TDi Sustainability and AXA Climate sign Memorandum of Understanding to advance climate risk transparency in the global metals and minerals sector

Climate Risks Facing Mining Operations

Mining companies face a growing set of operational, safety, and financial challenges as climate impacts intensify.

Heat risk is identified by the TDi and AXA Climate teams as the fastest-growing physical peril affecting mining operations within the scope of this collaboration. By 2050, one-third of the mining portfolio analysed is expected to be at high or very high heat risk, meaning that sites are likely to experience a significantly higher number of extreme heat days and new temperature extremes compared to historical local climate patterns. Such increases in heatwave intensity and frequency can cause overheating of equipment, reduce performance, result in temporary shutdowns and faster wear of key components – in turn driving higher maintenance and replacement costs. Heat also negatively affects working conditions, increasing the risk of heat-related health issues, reducing worker alertness, and raising accident rates. These impacts have direct implications for both operational continuity and corporate reputation.

Water scarcity represents the most significant and persistent risk across all time horizons analysed by the team. By 2050, competition for limited water resources is expected to intensify, with 77% of sites analysed being in regions facing extreme water stress spread across all continents. Reduced water availability may increase tensions with local communities over water use and constrain on-site productivity, as insufficient water supplies can slow extraction and industrial processes and limit the ability to effectively manage dust. Increased dryness combined with windy conditions expand dust dispersion zones, posing hazards to surrounding communities and requiring more robust suppression measures. Prolonged drought and water scarcity threaten the continuity of ore processing – potentially reducing throughput, and in severe cases forcing complete operational stoppages.

Conversely, increased intensity of extreme rainfall events as a result of climate change can trigger truck slippage, slope instability, pit flooding, and damage to critical access routes, while inundation of processing plants and electrical systems can halt production and compromise worker safety. Flood events also increase the likelihood of tailings seepage or dam overflow, which can lead to prolonged shutdowns and costly remediation, especially if dewatering systems fail during infrastructure disruptions.

Many mining facilities were originally designed for climate extremes expected once in a century, yet these events are becoming far more frequent, rendering historic design parameters inadequate for the new climate reality. Together, these pressures underline the urgent need for updated climate adaptation planning, robust risk assessments, and more resilient infrastructure across the mining sector, alongside more transparent climate risk adaptations that enable investment firms to invest more confidently into mining companies within more unstable climate zones.

Supporting safer, more resilient mining operations

By leveraging risk data generated through this partnership, TDi Sustainability and AXA Climate intend to support mining companies, investment firms, OEMs and other stakeholders with:

• Clear insights into climate-related impacts on mine site operations
• Support in the development of climate adaptation strategies
• Stronger integration of climate risks into project design
• Improved health, safety, and operational resilience
• Enhanced long-term business continuity
• Support in assessing mining organisations’ adaptation strategies – ensuring they are suitable, timely and appropriate
• Identifying climate sensitive regions within current and future portfolios that require enhanced due diligence.

The data produced as part of the partnership will be made available through the TDi Digital Platform, which supports stakeholders across critical minerals value chains to identify risks, conduct due diligence, simplify compliance, and strengthen operational and reputational risk management.

About AXA Climate

AXA Climate, a subsidiary of the AXA Group focused on climate adaptation and transition, supports sectors such as food and agriculture, industry, finance, and the public sector through parametric insurance, consulting, Climate School training, and its Altitude SaaS platform for climate and nature risk assessment. By combining climate science, geospatial data, and sector-specific expertise, AXA Climate enables private and public organisations to assess their exposure to environmental risks, address key challenges, and implement concrete adaptation and mitigation strategies tailored to their local contexts and operational constraints.

About TDi Sustainability

TDi Sustainability is a global advisory firm specialising in sustainable business practices across the minerals, metals, luxury goods, automotive, electronics, retail, and investment sectors. TDi provides tools and services for supply chain due diligence, ESG risk management, sustainable sourcing, brand protection, crisis management, and corporate accountability. With a track record spanning more than a decade, and clients ranging from artisanal mine sites to global brands and governments, TDi works across the full raw materials value chain – from mine to market – to help organisations anticipate risks, strengthen sourcing strategies, and build sustainable, socially responsible enterprises. The TDi Digital Platform is an all-in-one solution to simplify compliance, operational and reputational risk management. It provides an integrated due diligence system that makes risk management clear, simple and actionable. Please get in touch with the TDi team for a demo of the platform.