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Vale COO comments on future of industry

The mining industry is rapidly moving toward digital technology, and Sudbury could be at the heart of it with careful planning, said Vale’s Ricus Grimbeek. The chief operating officer for Canada, the U.
Ricus
Ricus Grimbeek, COO, Canada, the UK and Asian refineries, Vale

The mining industry is rapidly moving toward digital technology, and Sudbury could be at the heart of it with careful planning, said Vale’s Ricus Grimbeek.

The chief operating officer for Canada, the U.K, and Asian refineries was the guest speaker at a Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce President’s Luncheon Series on January 10.

His message was clear: Vale has a decades-long plan to stay in the region, as well as help the city become the global hub of digital mining.

“I was talking to somebody and they said they thought there was maybe five good years of mining left here, and asked what I thought and I disagreed. Then they asked me if it was more or less.

According to Grimbeek, Vale is looking at another 20 to 30 years of production in the Sudbury Basin if not more.

Oddly enough, climate change is going to help spur that sustainability with the increased demand for battery-electric vehicles.

The world is moving toward battery-powered vehicles with two million produced last year alone, mostly in China.

He predicted 15 to 20 million battery-electric vehicles being on the road in the next five years.

That demand is going to continue to increase as infrastructure is built to adapt to the new technology.

Other renewable energy technologies such as wind power and storage facilities will further drive the need for nickel and copper.

Whenever people think about the large batteries needed to power vehicles, lithium comes to mind immediately, but Grimbeek said batteries also require large quantities of nickel.

“There’s been a huge boost in lithium shares, but they haven’t looked at the chemistry,” he said. “A small electric vehicle requires about 40 kilograms of nickel for the battery. That’s a lot.”

Mining itself is changing rapidly as it moves toward digital transformation. More operations are adopting automation and artificial intelligence.

Mines are also being planned with minimal environmental impact

This will be an advantage for Sudbury due to many of the local mining service companies already producing battery powered equipment and digital solutions.

The city also has a long history of expertise in deep hard-rock mining that other countries and multinational corporations can learn from.

Along with that are the success stories from 40 years of environmental remediation and as the region cleans up the damage from historic mining.

Grimbeek said mining jobs are becoming more technologically advanced.

Laurentian University, Cambrian College and Collège Boréal, along with high schools and trade schools, play an important role in training a new generation of miners.

A major challenge facing the industry is the boom and bust nature of nickel, he said.

Prices have stagnated for the past four years.

Grimbeek said investors tend to be “gun shy” about nickel because of the roller coaster ride it has experienced over the years, but Sudbury has the advantage of being the top global producer of high-grade, Class 1 nickel required for batteries.

Grimbeek said he has always had a passion for environmental protection, safety and sustainability – something he brought with him from his decades working in South Africa and Australia.