Rising oil prices are the latest challenge to the mining sector’s profitability, threatening to eclipse hard-fought efficiency gains during the past two years and increasing metals demand. Miners use heavy fuel oil to generate electricity at remote sites; they also use it for transport, with large trucks and other equipment guzzling down millions of gallons each day across the industry. Brent crude prices are up 40 percent in the past year, cheering oil industry executives but causing concern among their customers in the mining sector. The concern is especially acute for underground miners, with power and labor costs about two-thirds of their expenses. “Let’s be clear: Inflation is going to hit – is hitting all communities and all players across the industry,” Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques […]