[EndOfGrowth]

Mining, processing and transportation of metal ores and minerals which sustain our economies may be seriously compramised in the near future as oil becomes more scarce. And perhaps more worrying, so will the materials used to manufacture an alternative/ renawable/low carbon infrastructure for our economies of the future, as oil supplies dwindle and consequently the energy needed to mine them. In addition the future of nuclear power generation may also be threatened. Uranuim ore mining and processing also requires massive inputs of energy, particularly oil, which most of the mining and distribution equipment runs on.

Could Ken Deffeys be right when he talks of humanity entering a new stone age in 30 yrs time?

[JPL]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EndOfGrowth', 'M')ining, processing and transportation of metal ores and minerals which sustain our economies may be seriously compramised in the near future as oil becomes more scarce.

[nth]

Technically, you are incorrect.

Only when we reach Peak Energy does mining or other issues you brought up are no longer sustainable.

The question then becomes does peak oil/gas equivalent to peak energy. Many here will argue yes. There is no correct answer until after the fact.

[thylacine]

The present mining industry is well and truly wedded to the use of diesel and fuel oil to operate all the machinery and generate electricity (except for those rare cases where the mine is on grid power). I think for the mining industry peak oil/gas will be peak mining i.e. there is no way - post PO - that we are going to be able to extract metals and minerals at the rate we do today.

I have yet to see or hear any evidence that anyone inside the mining industry is even giving any thought to PO. Not surprising really - the industry works for the most part on very short term thinking, wild optimism and often blindly ignores the bleeding obvious.

The recent Australian Senate Committee looking at the nation's future oil supply took submissions from various interested/involved individuals and organisations. The mining industry was noticeably absent from the proceedings.

[pea-jay]

I used to process permits and do reviews for mine applications. I processed a permit on a mine with a 65 year lifespan. 120-year mine plan of operations have been proposed and accepted. Thats quite a remarkable faith in the future they've got. These are very methodical and I would guess, optimistic lot of individuals that own and operate mines. Theyve got a lot of faith in the market and are going to be pretty surprised when it all does not pan out the way they were expecting

[cube]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('thylacine', '.')..I think for the mining industry peak oil/gas will be peak mining i.e. there is no way - post PO - that we are going to be able to extract metals and minerals at the rate we do today.
...