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Stakeholder Newsletter: April 2023

27 April 2023

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Friends,

You know I’m a sucker for the wisdom of proverbs, and I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the idea born in Africa that “if you want to go fast, you go alone, but if you want to go far, you go together”.

Going together is at the heart of why ICMM exists. But we also need to go fast – the size of planetary and social crises demands quick action, at scale. So, I wanted to tell you about a few issues and platforms that I think are helping do just this by connecting the mining industry with other sectors in finding solutions.

At the Economist’s Sustainability Week in London recently, I joined a panel about fast-tracking decarbonisation through collaboration. I think I caused a bit of a stir by saying that ‘delay is the new deny’ when it comes to climate change, or the nature crisis for that matter. We simply can’t afford needless delay if want to rise to the challenge.

Sticking to the “collaboration is key” theme, I’m excited to be taking part in a new forum in London called Innovation Zero to tease out how more responsible mining and processing can lead to a truly clean, renewable energy-driven transport sector. To put it simply, a solar panel or wind turbine that generates huge environmental impacts in its own production isn’t very green. As you know, ICMM members are committed to Net Zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and proactive action on minimising our Scope 3 impacts, so I’ll be talking about the really encouraging progress we are making.

I am delighted that ICMM doesn’t just talk collaboration but has it as a core tenet of what we do. Our Innovation for Cleaner, and Safer Vehicles initiative, for example, is creating the partnerships needed between equipment makers and mining companies to galvanise real change on the ground to deliver zero-emissions vehicles faster than they would otherwise have been. I will be talking more about this at the Financial Times’ Future of the Car Summit this month.

In my simple head, a car is basically a mine on wheels, from graphite in the battery to copper in the wiring and of course, aluminium for the shell. Minerals and metals have the potential to be recycled infinitely and this gives us huge scope to work with others to find ways of maximising the life span of the metals all around us. In that vein, ICMM will be at the World Circular Economy Forum in Helsinki later this month and Circularity23 in Seattle next month.

I am guessing it will turn some heads to see mining at events that prioritise re-use of materials. There’s no doubt that we must maximise the potential for the circular economy to supply the materials needed for our future, and to produce the remaining amount as responsibly as possible.

Clearly, there’s lots on! Please keep up with us at other events here.

Warmly,
Ro


Upcoming Events

CIM Expo and Conference 2023
Montreal, Canada • 3 May, 10:30 - 11:45 and 14:00 - 15:15 EST

The mining industry is a large user of water, a scarce and valuable resource. Join ICMM Water Lead Dr Emma Gagen to discuss how the mining industry is innovating how it uses water at operations. Register here.

FT Future of the Car Summit
Virtual, and London, UK • 9 - 11 May

The supply chain chaos of the last few years has highlighted the fragility of global trade networks. Rohitesh Dhawan will discuss mining and metals’ role in building secure and reliable supply chains to help facilitate the transition to zero emission vehicles. Register here.

EEGS / AEG 2023 Virtual Symposium
Virtual • 15 May, 08:10 - 08:45 EST

The Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society (EEGS) and the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG) have organised a virtual symposium on the topic of the ‘Life of Mine – Maintaining Sustainability Through Geoscience’. ICMM Senior Manager Justin Rowntree will be sharing how our collective action on nature can contribute to the ambitions of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) through mining with principles. Register here.

Fully Charged UK North
Harrogate, UK• 20 May, 12:45 - 13:15 BST

In the rush to electrify we cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past. ICMM Circular Economy Lead Bryony Clear Hill will discuss what goes into electric car batteries, and how we can make their whole lifecycle as 'green' as possible. Register here.

Innovation Zero
London, UK • 25 May, 12:15 - 13:00 BST

Critical minerals and metals are essential to powering the transition to Net Zero, not to mention delivering electronics to the world's growing consumer class. Rohitesh Dhawan will share how the mining and metals industry is helping with the decarbonising of the automotive supply chain. Register here.

Electric Mine Conference
Tucson, Arizona, USA • 25 May, 10:30 GMT -7

Finding the right strategy for storing and distributing renewable power on-site is quickly growing in importance. Director of Innovation Christian Spano will discuss what accelerating the implementation of zero emission vehicles in mining looks like within this fast-changing sector. Register here.

EXPOCOBRE
Virtual and Lima, Peru • 29 May - 1 June

Rohitesh Dhawan will give a keynote on the important role Peru and its copper industry plays in a sustainable and just energy transition. Register here.

The Economist Impact 3rd Sustainability Week US
Washington D.C., USA • 1 June, 15:55 - 16:35 EST

Critical minerals are rising on the agenda of governments eager to secure the supplies needed for a transition to a lower-carbon economy. It is estimated that the world in 2040 will likely need four times as many critical minerals for clean-energy technologies as it does today. Rohitesh Dhawan will discuss how partnerships and collaboration can ensure that sustainability remains central to the rush to getting security of supply. Register here.

World Circular Economy Forum 2023
Helsinki, Finland • 31 May - 2 June

The ICMM team will be in Helsinki for the World Circular Economy Forum presenting on mining in a circular economy and hosting two accelerator sessions on ‘Collaborative Strategies for Circular Minerals Sourcing to Accelerate a Low-Carbon Energy Future’ and ‘Imagining the Metals Value Chains of the Future’. Find further details on how to register here.

Circularity23
Seattle, USA •7 June, 09:00 - 11:30 GMT -7

With record setting demand, we face domestic and global supply shortages for rare earth elements and precious metals, yet e-waste continues to fill landfills or lay abandoned in desk drawers. Bryony Clear Hill will join a level-setting conversation about the current state of the critical mineral supply chain and challenges to scaling up e-waste recycling efforts and where we go from here. Register here.

ClientEarth Annual Summit
Virtual and London, UK • 6 - 8 June

Director of Environment Hayley Zipp will join ClientEarth’s Annual Summit to discuss how we can mine the rare earth minerals needed to clean up our energy systems without destroying the planet. Register here.


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