The Green Economy Requires More Mining, Not Less

"The green economy is a concept cherished across the political spectrum. Of interest is that it will require more mining, not less."

Great discussion here about the dependence of green technologies on metal and therefor mining. According to French academics Vidal, Goffé and Arndt, wind and solar power demand alone will require 3200 million tonnes of steel, 310 Mt of aluminum, 40 Mt of copper, 800 Mt of glass, and 20 billion tonnes of concrete - to say nothing of rare earth elements, and many other metals, including gold, silver and platinum. To provide this amount of material will require a 5-18% annual increase in global mining production over the next 40 years.