this easier, but it can be difficult to know whether a technology will be available by the time a new mine is developed. For now, Al-Aini says renewable power purchase agreements can allow companies to offset their growth and protect their mid-term targets at a relatively low cost. He has also seen firms adopt renewable diesel as an interim solution while they wait for more major diesel displacement technologies, such as electric trucks, to become available. The key is to “be intentional about the net zero mine of the future,” he adds, giving the example of a “multinational company” that has started to implement dual mine plans: one with the current technologies available and another fully electric mine leveraging future technologies – with a transition plan for going from one to the other. “They’re starting to think about how they’ll lay out the mine ahead of time. Where are they going to put the chargers? Where does it make sense to have slightly different designer ramps, maybe? What’s the optimal way for a range of charging solutions and battery sizes to optimize the run cycle, for example? I’ve seen some companies start seriously thinking about that and integrating this as part of the planning process,” adds Al-Aini. FOSSIL FUEL DISPLACEMENT REMAINS AN UPHILL BATTLE Transitioning away from fossil fuels to power operations is easier for some than others, depending on where a mine is located. “In some respects, it’s harder for some of the Canadian companies to hit their 30% reduction by 2030 because they’re already starting with hydropower as their energy source, which means that their Scope 2 requirements are already pretty low,” says Russell. He adds that, luckily, for those outside of Canada, most renewable energy investments are “net present value positive.” When it comes to fleet electrification, underground mines are much better positioned than their open-pit counterparts: OEMs, including Caterpillar, Epiroc, and Sandvik, have all developed battery-electric equipment to substitute conventional vehicles.
operations in 2019. Still, recent news suggests that others could soon follow – including IGO’s Cosmos nickel mine in Australia. “The underground miners are probably in a much better position, given that the solutions are becoming increasingly available, and the business case for electrifying underground mines is becoming stronger,” Al-Aibi tells Energy and Mines . “For the open pit miners, there are some emerging solutions, but the challenge will be how to integrate uncertainties about where the technology is going with their mine plans,” he adds, suggesting that partnerships will be crucial in the transition. For example, BHP and Rio Tinto are working together to develop and deploy electric haul trucks. “Their joint efforts have demonstrated the feasibility of large-scale electrification in mining operations and have paved the way for broader adoption,” says Baker. Similar cross-industry initiatives are underway to scale up hydrogen developments. Hydrogen is another solution likely to bridge the fleet decarbonization gap for open-pit miners, along with more efficient battery chemistries, biodiesel, and trolley assist. INTERNAL CARBON PRICING AND GOVERNMENT INCENTIVES The transition may take some time, but Russell notes that all the major companies Partners in Performance works with are “maintaining the absolute commitment to decarbonization and are making the funds available to support this.” Internal carbon pricing is one tool miners are using to keep investing in the climate transition, even amid economic uncertainty: Rio Tinto, for instance, raised its internal carbon price to US$75 per tonne of CO2 last year “to provide the incentive to accelerate the delivery of abatement projects across our business.” In many jurisdictions, government support is also available to incentivize the transition. One such example is Canada’s Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit, a refundable tax credit for up to 30% of capital invested in adopting and operating new clean technology from 2023 to 2034. “We’ve seen that specifically in some underground mines help companies make the decision a lot easier for them to start shifting their fleet to battery-electric
Newmont Goldcorp’s Borden mine in Ontario was the first fully electric underground mine to begin
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