Full Charge Ahead

When the inventors of the lithium-ion battery developed their first working models, they may have anticipated the technology’s potential, but they may not have foreseen the full impact their innovation would have on the world of mining.

Now, as battery technology is set to power the future, miners are under pressure to meet the growing demand for the critical minerals that go into batteries, to be more profitable as they produce those minerals, and to improve the environmental impact of their extraction operations. So, how can miners achieve what looks to be an impossible task? This article addresses how a focus on effective lubrication and maintenance can help sites to drive efficiency by improving the productivity of their equipment operations.

How EVs are driving change

Perhaps the most prominent example of an industry shifting towards battery technology as a power source is automotive. Electric vehicles (EVs) have existed since the 19th century, with the first models powered by a lead acid battery. In fact, by 1900, of the 4192 vehicles produced in the US that year, EVs accounted for 38% of these. However, the efficiency of the internal combustion engine (ICE) soon made the EVs of their time obsolete. Today, lithium-ion batteries are used in EVs around the world. In 2023, nearly one in five cars sold globally was electric. And, despite something of a slowdown in 2024, the IEA predicts there could be 790 million EVs in use by 2035. For miners, this means extracting minerals like lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements (REEs) at scale. It requires starting new projects and increasing the output of existing sites to avoid a potential shortfall in the supply of lithium and nickel by 2030. It is an additional layer of complexity that comes at a time when shareholders are pushing for greater profitability, and tightening legislation is putting miners under pressure to operate more sustainably.

Why miners cannot afford to overlook sustainability

Finding a way to meet demand while improving profitability and reducing environmental impact is not an easy challenge for miners to address. The extraction of these minerals is naturally less sustainable than leaving an untouched landscape, but there is also a reason the world views them as ‘critical’. Every industry relies on them – especially as they develop the solutions needed to navigate the energy transition. Miners must also maintain their license to operate, which means they cannot afford to overlook their sustainability obligations. To achieve this, they must comply with tightening regulations and social expectations by minimising their sites’ overall impact, both in terms of emissions and effects on the local environment.

One key opportunity in this area is the potential impact of energy efficiency across a site. By reducing the amount of power and fuel needed to power equipment (including the ventilation systems that are essential for underground operations), miners can simultaneously lower their emissions and make cost savings. Ongoing efforts to electrify and automate equipment across the industry are helping miners to achieve this, but it is not all about bringing in new machines.

Miners need to explore how they can innovate and optimise their existing equipment while being ready to make the most of new assets – and this means rethinking how they maintain that equipment.

 

This is a preview of an article that was originally published in the October 2025 issue of Global Mining Review. Subscribe to Global Mining Review for free to read this article in full and many more here.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/special-reports/31102025/full-charge-ahead/