Why We Mine

What is the role of Indigenous Peoples in the global race to secure the critical minerals we need for the green energy transition? And how can the mining industry and Indigenous communities work together to forge an equitable future?In this episode of Why We Mine, presented by Teck, host Robin Stickley speaks with two people with an intimate understanding of the nuanced relationship between Indigenous communities and the mining industry: Christy Smith — Senior Vice President of Indigenous Engagement and Human Environment at Falkirk Environmental Consultants, and John Desjarlais — Executive Director of the Indigenous Resource Network. Together, they tackle some important questions, like where trust has been broken in the past? They also discuss the “Seven Generations” mindset with respect to resource projects, and explore how that way of thinking can further these important relationships, now and for decades to come.Please note: This episode includes some sensitive topics, including trauma, suicide, and residential schools. If you or anyone you know is facing mental health issues, you can find resources HERE. You can also click these links to learn more about the work of the Indigenous Resource Network and Falkirk Environmental Consultants.

It’s one of the first metals human beings ever mined, and the first to be smelted, cast into molds, and alloyed with another metal. And today, copper has become just as important to humankind as it was to those early Sumerian, Egyptian, and Roman civilizations. But why is it so critical, and why do we need so much of it?In this episode of Why We Mine, presented by Teck, host Robin Stickley explores copper’s pivotal role in the green energy transition, and why we need to mine more of it in the next 30 years than we have in the past 5,000. With the help of Professor Shaun Barker, the Director of the Mineral Deposit Research Unit at the University of British Columbia, and Tyler Mitchelson, a Senior Vice President at Teck, Robin also learns why copper is so unique, what the mining industry is doing to meet the growing need, and why this is a challenge we can’t simply recycle our way out of.

The term “critical minerals” has been getting tossed around a lot lately. Most people know that certain elements are essential to many modern conveniences and technologies we take for granted, like our smartphones and electric cars. But which metals are we talking about exactly, why are they so important to the green energy transition, how much of them do we need, and what’s the mining industry’s role in helping meet that demand?In this episode of Why We Mine, host Robin Stickley explores the growing global demand for elements like lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, graphite, and zinc, with the help of Dr. Peter Tom Jones, Director of the KU Leuven Institute for Sustainable Metals and Minerals in Belgium. She also speaks with Mark Zacharias, the Executive Director of Clean Energy Canada, to find out why governments around the world, including Canada, are crafting specific strategies to ensure they have adequate access to these metals in the future.

What is trust? How do you measure it? And more importantly, how do you earn it back once you’ve lost it? Those three questions are at the root of a growing conversation within the mining industry.In this episode of Why We Mine, presented by Teck, host Robin Stickley sits down with Rohitesh Dhawan, the President and CEO of the International Council on Mining and Metals, who delivered some straight talk to the industry: it has a trust issue on its hands. Together, they explore the origins of that trust gap, and the importance of empathizing and engaging with skeptics. Robin also hears from Katie Fedosenko, Teck’s Director of ESG Engagement, Asia and Europe, to learn how the mining industry is evolving to be a better listener, and how companies are actively working to earn public trust, to help further society’s shared goals related to the green energy transition.