"Stepan has seen good growth, and the last two years have been eventful not only from the perspective of managing through a pandemic, but also managing through organic and inorganic expansions."
DIRECTOR, LASSONDE INSTITUTE OF MINING, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
"The mining community must recognize that resilience is going to come from reducing ESG risks, and that can only come from transformative innovation underpinned by research."
MACIG 2025 - Mining in Africa Country Investment Guide
It is said that mining is a patient industry. Current demand projections are not. Demand for minerals deemed ‘critical’ is set to increase almost fourfold by 2030, according to the UN. Demand for nickel, cobalt and lithium is predicted to double, triple and rise ten-fold, respectively, between 2022 and 2050. The world will need to mine more copper between 2018 and 2050 than it has mined throughout history. 2050 is also the deadline to curb emissions before reaching a point of ‘no return.’ The pace of mineral demand and the consequences of not meeting it force the industry to act fast and take more risks. Mining cannot afford to be a patient industry anymore. The scramble for supply drives miners back to geological credentials, and therefore to places like the African Central Copperbelt.