About 300 new mines - needed for the energy transition

The energy transition relies on the minerals needed to manufacture electric vehicles, batteries, solar farms and wind turbines, and in an economy that is moving away from fossil fuels every day, the supply of these materials presents one of the biggest challenges, according to an analysis by visualcapitalist.com.

This shows that 293 mines or facilities must be developed to cover the estimated demand for raw materials and chemicals needed for the energy transition by 2030, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence data for November 2024.

According to the cited source, copper, used in wires, and lithium, essential for batteries, will require the largest number of new mines: 61 and 52, respectively. Copper supply is estimated at 22.9 million tons in 2024, and for 2030, the demand forecast shows about 26.6 million tons. For lithium, the figure for 2024 production is 1.81 million tonnes, and for 2030 demand, almost 2.73 million tonnes. For nickel, the 2024 supply was almost 3.57 million tonnes, and the 2030 demand is expected to reach 4.95 million tonnes. For natural graphite, last year's demand totaled 1.23 million tonnes, while the 2030 demand is projected at 2.93 million tonnes. For synthetic graphite, the 2024 supply was 1.82 million tonnes, and the 2030 demand is estimated at around 2.18 million tonnes.

Cobalt supply in 2024 reached 272,000 tonnes, and demand will reach 401,000 tonnes in 2030. Manganese production - 90,000 tonnes in 2024 - should increase more than fourfold to cover the anticipated demand in 2030: 409,000 tonnes. Regarding rare earths, the supply in 2024 was 83,711 tonnes, and the demand in 2030 is expected to rise to 116,663 tonnes. After discovery and exploration, mineral projects must go through a long process of research, licensing and financing before they become operational, the cited source points out. In the US, for example, the development of a new mine can take 29 years. In contrast, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Laos have some of the shortest development times in the world, at around 10 to 15 years.