Mining Rare Earths for a Renewable Future
Metals and mining are a critical part of the future of clean energy, and that’s triggering major shifts in a historically dirty industry.
Piles of crushed ore sit at the Mountain Pass mine, operated by MP Materials, in Mountain Pass, California.
Photographer: Joe Buglewicz/BloombergSign up to receive the Green Daily newsletter in your inbox every weekday.
Metals and mining are a critical part of the future of clean energy, and that’s triggering major shifts in a historically dirty industry.
Mined materials such as nickel, cobalt, copper, lithium, gold and rare earths are an integral part of wind turbines as well as electric grids and vehicles. They even power some of the digital technologies allowing many people to work from home. But could these products of mining ever be as sustainable as the clean energy industries they help power?
Copper prices, for example, are up about 24% over the past three months, despite the coronavirus pandemic. And that’s just the beginning, since demand for the metal could increase 90% globally by 2050 amid new underground power lines and electric grid upgrades, according to BloombergNEF. Nickel prices rallied the most in nearly a year this week after Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk urged miners to boost supply of the critical battery metal.