Following international climate change commitments to reduce carbon emissions, many countries are now starting to plan the practical details of how they will achieve their goals. An area that SRK has recently researched is the carbon footprint of commodities, and how mines are planning to reduce it. By Andrew van Zyl, director and principal consultant, SRK Consulting, and Bjanka Korb, senior environmental engineer, SRK Consulting.
Decarbonisation is rapidly picking up momentum as companies and countries grapple with how to achieve carbon neutrality. New initiatives are being announced frequently and innovative approaches are being developed rapidly. While some are sure to fail, the pace of development and increased investment is likely to lead to some important breakthroughs.
These commitments are likely to increase the focus by mining companies on reducing their carbon emissions, to align with the efforts being made by their customers to meet climate change targets. Mining has traditionally been a significant user of energy, so it is not surprising that it falls under the microscope when countries look to reduce their carbon footprint. This is particularly relevant for South Africa, where the electrical energy consumed by mines is predominantly generated by coal-fired power stations.
Indeed, 15% of global energy demand is used for metal extraction – in mining, mineral processing, smelting and refining processes. Interestingly, only 1,4% is consumed in mining and mineral processing, while smelting and refining takes the lion’s share of 13,6%. As a consequence, mining and smelting also contribute significantly to the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – at some 9% of carbon dioxide emissions. Again, a relatively small portion of just 1,8% is from mining and mineral processing, while 7,2% is from smelting and refining. Within the sub-category of mining and processing, comminution is the most energy intensive process, demanding over a third of all on-site energy on average.
Read the full article in Mining Focus Africa
