CONTENT POD 1: Towards Zero Emissions Mining

TOWARDS ZERO EMISSIONS MINING: GLOBAL MINES SHARE STRATEGIES

The Energy and Mines Virtual World Congress started with an overview of global mining strategies for decarbonization. In the first content pod, miners presented their ambitious carbon reduction targets, and identified the concrete actions and technologies they believe will allow them to deliver on those goals.

CLEAN ENERGY FOR ELECTRIFICATION

Large miners’ decarbonization targets are broadly uniform: most are aiming for 30% scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction by 2030, and carbon neutrality in 2050, with the exception of Newmont, which has chosen 2040 as a net-zero deadline. To achieve these targets, decisive action is needed, and it all starts with switching the mine’s baseline power to renewables. In the keynote panel, composed of senior mining leaders and chaired by Tyson Dyck, Partner at Torys, Jessica Harman, Principal Portfolio Strategy & Development at BHP, pointed out: “BHP’s decarbonization pathway prioritizes renewable electricity first and foremost.”

According to Dave Manning, Global Head of Hybrid at juwi Renewable Energy, renewable energy projects have mostly been outperforming expectations, and the development of energy storage will drive even more uptake in the coming years.

Efforts to clean up the energy supply are then expected to make it easier for miners to electrify their fleets and operations, bringing many benefits: improved performance, improved work environment, lower cooling and ventilation requirements, and of course, lower CO2 emissions. But when it comes to electrification, no one knows which technology — battery-electric vehicles, trolley assist or hydrogen — will prevail. An interesting point raised by miners is that giant heavy-haul mining trucks may simply not be compatible with electrification. “We need to wean ourselves off of haul trucks to access the green energy power much more readily,” said Gordon Stothart, President and CEO of IAMGOLD.

THE WAY FORWARD

Supply chain development, change management and disruption to existing operations were cited as challenges on the decarbonization pathway. “What risk would OEMs be willing to assume with creative financing solutions,” asked Catharine Farrow, Non-Executive Director at Centamin, noting that decarbonization projects are often still difficult to get over the line, financially speaking.

However, miners were unanimous about the importance of starting the process now, at whichever level each company is comfortable with. In a case study on BHP’s decarbonization strategy, Steve McGill, the company’s carbon management specialist, presented the process used for leveraging the entire portfolio to deliver the best outcomes for the group. “The portfolio of operational emissions reduction depends on the asset, its capital intensity, the marginal abatement cost curve and technology readiness,” he said.

SPONSORS’ CORNER

Fulcrum 3D emphasized the importance of measuring at least one year of wind data during the development stage of a project.

Hatch presented the four-step process to developing an optimal lowemission pathway for mine sites: mapping emission sources; categorizing opportunities across the entire value chain; reviewing factors that may vary over time and impact projects; and ranking opportunities through a marginal abatement cost (MAC) curve.

Wood McKenzie explored the global outlook for renewable energy for mines, noting that decarbonizing today might be a carbon tax hedge for tomorrow.