Introduction

AS we move towards the final quarter of 2020, the pandemic continues to be at the forefront of all our thinking at this time. This year we have included a thought-provoking piece from our senior mining engineer, Don Hunter, on the long-term effects of COVID-19 on the industry.However, the energy transition is going to to be absolutely key for miners, together with the shift in focus away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy as the world sets its sights more firmly on zero-emissions targets. Of course, the global demand for minerals will remain during this energy transition, but the risk landscape of the mining industry is likely to undergo radical changes in the process.That’s why we have titled our Review “Managing the transition”. Mining companies need to know:

how the energy transition is going to affect their industry

why climate change is already transforming their industry risk landscape

which ESG pressures resulting from the rise of automation and innovation are going to affect the industry in the future

how risk managers can play a strategic role in developing their company’s response to this transition

So in Part one of the Review Margaret-Ann Splawn, who is a climate policy finance and investment consultant, sets the scene with a detailed analysis of how climate risk is impacting the mining industry, followed by our head of Mining for Canada, Katrin Hayduk, who examines how ESG pressures are affecting the rise of automation and innovation in the industry. Our experts from the Willis Research Network then show how mining industry risk managers have a vital strategic role to play in quantifying climate change risk, as well as improving their company’s ESG footprint.

In Part two we examine three aspects of risk management that we think are of significant relevance to the mining industry:

Responding to the challenging global insurance market conditions, Matthew Frost, who has recently been appointed Natural Resources Regional head for Australasia, outlines the steps that mining companies should take to ensure the creation of an optimal risk financing strategy.

As geopolitical tensions around the world intensify, the Willis Research Network’s Lucy Stanbrough describes the process by which mining companies can more accurately identify, manage and transfer their geopolitical risk more effectively.

As the threat of cyber-attacks on the mining industry looms ever larger, our own Myles Milner outlines the latest developments in this critical sector and the options open to miners to rise to this significant challenge to their business.

As if all these challenges were not enough for the mining industry, conditions in the global insurance markets continue to deteriorate significantly from a buyer perspective. We have not experienced a truly hard insurance market for many years and there is no denying that the effects on risk management budgets will continue to be profound for a while. In Part three of the Review we have included market analyses for the Property, Liability and Directors & Officers’ sectors, as well as including contributions from the Australian, Chinese and South African markets.

It’s worth summarising here the advice given by our market practitioners in this section:

Make sure your risk retention, captive participation and risk transfer strategy is based on sound actuarial principles.

Make a careful inventory of what should be insured, and what should not.

Ensure that your values are accurate, up to date and accountable.

Timing is everything – the placement process is now taking a lot longer than in the past, and planning the timing of your market approach is going to become increasingly critical in the months ahead.

As ever, we very much hope you enjoy reading the Review and would welcome any comments or questions that you may have.

Tom Holliday is Mining & Metals Leader, Global Natural Resources, Willis Towers Watson.
tom.holliday@willistowerswatson.com