RE: A deal frenzy: Why M&As are on the rise - Australian Resources & Investment30 Sep 2022 13:01
Second part, if you're interested....
In the second of a two-part series, we now take a deep dive into what PwC believes is the global mining sector’s most significant concern, critical minerals, and investigate environmental, social and governance (ESG) – a concept that’s growing in stature and will increasingly influence investor sentiment into the future....
PwC derives its Mine 2022 trends from the top 40 miners, so expect to see a few big names littered throughout this editorial. Critical minerals PwC global mining leader Paul A Bennell didn’t mince his words when introducing Mine 2022.
“If the mining industry does not rapidly scale up its discovery and delivery of critical minerals, the prospects of energy transition at scale will be jeopardised,” he said.
As the world continues to understand its net-zero reality, materials underpinning renewable technologies are surging in demand...
PwC Australia partner Marc Upcroft said critical minerals are called “critical” for a reason, and that without an uptick in their production, reaching desired net-zero targets will become increasingly difficult.
“(Critical minerals is a pressing issue) on the back of that transition to a low-carbon world,” he told Australian Mining.
“And the massive amount of investment that’s needed to support that. “When you look at the mineral content that’s needed to support that (transition), we’re talking about more, not less minerals.
“And it’s becoming clear to us that if you’re trying to achieve the energy transition on the current target and timetable, this only happens if there’s a substantial increase in exploration, discovery, development and mining of critical minerals.”
Upcroft highlighted the importance of lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite for EVs, while also acknowledging the role of rare earths and silicon in solar and wind generation.
He said that Mine 2022 was the first time PwC had added copper and aluminium to its critical minerals list, which are becoming important cogs in the ‘green transmission’ narrative.
Copper is a highly efficient conduit, with copper conductors used widely in renewable energy systems to generate power, while aluminium is being used in countries such as India as an alternative green material in power grids.
Interestingly, three of the top four commodities produced by Mine 2022’s top 40 mining companies – iron ore, coal, gold and copper – are not critical minerals.
But Upcroft is seeing a shift.
“Copper is the only commodity we would consider to be in the critical minerals group,” he said.
“So we’re starting to see some deal activity from the majors in that space and we expect more to come as a result of that.”....
https://www.australianmining.com.au/features/the-pwc-scoop-minings-critical-concern/
Sign In
Follow the stocks
