EY critical minerals risk outlook: operational complexity explained for mine teams
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
Critical minerals are becoming harder to mine as ageing deposits, declining grades and more complex flowsheets push “operational complexity” to the top risk in EY’s 2027 mining and metals survey of 400 senior executives. Regulatory delays are cited as the biggest driver, with grade variability, labour, material handling, processing capacity, transport and equipment reliability each troubling roughly a quarter of respondents, while 67% of mining and metals assets sit in a cybersecurity “vulnerability zone”. Miners are turning to OEM finance (44%), sovereign wealth funds (39%), government capital (39%) and supply-chain visibility tech (53%) to keep projects moving.
Technical Brief
- EY’s 2027 Top 10 Business Risks and Opportunities ranks cybersecurity as a distinct risk category for mining.
- EY’s research indicates 67% of mining and metals assets sit in a cybersecurity “vulnerability zone” with weak controls.
- Supply chain risk controls now include 52% of miners deliberately increasing inventories or stockpiles to buffer disruptions.
- To manage logistics risk, 53% of surveyed companies are deploying technology for end‑to‑end supply chain visibility and tracking.
- Regulatory compliance delays are singled out as the leading driver of operational complexity, constraining schedule flexibility and contingency planning.
- As deposits deplete, reduced options for ore blending and routing directly erode operators’ ability to absorb unplanned events safely.
Our Take
With operational complexity topping EY’s risk list for 2027 and 29% of executives pointing to variable reserve grades, ageing copper assets such as Bingham Canyon are likely to see more capital diverted into selective mining, ore sorting and geometallurgical modelling rather than greenfield expansion.
The high share of miners seeking capital from OEMs (44%) and sovereign wealth funds (39%) suggests that developers of critical minerals in regions like Africa and Latin America may increasingly structure offtake-linked or equipment-backed financing rather than relying on traditional project finance alone.
Given that 67% of mining and metals assets sit in a cybersecurity ‘vulnerability zone’ while 53% of miners are investing in supply-chain visibility tech, operators in coal, copper and lithium will need to treat OT–IT integration projects as safety‑critical infrastructure upgrades, not just logistics or ERP improvements.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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