Cobalt, copper, lithium, and nickel are among “the electric 18” critical materials needed for clean energy production, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Average consumers driving EVs, installing solar panels on their roofs, and coordinating their lives via smartphones may not connect the dots as they oppose mining operations in the U.S. But the reality is clear: Without mining, there is no clean energy.
The push for clean energy puts mining in a unique position. Image: Adobe Stock
All the minerals needed to produce EVs, battery technologies, wind turbines, solar panels, and hydrogen fuel cells require big machines to dig up the Earth at depth and haul heavy rocks across rough terrain. And it doesn’t stop there. Supply chains, jobs, politics, homeland security, economics — you name it, most of it can be traced back to surface and underground mines where people and machines unearth the world’s most precious matter.
Now, I’m a big fan of preserving Mother Nature as she is, yet I can’t deny reality and not see how mining is the bedrock of modern living. No person on the receiving end of technological advancements is detached from this industry — most of us are just too far away to truly understand its significance.
Many folks want cars sans greenhouse gases, continuous protection against international threats, precision medical devices that help detect illnesses before they become a problem, and devices that automate the mundane. So long as individuals worldwide continue supporting such advancements, we will need to keep mining.
The mining industry has always been uniquely positioned to change the world. Today, the pressure is on to extract all necessary resources to enable all other industries to reach their net-zero goals, which the mining industry is also working toward. More OEMs are past conceptualizing battery-electric mining vehicles and are now validating their designs with prototypes at test sites. In Fluid Power World’s August 2024 Issue, we highlight a few companies on track to deliver heavy-duty mining machines with all-electric powertrains. (They still use hydraulics for various functions; that’s not going away.) Other companies have released diesel-electric hybrids to improve sustainability efforts without batteries. Digital technologies and semi-autonomous operations are also being implemented to improve safety, efficiency, and productivity.
We’re certainly in a transition era (but aren’t we always?), and with unexpected turns reliably waiting around the corner, it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out and what industry digs up next.
This editorial appeared in Fluid Power World’s August 2024 Issue: Sustainability takes the wheel in mining.
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