as communities across the country grapple with the prospect of more prospecting as a means to achieve net-zero transportation emissions.
Those issues came to a head last week in Vancouver, a North American hot spot for EV buyers. But Andy Randell, CEO of Aeonian Resources, who does public education earth-science projects through the non-profit Below BC, told me that Vancouver is also one of the areas where residents tend to be more skeptical of mineral exploration.
Nikki Skuce, director at Northern Confluence Initiative and co-chair of BC Mining Law Reform, said there are bad actors giving the mineral industry a bad name, which is why many want to see changes in the laws governing the sector.
She’s not the only one pushing Canada’s policy makers to consider their priorities amid pledges to improve biodiversity, reconciliation and resource extraction.
The Chiefs of Ontario last week called on the provincial government to set a yearlong moratorium on the Mining Lands Administration System (MLAS), saying the 39-member First Nations represented by Anishinabek Nation saw mining claims rise from about 35,000 last May and June to over 164,000 as of November. B.C., meanwhile, is in the middle of modernizing its Mineral Tenure Act after a court case gave it 18 months to complete its plans to develop a mineral tenure system that recognizes the rights of Indigenous Peoples in the province.
For his part, Randell has made strides to better explain the different stages of the mining industry to the public, as well as translated his company’s maps into an Indigenous language and released extra data to improve industry transparency.
It’s an approach others in the industry are watching closely.
“Activism isn’t here to crush the industry,” said AME CEO Keerit Jutla. “Activism is here to bring questions to us, to see what our blind spots are.”
It’s a conversation that’s likely to get louder. Demand for energy transition minerals doubled between 2017 and 2022, and based on announced climate pledges in 2022, demand is set to more than double by 2030, the International Energy Agency estimated. Mark Zacharias, executive director of Clean Energy Canada, noted that with billions of dollars already plunged into building EV battery plants in this country, it would be a missed opportunity to feed them with minerals mined elsewhere.
Climate policy adviser and consultant Karen Tam Wu said she’s seen a strong commitment from the B.C. government and mining sector to embrace environmental, social and governance goals.
“We have a very strong foundation,” she said, “upon which to actually make it happen.”
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