FULLY BOOKED - Global Conversation Vancouver: "Mining - is bigger always better?"

Professor Kip Jeffery, Head of Camborne School of Mines within the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences at University of Exeter discusses the future of mining in response to an ever increasing global demand.

Mining supplies the majority of raw materials that underpin our way of life – around 50 billion tonnes of products are mined per year with global industrialisation and a growing population driving greater demand. Centuries of exploration and production has seen the majority of mineral deposits depleted with concentrations at much lower grades than in the past. The mining industry uses ‘economics of scale’ to make such mines viable and as a consequence mines get larger, ore-grades deteriorate and more waste is produced under these extreme conditions. This trend has been fuelled by high commodity prices over the last 20 years but this solution may be breaking down; mining projects are becoming too big to fail, too big to finance, and as the necessary scale of future projects is seen as increasingly environmentally unacceptable, too big to build. The industry and stakeholders are starting to think about how mining can change this trajectory.

New mines, often built at costs of up to US$20 billion, are now deploying global data centres. These centres monitor mining operations in real time across the globe. The industry is re-evaluating how smaller higher-grade deposits could be exploited while upholding the aim of creating lower impact mines. While recycling, urban mining, dematerialisation and circular economy principles will be part of the solution,  mining will still have an essential role in the way we seek to improve the life experience of a 9 billion strong world population as is predicted by 2050. Mining is on the cusp of a new era where smarter and more intelligent mining will be developed, and where bigger is not necessarily better.

Following the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions to an expert panel featuring Garth Kirkham, Immediate Past President of the Canadian Institute of Mining.

Please note: This event is now fully booked. If you would like to be added to our waiting list please register here and we will contact you if any further places become available.

If you have any questions, please contact alumni@exeter.ac.uk

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