Transformational strategies enable mining to lead in ESG - and beyond

Authored by: Iain Thompson, Canadian Mining Consulting Leader

Don Lindsay, President and CEO of Teck, digs into evolving challenges and mining’s ability to drive a greener, better future.

As an established leader in the Canadian mining and metals sector, how would you characterize the current trends, and what should we anticipate next?

One of the most important trends is the structural change in the perception of the copper industry. Copper is foundational to a low-carbon future. We can't decarbonize the planet and meet our climate goals without it. It's needed for electric and hybrid vehicles, charging infrastructure, green power such as wind and solar, and every other kind of power generation.

COVID-19 has accelerated the macro trend toward decarbonization and the electrification that’s associated with it. Recent reports predict sales of electric vehicles will increase from an estimated 5.1 million this year to over 31 million by the year 2030. Renewable energy systems can require 12 times as much copper as traditional energy systems.

All of this is changing the long-term demand for copper from what might have been maybe 2% a year to certainly over 3% a year. By 2030, there’s going to be a gap between supply and demand of as much as 4.5 million tonnes. The challenge now is for miners to keep up.

Teck does a phenomenal job cultivating talent. What talent challenges do you see today, and how can the industry address them?

The mining industry has changed. You can now build a career in mining in a whole range of fields — from data science to sustainability. At Teck, we're implementing a technology transformation initiative to harness cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and automation. This helps us improve safety, sustainability, efficiency and productivity. As a result, we're hiring data scientists, cloud developers and digital engineers to help us change the world for the better.

As we get the word out there to people in high-tech jobs, or in universities, and show how we’re also leading on the environmental, social and governance (ESG) agenda, they're going to see exciting opportunities in our industry, which they might not have considered before.

What advice would you offer in terms of embedding diversity and inclusiveness in mining organizations?

A more diverse company is a stronger company. Diversity of thought is so important in any discussion where decisions are made. A diversity of viewpoints and approaches strengthens employee engagement and productivity, contributing to recruitment and retention. It's important to genuinely incorporate diversity and inclusion as part of your corporate strategy, and then make conscious decisions to work towards that diverse workforce in line with your strategy.

At Teck last year, just under 30% of all new hires were women. Today, women comprise over 20% of our total workforce, up from less than 14% eight years ago. About one-third of our senior management company officers are women, about twice the mining sector average of 14%. There were zero when I started. That’s progress, but the work isn’t done. We have to continually reinforce that diversity of thought is key.

We continue to see mid-market companies being acquired by non-Canadian entities. How can the sector build more competitive, globally relevant mining companies like Teck?

There will always be entrepreneurial energy in the industry, building up new companies that become very strong. We're seeing a phase of that now. There may be some gaps for a period of time, when we think we've lost some of our global challengers, but I have faith that they will occur again. You need the right political and economic environment in the country, and we all know that the political pendulum swings from left to right and right to left over time.

All of these things have a natural reversion to the mean and corrective cycle, and I suspect that will come. Right now, people looking at investing in Canada would see some pretty big challenges. We're seeing some of the evidence of that in the lower foreign investment numbers. In the long term, the Canadian mining sector will thrive.

Looking ahead, what’s your vision for Teck over the next 5 to 10 years?

We're in the midst of rebalancing our portfolio to more growth in copper. When Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 (QB2) in northern Chile hits full production next year, it will double our copper production on a consolidated basis and change the portfolio’s balance of green metals vs. carbon. We have the four key divisions: copper, zinc, steelmaking coal and energy. Many people are hesitant to buy into a portfolio that has a certain threshold of carbon within it, so we’ll be looking at that.

Our first choice is to grow our way out of it, by growing the copper. Looking out to 2023, we think we can be two-thirds green metals and one-third steelmaking coal. We’ll see whether shareholders want us to retain the energy part of the portfolio within the diversified company or have it trade on its own.

Steelmaking coal is in many ways crucial for a low-carbon future. It takes 170 tonnes of steelmaking coal to build a windmill. We need steel for solar, and for rapid transit that takes cars off the roads.

With all the focus on decarbonization, we can't forget the billions of people who need energy and who don't have the means by which to do it all on solar and wind. We need to lift them out of poverty and get them on the right economic track. There has to be a balance.

What does Teck need to capitalize on this opportunity and strike the right balance around the energy transition?

We have to execute well on QB2. We've passed the 50% level on that despite COVID-19. The third wave was tough going around the world and in Chile. To keep getting that percent completion per week, almost 10,000 people must work on site. Everybody is tested on the way up. Getting through that challenge and executing well on this job is number one.

Beyond that, we have this amazing portfolio with enormous copper resources and seven different growth projects. That gives us the optionality to choose what we do next. After getting QB2 executed, is QB3 the next move? We have over 8 billion tons at QB, headed to 10 billion. We could do nothing but execute on the QB resource for the next 10 years; that would be a viable growth strategy. But we also have Galore Creek, Schaft Creek, Mesaba and San Nicholas. The key is to decide what balance of development growth capital should be deployed without sacrificing the ability to have great cash returns for shareholders. It’s exciting.

What are some of the bigger challenges the sector faces as we retool around the climate change agenda?

Investor and government scrutiny around ESG performance has become a very significant factor and risk for the industry. Over the last 10 years, the amount of capital under the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment organization has increased fivefold, to over $100 trillion. Those investors are addressing a range of ESG risks, the largest single point of focus being climate change and carbon emissions.

The nature of our industry makes us an energy- and emissions-intensive sector. We have a strategy for decarbonizing. Still, keeping pace with growing ESG expectations will be tough. We have to remain competitive, but if you want your share of investment dollars from capital providers, you have to meet their standards.

At Teck, we set an objective to be a carbon-neutral operator by 2050. On the same day, we announced that we were converting 50% of the power for QB2 to be clean and green from solar and wind. Our other copper mine in Chile has gone to clean and green power. In British Columbia, we already have clean hydropower.

This isn’t just about the source of the electricity that powers operations, though. It’s also about reducing vehicle emissions and decarbonizing our mobile equipment. Replacing huge 300- and 400-tonne trucks with a fleet of electric, autonomous 50-tonne trucks may be the most efficient and climate-friendly way to move material in the future.

We're working with the International Council on Mining and Metals on the innovation for cleaner, safer vehicles initiative; 27 of the world’s largest companies are contributing. Take a snapshot today and another five years from now, and the industry will be very different.

What would you like your legacy to be in the sector?

The legacy of Canada's mining industry will be its long-term contribution to making the world a better place. That includes supporting global efforts to address climate change. Every single thing in our lives comes from one of only two sources. If you can’t grow it, you have to extract it. That includes energy, but we need to do it with the smallest footprint possible.

We’ll prove that we can make a huge contribution to the climate change fight and improve our industry, while providing critically important minerals and lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. That’s our mission and our legacy.