Green mining faces narrative challenge, executives tell CNN Talks

This Tuesday (30), in São Paulo, authorities, experts and leaders gathered to participate in CNN Talks: New Era of Mining. One of the central themes covered was the energy transition and decarbonization of the sector.

During the panel Sustainable Mining: Investment, Decarbonization, Regional Development, experts argued that what is holding the sector back are not concrete initiatives, but rather a villainous narrative of the sector in Brazil and around the world.

José Carlos Martins, advisor to Cedro Mineração also argued that, in Brazil, mining carries the risk of not adding value.

"This misunderstanding of mining permeates all sectors in Brazil. And the sector has done little to change this," he said.

"It seems that we are ashamed of putting things open. We need to have more widespread metrics on job creation and tax generation", he argued.

"The importance of mining for the energy transition is very great. But governments need to look at mining in a different way."

Flora Bitancourt, CIO of the World Climate Foundation, sees an unprecedented window of opportunity for mining in the global energy transition agenda.

For her, "the global agenda is calling on the mining sector to act and be part of the green transition". This invitation, however, has prerequisites for it to come to blows.

CNN Talks New Era of Mining: License to Operate and Territories to Transform | Panel 2

Speaking of practice, Thiago Toscano, CEO of Itaminas, defended connecting the global mining agenda to local reality.

"I know that the numbers are important, but they don't reach the population as they should. We need to connect this global agenda with the daily lives of residents of the regions, so that they understand that mining in that place is good and beneficial. It brings investments in health, education, quality of life", he argues.

Still, Brazil has everything it needs to take a leading role in the mining of the future. This is what Pablo Cesário, director and president of Ibram (Brazilian Mining Institute) believes.

Cesário argues that mining needs to change its focus - something already put in place with the Bill for Critical and Strategic Minerals (PL 2780/2024), approved by the Chamber of Deputies in May this year.

"We saw a rare consensus in Congress. People who disagree on absolutely everything reach a common ground on what we, as a country, need", he says.

"For a long time now, mining has not been seen as bringing the future as it is. When we talk about energy transition we are talking about mining", he concludes.

CNN Talks: New Era of Mining brings together authorities, businesspeople, experts and representatives of the mineral sector to discuss the paths of Brazilian mining in a new phase of global competition for critical minerals, energy transition and supply chain security.

The meeting takes place at a time when Brazil is trying to transform its geological advantage into economic, industrial and diplomatic protagonism, with debates on financing, environmental licensing, innovation, sustainability, traceability, added value and greater participation of the country in the most noble stages of the mineral chain.

Critical minerals could increase the country's GDP by R$243 billion by 2050

Source: CNN