Critical minerals are becoming harder to extract as aging deposits, declining ore grades and increasingly complex operations threaten the mining industry’s ability to maintain production, according to a new EY report.
The Top 10 Business Risks and Opportunities in Mining and Metals report ranks operational complexity as the industry’s biggest risk for 2027, followed by capital availability, supply chain disruptions, rising costs and geopolitics. The findings are based on a survey of 400 senior mining and metals executives worldwide.“Mining has always been complex, but the degree of operational complexity is increasing as mines age and reserves are depleted and the new ones are more difficult to mine and process,” EY’s global mining and metals leader, Paul Mitchell, said in a statement.
The challenges carry particular significance for critical minerals, which governments increasingly consider essential to industrial development and secure supply chains. Producers face the task of replacing depleted reserves while navigating more demanding extraction conditions, financing constraints and shifting government policies.
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