Risks could soon take a key role in assessing the value of mining projects, experts say
Risks due to the impacts of changing climate conditions could play a key role in assessing the value of mining projects in the industry, experts say, as more than a dozen Canadian miners were forced to temporarily suspend their operations in June due to the ongoing wildfires.
Analysts consider several factors ranging from environmental concerns to geopolitical issues alongside the financial feasibility of operating a mine before assessing the value of a project or a company. Risks linked to climate change, however, aren’t usually measured.
“I can see somebody running a portfolio optimization based on climate-change risk and if you have all your sites in the area that’s always going to have wildfires, maybe you will have to think of sites somewhere else outside,” Theo Yameogo, head of Ernst & Young Global Ltd.’s mining section in Canada, said. “But it’s probably going to take time before we see that happen.”
Several miners including Rio Tinto Ltd. and Toronto-based Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. had to stop their mining activities earlier this month as Canada grappled with one of the worst starts to its wildfire season.
For the rest of this article: https://financialpost.com/commodities/mining/wildfires-signal-miners-need-to-worry-about-climate-change