The Mining Association of Canada | The Canadian Mining Story: Economic Impacts and Drivers for the Global Energy Transition 2023 60 generated worldwide in 2019, up 21% (>10 million tonnes annually) in just five years, according to the UN’s Global E-Waste Monitor. A large portion of e-waste can be recycled, components of which can be recovered as “urban ore.” E-waste recycling involves reprocessing obsolete or unwanted electronics that have exhausted their reuse potential and would otherwise be disposed of in landfills. From 50,000 mobile phones, Electronics Product Stewardship Canada estimates that approximately one kilogram of gold, 400 grams of palladium, 10 kilograms of silver, and 420 kilograms of copper can be recycled. By recycling these items, valuable materials are kept out of landfills and can produce new products using resources that do not need to be mined. Recycling and other circular economy measures should and will increase as the broader EV battery supply chain expands. While essential, however, these can contribute only modestly to fulfill projected demand. Long product lives and steep demand growth curves mean the supply of secondary material will remain a fraction of total demand for the foreseeable future, so policy must recognize that new mines are essential to meeting projected demand. Renewable Energy Renewable energy technologies and their economics continue to improve. Renewable power is appealing to mining companies because it has the potential to reduce energy costs and environmental impacts, enhance energy security and address climate change. Given that energy costs on average are the third largest of operating mines, companies are giving the benefits of renewable energy technologies greater consideration, with increasing deployments. For example, in an effort to reduce GHG emissions, Agnico
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzU4ODIw