Darren Stralow, CEO, Bellevue Gold

Bellevue Gold has set our intent of net zero emissions by 2026. The 2030 and 2050 targets are irrelevant to us. Companies setting net zero targets by 2050 is welcomed, but this is not overly ambitious as this is merely complying with Government targets for net zero by 2050.

Darren Stralow, CEO, Bellevue Gold

CEO of Bellevue Gold, Darren Stralow is leading’s his companies ambitious net-zero by 2026 target. Bellevue plans to achieve this with a world class off-grid power station capable of an annual renewable energy penetration of ~80%

Energy and Mines: How is the focus on climate change and ESG driving energy and mobility decisions for mining operations?

Darren Stralow: Bellevue Gold has an ambitious goal of net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2026 for our Bellevue Gold Project. We believe this is truly world leading. Therefore, we have ensured that climate change and ESG are key considerations in all of our decisions, and we will have one of the highest, if the not the highest, renewable energy penetration rates for our power station of any global off-grid gold mine. Bellevue Gold will be a remote gold mine in the Western Australian Goldfields, and we will be partnering with an Independent Power Provider (IPP) to build, own and operate an off-grid power station. This will include wind, solar and batteries whilst being underpinned by a thermal power station (such as gas and/or diesel). Given our self-imposed net zero target, all GHG emission tonnes will need to be accounted for at some stage – such as increased renewable energy, alternate fuels or carbon offsets – therefore we are evaluating where we should be making wise investment decisions now to avoid/ reduce GHG emissions from our mine, to mitigate the need for carbon offsets later.

Energy and Mines: How is the drive to decarbonise shifting the thinking and approach to renewable energy for mining?

DS: Theoretically, if Bellevue Gold would have used a 100% gas-fired power station then 73% of the mine’s emissions would come from the power station – therefore, we must address this source of emissions, through the implementation of high renewable energy capacity with wind and solar to decrease the use of gas or diesel. A longer mine life will allow for more renewable energy which should result in lower energy costs and decreased exposure to volatile diesel prices. The drive to decarbonise is allowing Bellevue Gold to fulfill our net zero goals, lower costs, increase energy security and attract talent. People want to work at companies that do good and in a competitive job market potential employees are seeking sustainability credentials, and we believe we can attract the best talent to build and operate this new gold mine – in part due to our credentials in sustainability and renewable energy.

Bellevue Gold is pioneering the carbon curve in our investor relations material, showing the forecasted emissions per ounce for Bellevue Gold, compared to the rest of Australia’s major gold mines. Of any gold mine in Australia, we are forecast to have the least emissions per ounce of gold produced. This is a clear competitive advantage, and we hope to set industry benchmarks on the use of renewable energy and the ability to decarbonise mines.

EandM: What are the main challenges of trying to meet 2030 and 2050 decarbonisation goals for mines?

DS: Bellevue Gold has set our intent of net zero emissions by 2026. The 2030 and 2050 targets are irrelevant to us. Companies setting net zero targets by 2050 is welcomed, but this is not overly ambitious as this is merely complying with Government targets for net zero by 2050. Additionally, most mines do not have a mine life which extends to 2050.

A Marginal Abatement Cost Curve is the best way to assess the feasibility in cost and amount of carbon to be avoided. Energy generation is an easier emission source to address, such as through renewable energy. Whereas more difficult sectors include transport and heating. Clearly, a major challenge will be developing carbon offsets projects to address the remaining hard-to-abate emissions, and not waiting to 2029 and 2049 to address the 2030 and 2050 targets.

Here at Bellevue Gold, we are embracing the full intent of the Paris Agreement and aiming for net zero by 2026 – this is ahead of all major miners. In a carbon-constrained world, only a certain amount of GHG emissions can be emitted globally if we are to meet the intent of the Paris Agreement to limit climate change to 2°C warming and ideally 1.5°C warming. Bellevue Gold is aiming to be truly aligned to the Paris Agreement with net zero emissions by 2026.

Bellevue Gold will be producing gold – along with royalties, economic opportunities, and benefits for communities – but there will be net zero emissions by 2026 and this is truly profound. Bellevue Gold is proving that mining can occur, whilst being sympathetic to the global needs to reduce GHG emissions. However, this is not easy and there are challenges – such as being able to replace underground diesel fleet – ideally this will occur via electrification of vehicles, however the battery energy to weight density will need to be overcome especially for steep inclines. We would also welcome other support for alternative low emission fuels which can be used as a drop-in substitution for diesel, and we would welcome support for these fuels, such as expanding the Fuel Tax Credit to apply to off-road use of biofuels (in addition to diesel).

A major challenge to overcome is energy density. Diesel is a very stable and energy dense fuel, whereas LNG is more difficult to store and requires high-tech options for LNG storage and vaporisation units. Hydrogen gas requires another level of difficulty again. The molecular size of hydrogen is smaller and has a lower energy density, therefore additional and specialised storage requirements will be needed for these alternative fuels, which are emission-less but come with their own challenges.

EandM: Who are you looking forward to connecting with at Energy and Mines Australia Summit, September 6-7, Westin Perth?

DS: The Energy and Mines Australia Summit is a great conference, and we are looking forward to re-connecting with all of our friends and colleagues we have met in the energy and mines sector. It’s inspiring to see that the mining sector has wholeheartedly taken on the admirable and important challenge of decarbonisation and we look forward to meeting and ideally working with more like-minded people. As for specifics, we would be open to hearing about long-duration energy storage options for capture our spilled energy and hearing about underground mining fleet options to further decarbonise our mine, on our pathway to net zero emissions by 2026.

Darren Stralow will be participating in the Panel: Key Considerations for Mining Hybrids, on Sept 6 at 4:20 PM, Energy and Mines Australia Summit, 2022