The Overlooked Systems Powering Critical Mineral Development: Insights from ER Steel
Written by Ethan M. Stone
ER Steel, a global design and fabricator of structural steel and building systems, observes that conversations surrounding critical minerals often emphasize electrification, renewable technologies, and advanced manufacturing while giving less attention to the infrastructure required to extract, process, transport, and deliver these resources at scale. Scott Dunlop, President of ER Steel, says, “As investment grows in energy security, data infrastructure, and industrial modernization, the systems that keep these efforts moving are becoming a bigger part of the global conversation.”
The pace of demand surrounding critical minerals seems to intensify as nations pursue energy transition targets, expand digital infrastructure, and strengthen advanced manufacturing capabilities. According to a global critical minerals outlook report, lithium demand increased by nearly 30% in 2024 alone, while demand for nickel, cobalt, graphite, and rare earth elements rose between 6% and 8%, largely driven by electric vehicles, grid expansion, battery storage, and renewable energy systems.
The report also noted that copper demand has accelerated alongside large-scale investments in electrification infrastructure and transmission networks. These developments extend beyond renewable technologies into aerospace, semiconductor manufacturing, defense applications, and industrial automation, placing critical minerals near the forefront of long-term infrastructure planning.
“In public discussions, there’s a tendency to focus on the end products like battery systems, electric vehicles, AI infrastructure, and energy transmission, while the industrial work that makes those technologies possible doesn’t get the same attention,” Dunlop states. “Many mining projects operate in remote areas with limited transportation, tight labor availability, and challenging site conditions, which adds a layer of complexity that isn’t always visible from the outside.” He emphasizes that delivering a project from engineering through fabrication, logistics, installation, and commissioning involves coordination across numerous specialized disciplines, each carrying its own timelines, procurement schedules, and operational requirements.
According to ER Steel, those operational realities are becoming more significant as supply chains face growing pressure from geopolitical developments, permitting timelines, concentrated refining markets, and transportation constraints. The same outlook report found that the top three refining nations accounted for 86% of refined supply growth across key minerals between 2020 and 2024, while export controls and supply restrictions expanded across multiple strategic materials. Copper and lithium are also identified as areas where projected supply gaps may emerge over the coming decade due to rising demand, extended project lead times, and increasing capital intensity.
Lloyd Kamlade, COO of ER Steel, suggests that these conditions introduce additional complexity for owners, engineering groups, and procurement teams attempting to maintain project schedules and budget alignment. “Fragmented delivery models can create extended communication chains between subcontractors, fabricators, engineering consultants, logistics providers, and installation crews, particularly across large mining and industrial developments,” he explains. Kamlade adds that even relatively small disruptions in sequencing or procurement timing can affect construction schedules across multiple stages of execution.
ER Steel’s operational model was developed in response to many of these coordination challenges, according to the leadership team. Through integrated engineering support, fabrication management, logistics coordination, and project oversight, the company works to consolidate multiple phases of project delivery within a unified structure. This structure aims to support direct communication between disciplines while helping reduce the number of external coordination layers surrounding a project.
“Our teams stay connected from early planning through final delivery to create stronger continuity throughout the project lifecycle,” says Kamlade. “We believe that teams can respond faster, share information more efficiently, and support safer execution on site when engineering, fabrication, logistics, and field coordination operate within the same communication framework.”
That coordination, ER Steel notes, is particularly important within remote mining developments where transportation logistics, weather conditions, and workforce mobilization often require extensive planning well before construction begins. ER Steel stresses that industrial projects tied to mineral extraction frequently rely upon fly-in operations, seasonal transportation corridors, and highly specialized equipment deliveries. In these environments, sequencing and communication may influence productivity, installation flow, and workforce safety across the entire site.
Additionally, ER Steel observes that efficiency within mining infrastructure is often misunderstood as speed alone, when in practice it depends more heavily upon preparation and coordination. “The strongest outcomes usually come from slowing the process down long enough to align every moving part correctly,” Dunlop states.
Ultimately, as critical minerals continue supporting electrification, energy systems, advanced manufacturing, and digital infrastructure, the conversation surrounding supply chains is evolving alongside them. Discussions increasingly extend beyond mineral availability toward the infrastructure networks, operational coordination, and delivery systems required to bring large-scale projects online efficiently and responsibly. For ER Steel, that evolution reflects a broader understanding that industrial progress depends as much upon execution and integration as it does upon the resources themselves.
