Critical Metals

The thawing of permafrost is yet another manifestation of climate change, that populations living near it will have to deal with in the coming decades as global warming accelerates, particularly in the polar regions

Mining is often deemed complicit in the rise of greenhouse gas emissions, given its use of heavy machinery and ground disturbance, but in this case, in areas where the ground is permanently frozen but starting to thaw, operations can be negatively impacted, and big miners are having to shell out millions. We have seen the implications of thawing permafrost at Teck’s Red Dog Mine in Alaska, and at Norilsk Nickel’s Oktyabrsky and Taimyrsky mines in Siberia.

The problem is not going away; in fact, there is every indication it will get worse.