Car manufacturers and mining companies have very different operating parameters and business models. But the push for electric vehicle (EV) adoption, has some in both camps reaching out across the corporate divide to seek common answers to an array of challenging questions. Yunus Kemp, ESI Africa Senior Journalist, reports.
At the recent Mining Indaba 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa mining and automobile executives pondered: What does a successful business relationship between car manufacturers and (African) miners look like? The gathered panelists agreed that the rise of relationships between car manufacturers and miners is on the increase, due to the proliferation, demand and polices around EVs. Their aim is to reduce limited security of supply of transition minerals needed to build these new energy vehicles.
But the two global businesses have very different operating parameters and business models. During the conference session, the guest speakers mulled over pertinent questions, which included:
- So, how do they align?
- Human rights are a top priority for global Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEMs), but are mining companies doing enough to ensure this is never compromised?
- How can African miners educate global businesses on the nuances of operating in Africa?
A broader answer is that sharing success stories could be the key to finding alignment between global and local stakeholders.
In need of a complementary regulatory framework
At Mining Indaba, Benedikt Sobotka, CEO Eurasian Resources Group, emphasised that a conversation needed to be had around provenance and standards, “…not just the cost of the commodity.”
He said the big question that used to be asked regarded the integrity (or lack of) of the refining process. “It used to be very difficult to establish whether a unit of cobalt or lithium was processed in a sustainable way. Powerful computers today can trace the metals’ origin. Previously mining companies were cast as the bad guys, now they’re part of the conversation,” said Sobotka.
Delanie Naudé, Procurement Manager, Volkswagen Group SA, said it takes at least 10 years or more to finance and build a lithium mine. “We’re going to have to mine more metals in the next 10 years than ever in our history.”
She said cost is a crucial driver as well as new technology which is not readily accessible.
