Teck Resources has signed a long-term power purchase agreement with AES Corp for the supply of 118MW of renewable energy to the Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 (QB2) copper mining project in Chile. The renewable energy agreement will be effective January 2022 through October 2042 and will account for more than half of QB2’s total operating power Read More
As Environmental-Social-Governance (ESG) concerns mount across the globe, investors are giving ‘dirty’ sectors, such as heavy industry and mining, the cold shoulder. With funding spigots drying up, miners are facing a financial crunch, rising costs of capital, and the prospect of shelving projects. At the forthcoming Investing in African Mining Indaba Conference in Cape Town, the Read More
Miners are shifting out of fossil-based power sources, such as diesel, in response to investors’ pressure to cut carbon emissions. Easing their path is the rapidly falling cost of renewable energy, according to Bloomberg. Fortescue, one of Australia's largest iron ore miners, is spending $450 million on a hybrid generation project comprising gas, solar power, and Read More
Mining companies are not doing enough to meet Paris climate agreement targets, observes a report by McKinsey. About 4-7% of global greenhouse gas emissions emanate from the mining industry. Of this, Scope 1 emissions (from mining operations) and Scope 2 (power consumption by mines) account for 1%. A significant 3-6% is fugitive-methane emission from coal mining. Read More
The Minerals Council South Africa, the apex body representing the country’s mining industry, made an impassioned plea to the government to address the country’s crippling power problems, pvmagazine reported. “At the forefront of the constraints on the economy, and on the mining industry, is the insecurity of power supply and its continuing rapidly escalating cost…Eskom is Read More
Mining companies would do well to address Scope 3 (downstream) emissions, such as at steelmaking customers, on a war footing. Apart from tackling their carbon footprint, these efforts would protect the miners’ own core businesses, says an article in Mining Journal. “Miners heavily invested in metallurgical coal and iron ore who don't help their steel customers Read More
André de Ruyter took over as CEO at beleaguered South African power utility Eskom on January 6. He has a tough job, indeed. Eskom has implemented fresh bouts of load-shedding, while its power plants are said to be falling apart. The utility has a debt burden above R450 billion, and its income is far below its Read More
The latest report by the Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco) on the power outlook for the industry estimates that its demand will grow at a CAGR of about 3.1% during 2019-2030. Therefore, power consumption by the copper industry in Chile will grow from 23.6 TWh in 2019 to 33.1 TWh in 2030, says an article in RenewablesNow. Read More
COMET, a new alliance, will construct a standard method for computing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the production of materials such as steel, copper, and cement. The COMET Method will inform the carbon content of consumer products like cars, buildings, and phones. Rocky Mountain Institute, MIT Sustainable Supply Chains, the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, and the Read More
Precious metals consultancy Metals Focus has issued a new report on Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) comparisons in the gold mining sector, says miningmx. An extract from the report focuses on Green House Gas (GHG) emissions by gold mines. Based on kt of CO²e (Carbon dioxide equivalent), for the calendar year 2018, Sibanye was the largest Read More
