BHP looks to tech for copper push
BHP has identified the commodity it thinks is its best bet to cash in on the global push to decarbonise and electrify industrial economies.
Increased use of autonomous equipment is one of the keys to boosting production at South America’s ageing copper mines, amid growing demand for the commodity and increasing pressure to prioritise environmental, social and governance issues over pure production metrics, according to BHP Americas president Rag Udd.
The world copper conference kicked off in Santiago overnight, amid a bullish market that has seen the price of the metal soar this year.
After sinking to lows of around $US4600 a tonne as the coronavirus pandemic hit global economies last year, copper surged above $US9600 a tonne in February and is currently hovering just below $US9000 a tonne.
BHP, along with most mining majors, has identified the commodity as its best bet to cash in on the push to decarbonise and electrify industrial economies around the globe, along with other “future-facing commodities” such as nickel.
“In a Paris-aligned, 1.5 degree scenario, we expect that investment in areas such as copper-intensive solar generation, nickel-intensive batteries and steel-intensive wind turbines will contribute to a more than doubling of the amount of primary copper and a quadrupling of the amount of primary nickel demand over the next 30 years relative to that produced over the last 30 years,” Mr Udd told the copper conference.
“Our industry has a huge opportunity in front of us to feed this demand for resources. But it’s not as simple as that. We also have to address the fact that society quite rightly demands more from us. More in terms of societal contribution, safety and sustainability, and of course operational excellence. What we produce matters. But it is how we do that is more important than ever.”
The conference comes against the backdrop of a resurgence in the coronavirus pandemic in key copper-producing country Chile that threatens to restrict output as the nation’s workforce is hit by the virus.
Output from BHP’s Escondida mine has been restricted since the pandemic by both social unrest and COVID-19-linked absenteeism, with the hangover from the reduced workforce seen as likely to last for years as the massive copper mine tries to catch up on development and other work put off due to the reduced labour force.
On top of that, the mine faces longer-term issues from declining grades, with alternatives to the massive deposit thin on the ground as big copper deposits become harder to find, more difficult to exploit or — in the case of the Resolution copper mine in Arizona, where BHP is a non-operating partner with Rio Tinto — face significant community opposition to their development.
Productivity gains that come from the use of autonomous trucks and other hi-tech mining methods are one part of the solution to extending the life of existing assets, according to Mr Udd.
Another is ensuring they minimise their own environmental impact, as BHP has done at Escondida, where it has shifted away from the use of potable water for its processing plant and recut power deals to end the use of coal.
BHP has said it will complete a trial of autonomous haulage at Escondida by the end of the current financial year, with Mr Udd — formerly the acting head of BHP’s technology division — telling the Chilean copper conference miners needed to “embrace technological disruption” and bring their workforces with them, as the industry faced current challenges, and future difficulties, in exploiting new deposits.
“A key challenge is the view that technology is a ‘put’ … it’s inflicted on us,” he said. “Instead, we need to view it as an enabler, something that makes our lives better. And to do so, we need to help our dedicated employees become technology leaders and problem solvers.
“This is a skillset that is as exportable as the copper in Chile, and can be used to build other industries as well. I see Chile playing a huge role in this.”
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