Net zero potash mining: Stantec

Net zero potash mining

Climate change and its adverse effects are driving the mining industry to turn to renewable sources of energy. How does an owner company decarbonize their mine or mining portfolio? How does that owner make major business decisions in an age of evolving technologies and regulations, whilst all the time keeping production capabilities high and working cost effectively? Each potash mine is unique in its energy needs. The path to net zero mining is a complex endeavour with each site requiring its own unique roadmap to achieve these goals.

Many believe that achieving net zero goals need the support of four key pillars:

• Energy transition

• Digital transformation

• Innovation scaling

• Culture change

These pillars are areas of focus from which many mine owners have grappled with varying degrees of success. Operators can design and deliver on their net zero mining strategies by leveraging expertise within these pillars to develop a plan which integrates these areas to achieve scaled deployment.

Renewable zero carbon-emitting energy to offset grid-supplied electricity is a viable path to net zero mining, and has many proponents and supporting funding opportunities within Canada; but what if you didn’t have to offset the grid electricity with renewables, the grid electricity was zero emitting, or an operator wanted to control all aspects of their energy production and consumption? Small and micro-modular nuclear reactors (SMR) should be considered by utilities and major industrial users as part of their decarbonization plan.

SMRs produce thermal energy, 24/7, which can then be converted to reliable electricity if desired. SMRs are small, starting at about the size of a typical stacked washer/dryer, with a power capacity of up to 300 megawatts (MW) per unit. Smaller units, known as micro modular nuclear reactors, provide up to 50 MWs and can work in remote settings.

Stakeholders will be able to locate SMRs

Typical SMR layout.

into brownfield mining sites or in place of decommissioned coal-fired and natural gas-fired plants. We all live and work in a more holistic world which is far more interconnected than ever. By siting SMRs on or near potash mine sites, not only can 100 per cent of that mine site’s energy needs be fulfilled, but the potential reputational advantages of supporting local communities in electric and non-electric applications such as district heating, water desalination, green house heat, hydrogen fuel production, or a combination of functions as the need arises, is vast.

Many pundits have forecasted it would take 12 years from inception to operation for the first SMRs to be in operation. We are now in year four of that process and well on track to see the first SMRs up and running in Canada and in the US between 2028 and 2030. These dates are well within most potash mine operator’s net zero committed time frames. But we can’t do this alone. We all need to help each other understand, identify, and collectively support our net zero journey. This is a generational opportunity to change our communities for the better and calls for a very compelling Indigenous consultation process in fulfilling the TRC call to Action #92 and meeting the spirit of the treaties signed in the areas that we work and play.

In summary, there is no one silver bullet, but net zero potash mining is an achievable goal. It will require a unique plan for each operation and will involve the entire local community and a community of experts. Potash mines progressing through this transition will be one of the key drivers of change in our communities, our economy, our workforce, and our future.

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