It's been a tumultuous year in mining and the most read articles of 2019 show an industry grappling with technological change, market volatility and climate change, but still unafraid to take moonshots.

It has filed for creditor protection, following several months attempting to find new investors to continue operations.

"A closed-loop for battery raw materials is a big leap technologically."

However, everyone is still bullish on the long-term story.

IBM said its technology has proven to outperform lithium-ion batteries in cost, charging time, and energy efficiency.