RIYADH: The mining industry will not be able to cope with rising demand without circularity, the CEO of Eurasian Resources group has said.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum session in Davos, Benedikt Sobotka added that this would mean higher prices and more inflation for consumers in the developing world.
“The demand is incredibly wasteful. To give you just one number per year, there’s about 50,000,000 tons of electronic waste being thrown away, 17 percent of that is being recycled,” he said.
“The time of cheap commodities is over,” Sobotka said, pointing to minerals and metals, as they have energy cost increases that make them more expensive.
The global mining industry needs more attention and investment from external investors which were not seen, he said, adding that it is valued at $1.5 trillion, which is a fraction of what it is actually worth in terms of value creation for the world.