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RENEWABLE ENERGY 58 E&MJ; • APRIL 2016 www.e-mj.com Ottawa, Ontario-based Energy and Mines hosted the seventh in its series of "summits" in London at the end of January. Entitled Renewables for Mines: Driving competitive, secure and low-car- bon power solutions for mines, the event attracted around 180 registrants from mining companies, energy suppliers, consul- tants, the f nance sector, commodity traders and governments. Opening the meeting, the chairman, and director of Mines and Energy, Adrienne Baker, stated her belief that renewables for mining will be a $5 billion market within the next f ve years, despite the current low oil price. "There is strong interest, with renewables capable of providing both cost savings and energy security," she said. In his welcome address, U.K. government Minister Tobias Ellwood pointed out that the mining sector is today facing the most diff cult situation ever, with energy accounting for up to 40% of a mine's operating costs. "The industry needs energy that is both stable and reliable," he said. "The question is how to adapt businesses to use renewable sources, in terms of both f nancing and technology. Looking specif cally at one country with a vitally import- ant mining sector, Ellwood pointed out that Morocco (which is hosting the COP22 climate-change conference in November) is becoming the "renewables powerhouse" for the region. Ex- panding on this, the secretary general of the Moroccan Minis- try of Energy, Mines, Water and the Environment, Abderrahim El Haf di, explained that whereas the country took just 2% of its energy from renewables in 2002, this proportion reached 12% last year with ambitious plans to achieve 52% renewable energy input by 2030. The state phosphate-mining company, OCP, is taking a leading role adopting renewables in its energy mix, he said. Discussion Panels for Expert Insights The meeting brought together two threads: conventional pre- sentations relating to projects and technology with discussion panels featuring participants offering a range of expert opinion and experience. In the f rst such panel, focusing on strategic energy choices for mines, Tim Williams, CEO of Andiamo Re- sources, reminded the audience that the mining industry not only produces energy commodities in the form of coal and ura- nium, but also the materials needed for renewables technolo- gies. "Right now, energy is priced very low, with substantial amounts of both oil and coal being produced at less than mar- ginal cost," he said. "Costs will have to revert," he went on. "Mines are wasting assets, most are short-lived, and with falling grades, the amount of energy needed to recover metals is rising rapidly." His thoughts were echoed by Maciej Majchrowicz, from KGHM in Poland. "Our mines are getting deeper, with longer haulages," he said. "All this means more stress on our energy costs, with KGHM having already been faced with cuts to its energy supply from the national grid. The company is looking at ways of becoming more self-reliant for its energy needs, al- though it is clear that for systems such as wind power—and Poland has a lot of potential for this—energy storage is really important." Vicente Gutierrez, vice president of CONFEDEM (Confederación Nacional Empresarios de la Minería y Metalúrgica) in Spain, speaks during one of the panel discussions. Discussing Energy Options Cutting energy costs is critical for mining companies. Simon Walker reports on views presented at the recent London conference on the role of renewables.