Rio Tinto calls for cooperation with governments to supply critical minerals

Global metal supply is ample enough to meet demand from the energy transition, but cooperation between miners, local communities and governments is needed to make it happen, Rio Tinto Group CEO Jakob Stausholm said Nov. 8 at an industry event.

Demand for critical minerals is set to more than double by 2030 to achieve governments' climate targets, according to the International Energy Agency. Supplies of critical minerals are catching up after high metal prices spurred investment in battery metals in 2023, but practical challenges persist with risks of scheduling delays and cost overruns, according to the IEA's July report.

Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm. Source: Rio Tinto PLC.

"There is no lack of possible supply in the world [to meet the demand for energy transition]. People are worried: 'Is there enough lithium? Is there enough copper?' There's ample," Stausholm told the Nikkei Forum's Global Management Dialogue event in Tokyo.

"The problem we are facing is that, sometimes in some places in the world, it takes 10 to 20 years to get [a mining] permit. And when you then see a peak in demand over the next five, 10 years, the timeline does not add up," the CEO said. "So we do need help from governments, but it is entirely possible."

Beijing's recent export controls on gallium, germanium, and graphite are sparking concerns of potential restrictions on rare earth materials, where China dominates the marketplace. The move is adding urgency for other governments to develop their own rare earth supply chains.

"The key thing is to figure out what are the needs and what kind of diversification on the supply chain that individual country is looking for," Stausholm said when asked whether Rio Tinto will work with Japan or Western countries to grow a rare earth supply chain.

"When it comes to rare earths, it's not about separate lines," the CEO said. "Very often, the rare earths are actually in the mines we already are mining, but it requires an extra processing plant to extract that very often from the waste stream from the main part of the mine."

Rio Tinto's Kennecott and Bingham Canyon copper operations in Utah host 16 of the 35 critical minerals defined by the US. The miner has been producing tellurium, which is used in advanced thin-film photovoltaic solar panels, since 2022, and it plans to extract more critical minerals, Stausholm said.

"It comes down to the processing plants. But we can't invest in them without knowing that there's demand for it. So it requires very close cooperation," Stausholm said.

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