COAL CONTRIBUTES TO GROWTH
The amount of mining waste is expected to increase owing to increased demand for coal in power generation and energy and in cement production
Photo by: Creamer Media
The mining waste management market is expected to reach 233.56-billion tons by 2022, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1% during the forecast period, according to the ‘Mining Waste Management Market by Mining Method, Metals and Minerals, Waste Type, and Region - Global Forecast to 2022’.
The report attributes the growth of the mining waste management market to increasing mining operations owing to the demand for metals from the automotive industry and the power and utility sector in emerging economies and the development of various infrastructure globally. Further, growing concern with reducing pollution is also fuelling the growth of the mining waste management market.
According to the report’s findings based on mining method, the surface segment of the mining waste management market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Surface mining includes both openpit and opencut mining methods and the waste generated through surface mining techniques is much more, compared with the waste generated by the underground mining method. More than 80% of global mines adopt openpit or opencut mining methods and, as a result, the quantum of waste generated is much higher. This factor is anticipated to drive the surface segment.
Additionally, based on its findings on metals and minerals, the thermal coal segment is projected to lead the mining waste management market during the forecast period. This is owing to wide use of thermal coal in generating power and energy and its use in cement production. The growth of the power and energy sector and the increasing demand for cement from the global building construction market is likely to drive the thermal coal segment, according to the report. Further, it states that the rise in thermal coal exploration activities across the globe will also drive the mining waste management market in the coming years.
Based on waste type, the tailings sector is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Tailings are water-based waste products left after the removal of gangue from ores during surface mining operations. Tailings are stored on the surface of the earth in the form of dry stacks. They are also stored underground using the backfill process. Tailings mining waste is widely generated during the production and exploration of thermal coal, iron-ore, copper and coking coal, in particular. The demand for coal from the power and energy sector is increasing, along with the demand for various metals and minerals from various end-use industries. The production of and exploration for these metals and minerals are expected to generate a huge amount of mining waste, which will drive the mining waste management market in the coming years.
The report also predicts that the Asia Pacific is expected to account for the largest share of the mining waste management market by 2022. China, Australia, Kazakhstan and India are expected to be the key countries in the region contributing significantly to the mining waste management market.
Increasing population, rapid industrialisation, and improving economic conditions are the major factors that are expected to fuel the growth of various end-use industries, such as automotive, electrical and electronics, power and energy, construction and chemicals in the Asia Pacific region. The increasing demand for metals and minerals and coal from these end-use industries is expected to propel the growth of the mining waste management market in the region, in particular.