Alastair Bobim, CEO of Insight Terra, has warned that Africa could bear the cost of ever-increasing demand for critical minerals unless sustainable mining activities are scaled up accordingly.
COP30 emphasized the simple truth that clean energy depends on rapid scale-up of critical minerals. But without urgent improvements and meaningful investment in sustainable mining, developing economies will continue to bear the environmental and social costs of transition.
Alastair Bobim, CEO of Insight Terra, says this represents a turning point in the global climate change problem. “Don’t be fooled: the clean energy transition is powered by minerals, and many of the world’s most important minerals are mined in Africa. But unless sustainable mining practices grow at the same pace as mineral demand, the transition will deepen inequality instead of delivering climate justice,” he says. Without this, we are just bringing the problem into someone else’s backyard – our own. And it’s not sustainable or clean.
According to the International Energy Agency, global demand for critical minerals will increase fourfold by 2040, and some materials will need to grow 30 times. The COP30 draft text formally acknowledged the role of mineral governance in achieving the Paris Agreement for the first time and highlighted the social and environmental risks associated with the rapid expansion of copper, cobalt, lithium, nickel and rare earth mining. This inclusion marks a significant change from previous UNFCCC negotiations, where mineral extraction was barely included in formal decision-making processes.
Although negotiations in Belem stopped short of a binding fossil fuel phase-out roadmap, proceedings placed mineral supply chains firmly on the agenda, demonstrating that how these minerals are sourced will increasingly determine the integrity of the global transition.
The transition to clean energy starts in the mines
A recent campaign by global engineering group Sandvik makes this point powerfully. The eNimon installation stripped the electric vehicle of all metal and mineral components, exposing a non-functional shell.
Bovim says this message resonates far beyond the mining sector. “Every electric car, solar panel, and wind turbine starts with mining. The question is not whether to mine, but how to mine and who pays the price if mining fails,” he says.
What’s at stake if mining doesn’t clean up its act?
Across Africa’s mining regions, communities closest to mining sites continue to face disproportionately high risks, particularly in areas where monitoring is weak or inconsistent. Those risks include:
Water pollution and acidification that endangers drinking water, agriculture, and livestock. Tailings dams and geotechnical deficiencies, such as the disasters that occurred this year in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Air pollutants including dust and heavy metals that are harmful to human health. Displacement and long-term loss of livelihoods. Increasing vulnerability to climate change due to extreme rainfall puts increased strain on infrastructure.
For example, an independent study showed that the partial collapse of the tailwater dam near Kitwe, Zambia in February may have released 1.5 million tons of toxic waste. The spill, enough to fill more than 400 Olympic swimming pools, released acid-containing substances into the Mwambashi River, which then flowed downstream into the Kafue River system, impacting people in the Kitwe region, the country’s second most populous urban area. Heavy metals remain a threat to residents living near the most affected areas.
Similarly, dam failures earlier this month at cobalt and copper mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (both important transition minerals) once again highlighted how local communities absorb environmental shocks from mining, while the global energy transition benefits from its output.
“When water, land and livelihoods are affected, the effects are immediate and spread across generations. These events demonstrate exactly what is at stake if sustainable mining cannot keep up with mineral demand,” says Bobim.
Progress is happening, but voluntary frameworks are not enough
ICMM’s latest progress report on the Global Industry Standard for Tailings Management (GISTM) shows encouragement for improved governance among major operators. However, GISTM remains voluntary and self-reporting, leaving large parts of the sector, especially small and medium-sized businesses, outside the framework.
“Frameworks like GISTM and the G20 Critical Minerals Framework are essential foundations, but they need to be supported by real-world implementation, and that starts with data,” Bobim says.
Real-time monitoring is the missing piece
Bobim argues that data and AI can help carriers stay ahead of the curve. Real-time monitoring and data-driven decision-making must form the backbone of sustainable mining.
Many mines have static monitoring technology in place, but to truly harness the potential of this data, all available sources must be integrated, including satellite imagery, IoT sensor networks, plant systems, ground-based monitoring equipment, and publicly available data. Platforms like Insight Terra can ingest this multi-source data in real-time for multivariate analysis and send trigger alerts when proactive action is required. This provides continuous visibility into water levels, water quality, tailings integrity, and land stability.
Sustainability is not a paper survey for annual board reports. Landmines are dynamic, and their monitoring must also be dynamic and proactive. “Without real-time monitoring, mines and critical infrastructure cannot prove compliance, regulators cannot intervene early, and communities remain in the dark. Environmental intelligence is the cornerstone of responsible mining,” he says.
Water monitoring is particularly important given the increasing water stress across mining areas and the cross-cutting impacts of water from contaminated water and mismanagement. “Whether in mining, agriculture or energy, water is at the heart of climate resilience. Mining companies need to treat water as a strategic resource rather than a by-product,” points out Bobim.
Africa’s Leadership Moment
Africa is home to some of the world’s most important transition minerals. With global frameworks gaining traction but slow implementation, the continent has an opportunity to shape new models of sustainable mining that use transparency, oversight and protection of local communities as strategic advantages rather than compliance burdens.
“Africa has a real opportunity to lead the world in sustainable mining practices. If developing regions are asked to take the risks of a clean energy transition, they deserve the highest standards of safety, accountability and remediation. That is the only way to ensure the transition is clean and fair,” Bobim concluded.
The article is available online: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/26112025/demand-for-critical-minerals-is-surging-sustainable-mining-must-catch-up/
