The mining industry has reached a pivotal moment. After years of careful planning and studies, projects are starting to get the greenlight to start construction. For many, the waiting game is giving way to action, and operators are discovering what challenges await in today’s market.
The New Power Paradigm
As mines secure permits and move toward construction, they are entering a fiercely competitive landscape for electricity. The rapid growth of other energy-intensive sectors, like data centers, has placed unprecedented demand on the grid, leading to extended interconnection queues. For a newly permitted project, waiting years for a grid connection directly threatens the project’s schedule and financial viability.
To mitigate these timeline risks, securing power quickly has become a critical part of project strategy. The industry is experiencing a significant shift toward on-site power generation, which provides mines with greater control over their schedules. By turning to technologies like reciprocating engines and smaller, more readily available gas turbines (aeroderivatives), they can create independent power grids and move their projects forward at a faster pace than traditional grid interconnection timelines.
This independence comes with its own set of challenges. Grid stability is a major concern, especially when large loads come on and off, which can risk taking the entire system down. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) have become a critical component of on-site power plants. A BESS provides the stabilization needed to levelize spikes in power demand, preventing damage and costly shutdowns.
Shifting From Planning to Execution
The combination of support from the current administration and a national security imperative to secure domestic supply chains is accelerating the shift from planning to execution. Bipartisan support in Congress for permitting reform and critical minerals onshoring is also contributing. As projects get permitted — often after years of upfront studies — project teams must transition from planning to construction.
Securing long-lead equipment procurement, especially electrical components, is a significant challenge, because high demand from other sectors creates supply chain bottlenecks. Clients who have been in a “study mode” for years must quickly pivot to a “go time” mindset. This means making procurement decisions immediately to avoid falling behind schedule. Compounding the crunch, a tight labor market adds another layer of complexity to project construction and execution.
Water has always been essential for mining, but its importance is growing exponentially. Mines in water-stressed areas are facing availability challenges, and all operations are under increasing pressure to manage this resource responsibly. This challenge encompasses everything from complex water balance models to new technologies for recycling and reducing water use.
The Rise of Progressive Design-Build
In the early 2010s, the mining industry was in the midst of high commodity pricing, new land purchases, rising expansion, and an increase in large capital projects and acquisitions. During this period, mine owners executed projects using traditional design-bid-build contracts and engineering-procurement-construction management (EPCM) contracts. The complexity, size, location and fast-track nature of projects during that time opened owners and contractors up to risk. This resulted not only in cost and schedule overruns, but also tremendous losses in project development and, in some cases, abandonment of efforts. This experience left mines with a negative perception of EPCM.
In today’s market, mining companies, often with lean internal teams, are rethinking their project delivery models. Progressive design-build (also referred to as progressive EPC) is gaining traction for large and small capital projects alike because it offers greater cost and schedule certainty by incorporating construction input from the earliest phases of design. The key attraction is that the progressive design-build model helps clients mitigate their biggest risks — the project schedule and cost certainty — while still allowing for a competitive bidding process for materials, equipment and construction. This is achieved through an open-book process in which major equipment, materials and construction costs are transparently shared with the owner. Cost and schedule risk are then shifted to the design-builder once agreed upon by both parties.
The Future Is Autonomous and Remote
Labor market concerns are also accelerating the adoption of remote operations and autonomous vehicle fleets. We are already seeing the first fully autonomous haul fleets in the U.S. This technological shift creates fresh demand for on-site infrastructure, including robust power systems and advanced sensor technology, as the industry reduces its reliance on diesel. In the short term, the push for autonomy and remote operations might even outpace the push for full electrification.
National Security Drives Domestic Mining
Finally, growing national security concerns around reliance on China for critical minerals and rare earth elements is creating a strong incentive to permit and develop more mining projects within the U.S. Expect to see more mining efforts for lithium and critical minerals come back to the U.S. to secure a domestic supply chain.
It appears 2026 will be an active and transformative year for the mining industry. As projects advance into construction, the challenges are real, and so are the opportunities.