MINING

How mines in Africa promote ENERGY TRANSITION

As the world grapples with the transition to a net-zero carbon future, the African mining sector directly supports this trend from at least a couple of angles.

BY SRK CONSULTING

Andrew van Zyl

Mines are producing more of the critical minerals that underpin renewable energy production and battery manufacturing – key pillars in the quest to move away from carbon-based technologies. And they are also innovating ways forward that embrace energy efficiency and renewable energy sources internally.

On the production side, Africa contributes predominantly through the mining of copper, cobalt and tantalum in central Africa, while platinum group metals are mined in southern Africa. According to SRK director and principal consultant, Andrew van Zyl, these commodities come from regions which have contributed relatively little to the carbon emissions that hasten climate change.

“Despite this, African countries are, through their mining industries, making a significant contribution to supplying the minerals for a global energy transition,” says Van Zyl. There are also possible economic reserves of lithium in Zimbabwe, and perhaps also in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia and Ghana.

He notes that mining companies in Africa, as elsewhere, have focused increasingly on ESG compliance, climate change and resilience, which drive efforts to reduce a mine’s carbon footprint. At the level of mining operations, there is growing momentum in raising energy efficiency as a route to cutting carbon emissions. There are also efforts to substitute fossil fuels with renewable sources of energy.

FROM COAL TO HYDROGEN?

At the 2022 African Mining Indaba, Anglo American Platinum unveiled its prototype of the world’s largest hydrogen-powered mine haul truck. Used at its Mogalakwena platinum mine in South Africa, the technology demonstrates the sector’s commitment to energy transition. Haul trucks account for almost 20% of Anglo's greenhouse gases. With about 400 haul trucks employed across the business, the conversion to hydrogen as a power source would significantly impact its emissions. In fact, it was argued, that using green hydrogen would amount to taking half a million light vehicles off the road.

Anglo American pointed out that this was only the start of a wider initiative to decarbonise the company’s global mining operations and create a vertically integrated value chain. The group is therefore focused on creating a renewable ecosystem for South Africa. This, it is hoped, could generate three to five gigawatts of green energy, and pave the way for the company to become carbon neutral by 2040.

Van Zyl points out that, with the right enabling legal frameworks, there could be opportunities to broaden the application of hydrogenpowered trucks in mining – and even in other sectors. Further, there is scope for extending the value chain into skills development and perhaps manufacturing.

The African Development Bank has also highlighted the beneficiation potential associated with the region’s mineral wealth. Speaking at the Mining Indaba, acting director, Dr Vanessa Ushie, urged African countries to cooperate through deepening their regional networks and platforms – to leverage the continental free trade area to create resilience in new supply chains.

“We should ensure that local value is retained in Africa and we’re not just supplying raw materials,” said Dr Ushie. “We need to move beyond that.” She also argued that no-one should be left behind in the energy transition, raising the importance of a just energy transition. This should carefully manage the shift away from coalfired energy generation, so that coal assets, miners and communities are not left “stranded”.

“We talk about stranded assets often, but it’s the people that could be stranded, leading to the creation of ghost towns and countries – simply because they’re not prepared for the future,” she said. “We need to build resilience towards this unfolding change.” She added that the energy transition will require new and innovative ways of mobilising finance to encourage the participation of the private sector. On that front, the World Bank has pointed to the unique opportunity for

Africa to develop new industries that would bypass the fossil-fuel burning stage toward their economic maturity.

Demetrios Papathanasiou, the director for energy and extractives global practice at the World Bank, said that achieving Net Zero as quickly as possible is imperative to avoid the effects of climate change – which could be devastating to the continent. “The solution is to find more ways to collaborate between the government, private sector and financiers.”

LOCAL RENEWABLE NETWORKS

The number of mines in Africa that generate their own renewable energy is growing, driven by ESG policies, the lower cost of renewable energy and by unreliable supply conditions. This has a direct impact on the energy transition, but also a less obvious benefit. “In addition to the progress made by mines in some African countries in generating their own renewable energy, they are also facilitating the concept of decentralised generation,” Papathanasiou explained. “This is an important departure from the traditional model built around a centralised power grid.”

As mines establish more renewable power capacity, this can create a critical mass and feed renewable energy into a local supply network. Such developments promote broader economic growth by making energy more widely available to host communities. In this way, the ESG focus adopted by the mining sector – when combined with enabling legal frameworks – will support the energy transition while developing local supply chains and social development. “Ongoing developments in renewable technology are likely to have significant impact on the lives of average citizens in Africa,” says Van Zyl. “It is possible to see mines themselves playing a catalytic role in this progress.”

For instance, where hybrid power plants have been established by mines to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, these have opened the door for solar power technology to rapidly expand in the host country. “On the strength of a few pioneering renewable energy installations, more affordable distribution channels are established, and skills are developed to support a renewable energy sector,” he argues. “Local businesses will increasingly be able to source equipment like solar panels and batteries to be more productive.”

RESPONSIBLE SOURCING

In terms of engaging with the global drive towards a low-carbon future, the mining sector in Africa goes further than the continent’s borders in its contribution. A significant recent engagement has been on the issue of responsible sourcing of minerals, which is a growing concern among European countries.

“Responsible sourcing is being pursued by many commodityconsuming countries, and Europe is wanting to ensure that its path towards energy transition is based on this principle,” Van Zyl says. “This process will ensure that the value chain through which endcustomers procure their commodities is ESG-aligned.”

SRK Consulting is directly involved as a partner in the RE-SOURCING project – an initiative funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The project aims to produce a global stakeholder platform, including Africa and Asia, to align international practices and facilitate communication for responsible sourcing. Van Zyl explains that SRK Consulting also engages with mining clients on how they can measure, mitigate and reduce their carbon footprint.

“While Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) tend to drive the technological evolution of mining equipment toward lowercarbon options, we assist clients to understand exactly how these solutions impact on indices like cost, productivity and mine plans,” he explicates. “For instance, the introduction of new technology into a feasibility study impacts the confidence of the modifying factors linked to resource and reserve determination.”

We should ensure that local value is retained in Africa and that we are not just supplying raw materials. We need to move beyond that.