Plus, people still need everything from kitchenware to trains in a net zero society, which means more metal. While it can be recycled, we need a lot more to get to a point where everyone has the same standerd of living, even before mentioning stone, gravel, clay, etc. Outside of coal and oil producing ingredients like cobalt, i’d imagine that overall mining demand would be rather steady even if a lot of carbon neutral technologies didn’t require more metal inputs.
Plus, people still need everything from kitchenware to trains in a net zero society, which means more metal. While it can be recycled, we need a lot more to get to a point where everyone has the same standerd of living, even before mentioning stone, gravel, clay, etc. Outside of coal and oil producing ingredients like cobalt, i’d imagine that overall mining demand would be rather steady even if a lot of carbon neutral technologies didn’t require more metal inputs.