All language subtitles for Tomorrows.World.Today.S07E02.1080p.WEB.h264-FREQUENCY_track3_[eng]

[narrator]
On Tomorrow's World Today ,

we explore
the cutting-edge advances

that are shaping
four different worlds.

The world of inspiration,
where the wonders of

the natural world
amaze and inspire us.

The world of creation,
where ideas come to life

from traditional arts.

The world of innovation,

where ideas and inventions
move us all forward.

The world of production,

where innovations
are mass-produced

to improve our lives.

From Inventionland
World Headquarters,

here's your host,
George Davison.

Hi, everybody,
I'm George Davison.

And in our last episode,
we began to explore

sustainable copper mining.

You see,
copper is the linchpin

of our energy transition,

powering renewable technologies

and electrifying transportation.

With over 65% of its global
usage dedicated to electricity,

its role is pivotal.

So let's go rejoin field
reporter Greg,

who's in the world of production
in Arizona

to further explore
how copper's at the forefront

of our quest for a greener,
more sustainable tomorrow.

Copper plays an incredibly
important role

in our transition away
from fossil fuels.

It's a great conductor of
electricity, which makes it

an amazing partner for solar
panels and wind turbines

and other versions
of renewable energy,

and that's why we're here at
Freeport-McMoRan in Arizona.

I'm going to meet with Cory
Stevens and learn why copper

is a conductor of change.

Cory, why is copper such
an essential part

of the clean energy transition?

Yeah, so copper has a lot
of unique attributes,

but first and foremost
is its ability

to transmit electricity.

It's a highly-efficient
conductor.

It's got great thermal
conductivity characteristics.

The electrical application
accounts for 65% of the use

for all copper
on an annual basis.

So I know that there are other
conductive metals

that we could use, gold,
silver, or aluminum,

but they don't have
the longevity that copper has.

So copper has
a super long life cycle.

For example, if you took all
the copper that was mined

from the early 1900s today,
and looked at that

in a combined state, about
two-thirds of that's still in

productive use today.
-That's amazing.

So a house that was wired up
and built, maybe, say,

in the early 1900s,
could essentially have

the same wiring in it today
and still be in use.

Yeah, exactly.

You know, Cory, everybody is
talking about EVs these days.

Tell me about copper's role

in the electrification
of transportation.

Yeah, so copper is a key
enabler in allowing this

technology to function.

All the major components of
an EV,

whether it's the battery,
the inverter, the wheel motors

and the wiring that connects
all those major components,

that's what makes this
technology come alive.

The copper intensity of an EV
is about three to four times

what you would normally see in
an internal combustion engine.

Then you have the charging
infrastructure and you can see

from the cabling here, this is
packed dense with copper,

and it really leverages that
conductivity that we were

talking about before,

and then within this housing,

there's additional
copper features

that allow it to
connect to the grid

and supply that energy
to the vehicle.

And then the grid itself is
another part of that copper

intensity because the copper
is used to transfer that power

to the charger and then from
the charger to the vehicle.

Right, and so with the grid,

the way that
the energy makeup is today,

EVs are 50% more efficient
than an internal combustion

engine on a carbon basis.

As the grid continues to
decarbonize through renewables

and otherwise, right,
that's only going to make EVs

that much cleaner
as time goes on.

Right. So as time goes on,
too, one of the things

that we have to consider

is that as much as
we would like to believe

that our vehicles will
last forever,

we know that they will not.

So when this vehicle has
outlived its usefulness,

it's got a lot of
copper in it.

What's going to happen to all
that copper?

Alright, so that's the beauty,
is that copper

is infinitely recyclable,
right?

And so as you get to the end
of a life cycle for your EV

or other equipment,
you can take that copper out

and reprocess it,
and then it can go into

a number of
different other applications.

That's great.

Well, I know another really
intensive copper application

is in the creation of data
centers and server farms

and cloud creation.

So I'm going to head down,
I'm going to talk to Kevin

from Encore Wire and find out
more about that.

-Thanks, Cory.
-Great.

Kevin, I was just
talking with Cory

about data centers and how
incredibly important they are,

and they are important,
but they can't operate

without what you do.

Tell me about your company.

That's correct.

We're Encore Wire
in McKinney, Texas,

and we make building wire,

and we use copper to
make that building wire,

and copper is what supplies
the power to data centers,

and I don't know that people
really know the impact that

data centers have on our daily
lives, but from the time

we wake up in the morning
until we go to sleep,

we are constantly engaged with
a data center in some way.

It's an incredible new
phenomenon, I think that we've

even seen over the pandemic
where people have

remote learning and those
types of things, social media,

it affects everything in
our daily lives.

Okay, well, tell me a little
bit about the infrastructure

within that data center
and how your company

deals with that.

So we make the cables that
bring the power

into the building and then
throughout the building.

So it's basically a giant
building with computers

all over it,

and those computers work 24/7,
and they've got to be

powered in an adequate way.
and that's what we do.

We supply all the wires
and cables that go

and power the data centers.

What are some of the biggest
challenges then

that your industry faces?
-Supply chain is huge.

We saw the issues that went on
through the pandemic and those

who couldn't get their supply
of whatever it was

that they make, they couldn't
serve their customers,

and so Freeport-McMoRan has
allowed us to grow incredibly

during the pandemic and now the
agreements that we've got

with them and the friendship
that we have with them

really allowed us to do what we
do, which is deliver wire faster

and more complete than anybody
else in our industry.

Okay, well let's talk a little
bit about that.

Sustainability and making sure
that things are responsibly

produced has become important
across all industries.

How has that
affected what you do?

It really has, and we all know
the world is becoming greener.

Everybody's trying to do what
they can to make the world

a better place to live,
and sustainably-sourced copper

in our case is an incredibly
important thing, not only to us,

but to the people that
we sell it to.

So again, with that partnership
with Freeport-McMoRan

and our partnership with
the Copper Mark,

which basically is a stamp
that says this

is responsibly sourced,

those types of things are
allowing us to be able to get

bigger and bigger jobs
and expand our market share.

Excellent. Kevin,
thank you very much.

Thank you, Greg.

[Greg] In the rapidly evolving
landscape of tomorrow's world,

copper is essential

for the infrastructure
of the future,

powering our
renewable energy grids,

enabling the electrification
of transportation,

and facilitating the growth of

a digital
and interconnected world.

I'm at the Freeport-McMoRan
Tech Center to explore how

copper is a cornerstone of
progress and sustainability.

You know, Bert, when most
people think of AI,

they probably don't think of
copper right off the bat,

but here we are.

Here's another example of
copper being a vital yet

invisible part of a new
technology that is becoming

more and more important to us
every day.

So tell me a little bit about
copper's role in enabling

connectivity and communication
between AI servers

and storage systems.

First and foremost, AI has
an insatiable demand

for processing and for data.

To be able to produce
the amount of processing

required that modern AI
algorithms ask for to solve

these hugely complex problems,
we have networks and networks

of these servers in parallel
and data centers

running in parallel.

And all of those are
interconnected, powered by

copper, cooled by copper.

Without copper, AI really
doesn't exist today.

Is the conductivity of copper
itself, is that an important

part of how this is working
and why copper

is such a vital part of it?

Copper is the most efficient
mechanism to drive that power

and that cooling.

Okay, well, as we look at AI
and big data and look at how

those jobs are exploding in
the new information revolution

out in the world,
you're actually powering

your own revolution
within the mining industry.

It's not just the programmers
back in the data centers

or in computing labs,
but it's people in the field

who are responsible for
cabling sensors,

configuring sensors,
talking into networks.

We have wires running through
all of these mine sites that

are cabled, that process
the data and send it back to

these cloud platforms which
actually produce the AI.

We have data analysts and data
engineers who craft the data

and structure the data to
where it's reliable,

it's cleansed,

and our data scientists
actually work with

our operations teams to
develop insights from the data

iteratively to learn more
and more about what's going on

inside our business.

It really has given us
foundational new insights on

how we process
and how we operate.

None of that really matters if
you don't have the folks

in the field, if their teams are
not being able to use that data

in order to be safer,
more efficient,

and more productive
out in the field.

Tell me a little bit
about how that works.

So a big part of our focus
when we work with the teams

in the field are to stay focused
on, what are the problems

they're trying to solve?

What are the problems that
we haven't historically been

able to solve as an industry?

We work with the folks in
the field who are at

the front line, at the face of
the problem, who can describe

what's actually going on,
and who, if we provide

the right insights and the
right tools, can actually

change what's actually
happening in the field,

which is what, in the end,
is required for AI

to really have
an impact for our business.

Excellent. Bert,
thank you very much.

Thank you.

So Josh, as we talked about
big data and AI and all

of these technological advances
that have happened

over the last 50 years in
the mining industry,

it really has changed the face
of mining, but the actual face

of mining is changing too.

As we walk through your
facility, I see a lot of women

in working positions.

[Josh] Yeah, it's interesting.

Historically, we've always had
women in mining, but it was

more in the administrative
areas of the business.

We recognize it was
an opportunity to incorporate

them in different parts,
and it's been really,

really successful over time.

Speaking of successful,
I'd like to introduce

you to Sonia,
a longtime Freeport employee

who's in our Electrical
Apprenticeship Program.

-Hi, Sonia.
-Hi.

-Nice to meet you.
-Nice to meet you.

Well, Sonia, tell me about
what you've been working on.

I was working on the motor.

So we do a preventive
maintenance service on it.

We pull off the cover,
check the brushes, make sure

that they have even wear,
and blow out as much dust

as we can from the compartment.

Okay. Well, Josh says you're
a longtime employee.

How long have
you been with Freeport?

I am second generation.

I have been with the company
for 27 years.

Wow, that's excellent.

But now you're in
the apprentice program.

What would make you want to
make that change

after all that time?

It was a good
opportunity for me.

Here in this industry or in
mining, Freeport does offer

a lot of different trades.

It's like
a world of opportunity.

Excellent, so when you're done
with your apprentice program,

what will your title be?

I'll be a journeyman
electrician.

You're a second generation
miner,

so I'm sure your family's
really proud.

Yes, yes, they are very proud.

Great, well, we're gonna let
you get back to work.

-Thank you very much.
-Okay, thank you.

Josh, let's get out of here.

[Greg] Trades in
the copper industry encompass

a range of essential skills,
from mining and extraction

to refining and fabrication.

These skilled professionals
play a major role

in every stage
of the mining process.

I'm at Freeport-McMoRan
Sierrita Operations

with Andrea Vaccari

to explore how
careers in copper mining

are another way that copper is
shaping tomorrow's world.

Andrea, one of the most
exciting things that I have

learned in my time here at
Freeport-McMoRan is how many

different kinds of jobs
and opportunities are available.

It's really
kind of staggering.

There really are.

If you want to be
an environmental scientist

like me, if you want to work
in big data and AI, if you're

a trades person, if you want to
be a mining engineer, right?

We have just a whole plethora
of jobs here at Freeport.

Our workforce is
74,000 people strong.

And you can feel good about
working for us, right?

We are helping the energy
transition, but we're also

working really hard to reduce
our impact over time.

So let's talk a little bit
more about that.

What is Freeport-McMoRan
doing to reduce those carbon

emissions,
become more eco-friendly?

About three or four years ago,
we started to work on

our global climate strategy,
really looking at this

aspiration to be net zero
emissions by 2050.

How do we get there?

So the first stage of that
really was to start

to set targets.

So how are we going to reduce
the amount

of emissions we produce?

We've done that now.

We now have four targets that
cover 100% of our emissions

globally, which
is just amazing.

It's something we're really
proud of.

Now, a part of that whole
process was to say, what do

we need to do to get there?

So one of the first things
we started focusing

on was renewables.

Down at our Cerro Verde mine
in Peru we actually just

signed a power purchase
agreement that along with

our other agreements will
enable the operation by 2026

to be completely fueled by
renewable energy,

and that's huge.
That's a big accomplishment.

It's one of the largest copper
mines in the world.

The other thing that we're
working on is integrating more

and more renewables here in
the United States.

We also have a huge
mine in Indonesia.

It's in the Central Papuan
province, which is on

the island of New Guinea.

It is 3%
of the world's copper.

There's nothing small about
this mine.

We actually utilize
coal power there.

We have for many, many years
due to the need for

reliability, consistency of
supply, right?

You have almost 28,000 people
working there.

You need a huge amount of
energy on an ongoing basis,

but we recognize we can't keep
doing that forever,

and we set a target, right,
to reduce our emissions there.

So what we've done is two
projects in the last few years.

The first one is
our dual-fueled power plant.

Dual-fueled power plants can
take two different kinds

of fuel,
biodiesel and natural gas.

Currently, we've just
commissioned the plant

and it's been
commissioned on biodiesel.

The opportunity, though,
to bring in natural gas led us

to start investigating,
could we actually replace

the coal with natural gas?

So we're actually in the midst
of finishing up a feasibility

study on bringing liquefied
natural gas to the site to

replace that entire set of
coal generation, which would

really be remarkable and would
really enable us for that 3%

of the world's copper be much
lower carbon intensity.

Well, I mean, that's really
important because as you look

at transferring
to renewable energies,

more eco-friendly ways
of doing that,

it's important that the process

by which you get
those ores out of the ground

isn't creating more emissions
than you're trying to mitigate.

So tell me about some things
that Freeport-McMoRan is doing

across the entire industry to
reduce those emissions.

Typically in the industry
globally, when you're dealing

with what we call
a sulfide-bearing ore,

you mine it, concentrate it,
smelt it, and then refine it,

and the concentration
and smelting steps are

massively impactful,
they use a lot of energy.

So what we've been working on
for many, many years is with

other types of ores,
so non-sulfide bearing ores,

we do something called solvent
extraction and electrowinning.

That enables us to completely
eliminate the concentration

step and the smelting step,
which really enables a much

lower carbon footprint for all.

So what we're trying to do now
is crack that nut

of sulfide-bearing or leaching,

and that
really I think is something

that could transform
the industry because it could

really reduce
the environmental impact,

not only
from a carbon perspective,

but from an overall perspective.

That's amazing,

so you're basically going to be
able to get twice as much

copper out of the same chunk
of land that you're

mining on?
-[Andrea] Absolutely.

[Greg] When we explore
the future of mining,

experts need to focus on
tackling emissions

and transforming how haul trucks
are operated.

By transitioning towards

electrification
and autonomous technology,

mines can
enhance efficiency, safety,

and sustainability, which all
play a huge factor in how

the mining
industry will evolve.

Tell me about something that
you feel might be coming in

the near future
that could maybe

transform the industry
even further.

You know, one of the biggest
sources of emissions that

we have is our haul trucks
and our mines.

So if you imagine a big,
open-pit mine, you've got all

those big, huge haul trucks
moving ore or overburden

around every day,
all the time.

So that's a big use of diesel
and a significant source

of carbon emissions.

So one of the things we've
been working on is how do

we move towards
electrification or some other

solution for
those haul trucks.

One big project that we're
working on now is to transform

our Bagdad operations,
which is an open pit mine

here in Arizona,
to autonomous technology.

So what does that mean?

That means those trucks will
not have a person

in them anymore.
They'll be driven remotely.

So what does that do?

Well, it not only increases
efficiency because of the way

we're able to run them
and manage them,

it also improves the health
and safety impact,

it reduces the risk
significantly because you no

longer have a human inside
driving and maybe that human

is now inside a room working
that technology.

[Greg] That's really important
to think about it,

because if your goal
is to work towards

energy-renewable
sources of energy,

eco-friendly sources to get
that copper out of the ground,

it's pretty important that
you lower your emissions

while you do it.

It's something that the whole
industry is working together on.

We have something called

the International Council
for Metals and Mining,

where the leading
copper producers

and other minerals
in the world get together

and we really look at how can
we do this together.

There is nothing that can be
done without collaboration

that is large scale in
the mining industry right now,

and so we really call it
the era of collaboration.

At Freeport, we're very,
very proud to be helping

lead the way on that,

and we're really,
really hoping to accelerate

the future in a very
responsible way,

really reducing the impact of
all those extra tons

that we have to produce.

[Greg]
Andrea, this has been amazing.

Thank you so much,
but I've got to get

back to Inventionland.
Would you show me out?

Absolutely.

Thanks for visiting us
here at Freeport-McMoRan, Greg.

Hey, Kathleen.
Welcome to Inventionland.

Hey, George.
Thank you.

Thanks.
It's great to be here.

I'm so glad you're here.

I was hearing all this good
news about technology you guys

are working on and then
somebody sent me this picture.

It's very intriguing,
but I don't really know what

it's all about.

You know, we're
big copper producers.

Yes.

Copper is essential for
the energy transition,

and as we look forward,
we need more and more copper,

and so what our team has been
doing is we are using new

technologies, new tools that
we have that we've never had

before, and looking to see if
we can extract more copper

from what was previously
thought to be waste,

and we're having
great success with it.

Well, you must have a heck of
a team if you have figured out

a new way to get copper
out of old stockpiles.

Our team is very innovative.

We look for ways to get as
much copper as we can out of

the resources we have
sustainably and responsibly

because it's so important.

I like hearing that,
and I'm -- you know,

but we are here
at Tomorrow's World Today ,

so how about

we chat a little about
the future, too?

Well, the future's
bright with copper.

The more
copper that we produce,

the more it's gonna help this
energy transition to make for

a cleaner, more sustainable,
more connected world,

and it's a world
we all want to be in.

Kathleen, I can't thank
you enough for coming in here

and explaining that to me.

Thanks so much.

[George]
And remember,

tomorrow's world is where
inspiration and creation

drive innovation and production.

See you next time.