The Mining Transition And M&A

Everyone has heard of the energy transition. Sounds simple. Replace coal and gas-fired electricity generation with wind and solar. Add in some battery storage. Replace diesel and petrol engines with hydrogen power and electric vehicles, adding some new nuclear and green hydrogen and there you have it. Net Zero by 2050. But there's a catch: the energy transition doesn't just need government subsidies, ESG investment, and a deliberate choice from consumers to move from fossil fuels to clean power. The energy transition can't happen without a mining transition, specifically, a metals transition. Future-facing metals such as lithium, cobalt, copper, graphite and nickel are all needed in ever greater quantities. As the bumper sticker says, "If you can't grow it, you have to mine it". However, if you can't mine it in a "green" way, your energy transition is not going to be particularly effective. There is no point reducing carbon emissions from energy if you're just going