Mining companies to turn scrap metal into green-energy

Lithium-ion batteries are recycled at a Li-Cycle facility in Canada. Recycled lithium could comprise 39% of the global market for the metal by 2050, according to one estimate.

Rio Tinto, Glencore and others seek to burnish environmental credentials, gain competitive edge as energy transition stokes demand for commodities

Some global mining companies are taking their hunt for materials that can power the energy transition to city scrapyards.

Rio Tinto and Glencore have signed deals this year to expand critical metals recycling, branching out from investments over the past decade that involve running giant mines in countries including the US, Australia and Congo.

They and others are betting that makers of cars and consumer electronics will increasingly demand sustainably sourced metals for their products. They are also seeking to turn a potential threat from rising scrap-metal supply into an opportunity.

Rio Tinto last month agreed to buy a 50% stake in Matalco, a supplier of recycled aluminum owned by Canada’s Giampaolo Group, for $700 million. Rio Tinto is the world’s second-largest miner by market value and a major producer of aluminum, used to make electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbine.