America’s Progress Is Built on What Lies Beneath

Copper is an absolute all-arounder. You'll find it in cabling, computer connections and wind turbines, since it is particularly conductive. Copper is also used for drinking water pipes and sanitary fittings. Finally, as an alloy, it is resistant to high temperatures and corrosion. According to the IEA*, some 25.8 megatons of copper were needed in 2023. In 2050, the demand is expected to reach around 40 megatons*, and the upward trend looks set to continue. We extract this raw material from copper ore. We mine and process it in South America and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Find out more here

Zinc is estimated to be the fourth most commonly used metal in industry after iron, aluminum and copper. As a coating, it can help to protect steel and iron from rust. This makes zinc important for the infrastructure behind renewable energy, such as offshore wind turbines. But it can also be found in aerospace technology, buildings, vehicles and nearly every household. Electrical appliances and the circuit boards of mobile phones often contain zinc, as do pharmaceutical products and cosmetics. In nature, zinc is mostly found bound in ores. We extract, process, smelt and refine these ores. Various recycling processes also make it possible to reuse zinc.

Find out more here

Nickel can be found in many things – such as in aircraft and rocket engines, in the batteries that power laptops, toys, kitchen appliances and DIY tools. But it can also be used in breweries' beer tanks, thermos flasks and in Swiss coins. Nickel is often invisible. That's because it is usually used in small quantities to make alloys. Yet it can have a huge impact. It can help make batteries in EVs more powerful. Engines can be used at high temperatures and are less likely to melt. And stainless steel is less likely to corrode when it is used in cooking or as a construction material. As a side note, approximately two thirds of global nickel production is used to produce stainless steel. Our nickel operations are located in Canada, Australia and Norway.

Find out more here

As we move towards a low-carbon economy, cobalt is a key raw material. Electric mobility, renewable energy systems and electronic devices such as laptops and mobile phones often contain cobalt. After all, this metal offers a whole range of useful qualities. One example is that it can protect rechargeable batteries from overheating, making them safer and longer-lasting. It can also increase the strength of tools and enhances the strength, toughness and conductivity of materials. Cobalt is not usually found in its pure form, but as a by-product of copper and nickel production. We extract and process cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Australia, in Canada and in Norway.

Find out more here

Aluminium can be found in many industrial sectors. And for good reason: it is both light and impressively strong and durable, making it a particularly valuable raw material for the automotive and transport sectors. Construction and renewable energy systems, such as photovoltaics, also rely on aluminium. And the material is important in everyday life too – from packaging to smartphones and refrigerators through to garden furniture.

But let's go back to the start: aluminium does not occur in nature in its pure form, but rather only in chemical aluminium compounds. In other words, aluminium must first be extracted – namely from bauxite. Bauxite is the world's most abundant source of aluminium ore and a natural raw material that can occur as solid rock or loose soil. What is special about aluminium is that it can be recycled endlessly with no loss of quality – and requires only five percent of the energy needed to produce primary aluminium. Countries with the highest levels of secondary aluminium production are China, the USA, Japan and Germany. Currently, the proportion of recycled aluminium worldwide is between 30 and 40 percent. We market products made from aluminium and aluminium oxide from a range of third parties.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from organic matter in the ground over millions of years. In addition to a great deal of time, this process required pressure, heat and the absence of air. Coal was already being mined in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe by the end of the 12th century. By the 19th century, coal had become a driving force for the economy as a source of energy. For many countries, including Switzerland, coal was an important accelerator of development.

Today, coal provides the world with a dilemma, as, on the one hand, the fossil fuel is one of the largest sources of CO₂ emissions. On the other, coal remains a key element in the production of electricity, cement, steel and chemicals. In 2022, it is estimated that approx. 36% of global electricity was generated from thermal coal, approx. 90% of the world's cement was produced using coal, and about 70% of global steel production was dependent on coal.

Our coal operations are located in Australia, Canada, South Africa and Colombia.

Find out more here

Crude oil is a complex mix of more than 17,000 organic components. It is stored in the Earth's crust, from where it is extracted. Various oil products are obtained through industrial processing (refining). These are primarily fuels such as gasoline and diesel for vehicles, as well as jet fuel, heating oil and liquefied petroleum gas. We mainly source oil that is used as energy.

Byproducts of oil production also include asphalt, paraffin and lubricants – all of which are used in everyday life.  Roads are made from asphalt, while paraffin is used to make candles and creams, among other things. Lubricants are needed in mechanical parts. Gearboxes in machines, for example. In the chemicals industry, crude oil is often required to produce plastics. Oil remains one of the world's most important commodities and, as there is currently no mature technology that can replace it across the board, it will continue to play a major role.

Find out more here