The mining and metals sector needs to accelerate growth and build additional capacity to support the energy transition. This trend, alongside the need to maintain capital discipline, has elevated capital to the number one risk facing the industry in 2025, according to the newly released ‘Top 10 Business Risks and Opportunities Survey for 2025’ by professional consulting firm EY.

The global energy transition continues to disrupt the mining and metals sector, driving the leadership agenda, as highlighted in the EY survey.

The survey, conducted among senior leaders from key geographies across the sector, shows that companies are grappling with the challenge of meeting demand for minerals and metals while addressing the pressures of maintaining capital discipline, achieving sustainable mining, and meeting elevated stakeholder expectations.

These competing priorities underscore the urgent need for mining and metals companies to rethink their strategies to thrive. Two new risks identified this year – resource depletion and new projects – reflect the understanding among industry leaders that change is necessary, EY’s report has revealed.

"This year, aside from the perennial cost and productivity risk, there has been a noticeable shift in the risks towards strategic issues to meet future demand. Fortunately, miners are not losing sight of environmental, social and governance (ESG) obligations, which are critical to attain and retain license to operate and are closely linked with risks like capital and workforce.

“A surprising finding this year was that workforce was not considered a key risk by 55% of respondents. Given the sector's significant challenges in attracting and retaining the talent needed to grow, this omission from the radar is alarming," EY Global and Asia-Pacific mining and metals leader Paul Mitchell says.

The report shows that capital has emerged as the top risk for mining companies, driven by the need to manage capital effectively while making strategic investments in growth. The focus on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) needs to shift towards building new mines, which will reduce returns in the short term.

“What’s clear from this year’s study is that capital has emerged as the number one risk for mining companies, signalling a need to shift gears. Miners must move from focusing solely on short-term returns to prioritising long-term value creation.

“While they have a strong record of capital discipline, it's now crucial to balance this with strategic investments that drive sustainable growth," EY Europe, Middle East, India and Africa mining and metals leader Lee Downham says.

According to the report, environmental stewardship has become the standout ESG issue. As environmental concerns take centre stage, mining companies are prioritising nature-positive initiatives to meet investor expectations.

Nearly half of respondents, 46%, expressed confidence in meeting their nature-positive obligations. Waste management has become a key area of scrutiny, with a focus on minimising waste, implementing closed-loop processes, and reprocessing mining waste.

The commitment by members of the ICMM to nature-positive goals has also driven attention to biodiversity, water management, and other critical ESG issues across the sector.

Resource depletion and bringing new projects online have become key concerns as demand rises. Ranked fourth and eighth respectively, these new risks reflect the soaring demand for minerals and the rising costs of exploration and construction.

EY says that achieving global decarbonisation targets by 2050 will require a significant increase in mining activities, with more minerals to be mined in the next 30 years than over the last 70 000 years.

However, capital raised for exploration has declined by 4% year-on-year, with budgets favouring gold over critical minerals like copper. The lack of new discoveries and lengthy permitting times further complicate the situation and threaten the progress of the energy transition.

"With few major copper discoveries in the last decade and an average of 15.7 years to bring a new mine online, we are facing a critical supply gap. Copper is essential to the energy transition, yet exploration budgets have been slow to shift towards critical minerals.

“Without accelerated investment and innovation in exploration, the world’s decarbonisation goals are at serious risk," EY Americas mining and metals leader Theo Yameogo says.