Trust in mining at ‘turning point’ amid critical minerals push

Industry leaders cite key opportunity to tackle negative public attitudes to mining.

Growing awareness of the need for ‘critical’ minerals is presenting the industry with a unique opportunity to build trust, as public perceptions near a turning point.

New research by the Aspermont research division, Mining IQ, revealed that most industry professionals (55.9%) believe that growing global public awareness of the energy transition and the need for critical minerals is having a positive effect on perceptions of mining.

Mining IQ’s Leadership Insights 2026 report, based on a major survey and 13 interviews, also showed that many industry leaders and experts see the current climate as a huge opportunity to overturn persistent negative attitudes toward mining. “The world is waking up to the reality that the clean-energy future depends on responsible mining. This is a turning point for our industry,” Marna Cloete, chief executive at Ivanhoe Mines, said in an interview.

About half of the 170 Leadership Survey respondents rated public trust in mining as low or very low, with just 12.4% rating it high or very high. Commonly cited reasons for this include high-profile disasters, a historical legacy of poor environmental protection, and a lack of awareness of a recent drive to improve ESG standards.

Performance is key

But making the most of the current opportunity to win hearts and minds will depend on the industry’s performance.

“We have a real chance to earn trust, but only if we are open about how we operate, set higher standards for ourselves, and genuinely address people’s concerns. But if we don’t listen to concerns or cut corners in the rush to supply, opposition will only intensify,” Cloete added.

The view was mirrored by Aris Mining CEO Neil Woodyer. “The world needing more metals doesn’t automatically mean communities will accept more mining near them; those are two separate conversations, and I think the industry sometimes mixes them,” he said.

“What rising demand does give us is a real opening to explain our role more clearly and make the case for what responsible mining looks like.”

Some remain unconvinced, however. While over half of survey respondents said the energy transition and critical minerals focus was having a significant (9.9%) or moderate (46.1%) positive impact on public perceptions of the industry, almost a third (31.6%) said there was no meaningful change, while a small minority (8.6%) reported a negative effect.

“The realisation of the importance of the critical minerals for the energy transition and other benefits to society has stemmed negative perceptions but not reversed them,” one survey respondent, an executive committee member of a US-based major producer, said.

Mining IQ’s Leadership Insights 2026 report also investigates current public perceptions of mining and the main drivers behind them, how poor perceptions impact the industry, recent trends and a blueprint for future improvements, based on insights from interviewees and survey respondents.