‘Just look at the so-called critical minerals industry today, lithium’s a bust, so is nickel’ — Barrick chief
The critical mineral industry required to power the energy transition away from fossil fuels is in an unhealthy state and running ahead of itself, says Barrick Gold Corp.’s chief executive Mark Bristow, who heads the world’s second-largest gold company.
Bristow said the mining sector is entering an era dominated by the demand for metals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt, but the projects containing these critical minerals are often led by promoters more focused on the short-term benefits rather than by “responsible miners” that are in it for the long run.
“Just look at the so-called critical minerals industry today, lithium’s a bust, so is nickel. A lot of cobalt mines don’t have world-class standards. The industry is not healthy and, again, it’s run ahead of itself,” he said. “Any metal that has a proper market is critical. Then it’s about responsibly extracting and transacting in those metals and minerals, otherwise we are going to get confused about how we develop this world.”
Metals such as lithium and nickel are expected to be high in demand in the near future because they are needed to make batteries that power electric vehicles, which will help countries gradually move away from using fossil fuels.
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