A more sustainable mining industry

Why mining companies have become more sustainable and inclusive to stay relevant

As one of Canada’s largest industries, mining has a big part to play in our country’s efforts to create a more sustainable future by helping us achieve net-zero. Canada has some of the biggest mining operations in the world: the minerals sector accounts for almost 700,000 Canadian jobs, $148 billion of the country’s gross domestic product, and more than 20% of its domestic exports ($158 billion). 

Minerals and metals, such as lithium in electric vehicle batteries and silicon in solar panels, are essential for decarbonization. They are also crucial for medical devices, construction materials, and household appliances. Without mining and critical minerals, our modern world would be vastly different, missing many of the conveniences we depend on and hindering technological progress, economic development, and our capacity to address environmental challenges.

As a key leader in the industry, Montreal-based AtkinsRéalis is poised to help miners set the example for what climate-friendly practices look like in action. The company’s global experts work on sustainable mining projects from inception to closure, including water resources, environmental assessment and compliance, mine-closure planning and decommissioning, and tailings-storage design and management. And Dr. Castillo-Devoto says it is all done with sustainability in mind.

“What is unique is that we speak the mining language, we have the technology, but we also understand the mining footprint throughout the mine’s lifecycle, bringing multistep analysis to areas like biodiversity, climate change adaptation, and community involvement,” says Dr. Castillo-Devoto. 

The reality of that footprint is that demands for certain metals essential for achieving sustainable, net-zero infrastructure are increasing dramatically. Copper, for instance, will be required at unprecedented levels as countries shift to more electric energy solutions, requiring doubling the current annual copper production to 50 million tonnes.

To access these critical minerals, mining projects today ensure that energy use is minimized, natural resources are managed carefully, and strategies to incorporate clean energy sources are implemented.

In a remote, subarctic landscape of Canada’s Northwest Territories for example, experts at AtkinsRéalis defined the water management strategy for a large diamond mine, including the estimated capital and operating costs of water treatment plants. 

“We cannot reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reach our net-zero goals without mining.”

Dr. Gabriel Castillo-Devoto, director of ESG and sustainability, North America, minerals and metals, AtkinsRéalis.

“From the top of the mountains to the ocean, we provide a holistic perspective with water management at the mining site and an integrated water stewardship along the basin,” explains Dr. Castillo-Devoto. “Forming a responsible plan for water management requires experts who understand the watershed, the unique requirements for each project, the potential impacts from extreme weather events, and a number of other complex factors,” he added.

The end is as important as the beginning

A mining project’s closure is a significant part of its lifecycle and must be planned in detail to address the impact to the local biodiversity and the community.

“Years ago, closing was looked at as a cost instead of a value, an investment,” says Dr. Castillo-Devoto. “But that is no longer the case. Now, our priority is planning for closure land use options that enhance nature, biodiversity, and sustainability over time. We take great care to leave a place in better shape than it was before we arrived,” he explained. 

For example, at a nickel mine on an island near Australia, a rare species of trees was discovered during the project’s early days. Focused on protecting biological diversity, the team at AtkinsRéalis found a way to save the trees, clone it, and plant hundreds more, leaving behind a forest.

Similarly, tailing ponds, one of the methods used to store tailings — the waste material left over from ore extraction processes — are designed carefully so that when they are no longer used, “they can be a nice place to go for a walk, even a park,” Isabelle Richard, head of sustainability, Quebec, minerals and metals at AtkinsRéalis. “The objective with site closures is that no one would even know there was a mine there at one point,” Ms. Richard added.

This sustainable approach to mine closures was on display in northern Quebec, where local community leaders, including those from regional First Nations, were engaged and consulted for nearly three years. 

“We wanted the community to feel empowered, and these considerations are embedded in the way that we design a project, so the communities have to be involved from the start because that is their home and they need to have their say,” says Ms. Richard.

Mining is needed for net-zero

It is a fact that the mining industry and its products are intertwined into almost everyone’s everyday life, including smartphones, laptops, clothing, and bicycles.

“But even more than that, metals and minerals are a necessity in the building of both the technology and infrastructure that will lead us to our decarbonization goals,” says Ms. Richard. For instance, lithium for lithium-ion batteries used in most of today’s electric vehicles requires extraction from the earth and likewise for the metals and silicon needed in solar panels. 

She adds that mining companies that want to stay relevant and competitive have already made, or are looking at making, changes to their practice, as regulations are moving in the sustainable direction, including a more diverse workplace.

“Mining is an industry focused on the future, not the past, offering a promising path to those who wish to join this dynamic and vibrant sector,” she says.

To thrive, the industry must embrace diversity, she explains, by attracting women, younger generations, and individuals from various backgrounds as well as fostering mutually respectful relationships with local Indigenous communities.

“This requires a shift in how we communicate and present the industry because critical minerals are essential for safeguarding our planet, and we must show that sustainable mining is possible,” Ms. Richard adds.