The coming cleantech mining rush

Can the minerals needed to decarbonise the global economy be dug up fast enough? And can it be done without the human rights and environmental abuses of the past?

Tamasin Ford speaks to KC Michaels of the International Energy Agency says there will need to be a staggering increase in the amount of nickel, lithium, cobalt and rare earths being mined, in order to build all the batteries, wind turbines and solar panels needed. But mining consultant Dr Patience Mpofu says that the mines required can take anything up to 15 years to commission.

With many of these critical minerals concentrated in the developing world, the fear is that a rapid increase in global demand may outstrip the supply from the formal mining industry, with the gap filled by much less responsible mining operations. Emmanuel Umpula of the Congo-based NGO African Resources Watch fears a worsening of human rights abuses and pollution from such mines. But Mark Cutifani, chief executive of mining giant Anglo American, says the industry is working hard to ensure better standards of behaviour.

(Picture: South African miner; Credit: David Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)