REIMAGINE MINING
> By Canadian Mining Journal Staff
DECARBONIZATION: Countdown to Net Zero
D
ecarbonization has quickly become a top priority in the mining sector, and more and more miners are setting ambitious targets for reducing their carbon footprint. But the way forward is far from clear. A panel of industry experts at the Reimagine Mining Symposium discussed what really needs to happen to get to net zero. The panel included Emily Thorn Corthay, founder and CEO of Thorn Associates; Mark Fellows, a co-founder and CEO of Skarn Associates; Brian Huff, VP technology and product line for Sandvik’s BHEV business unit; Luke Mahony, head of technology and innovation for Vale Base Metals; and Maarten van Koppen, VP product management with MacLean Engineering. The discussion was moderated by Canadian Mining Journal’s editorin-chief Alisha Hiyate.
Mission possible?
With most of the major mining companies having already committed to achieving net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions (direct and indirect emissions) by 2050, the conversation started by addressing how realistic that target is. “If you ask: ‘Can we achieve the 2050 (goal)? I think we can,” said Vale’s Luke Mahony. “But we don’t know how.” Mahony added that the interim 2030 goal that many miners have also committed to – which will see them slash emissions by a third by 2030 -- is a key goal to getting there. For most miners, the 2030 goal of a 33% reduction of absolute emissions is actually more ambitious than it seems. Under a business as usual scenario that considers declining grades and the startup of new operations, that 33% will likely become a 40% or a 50% reduction when you start to really break it down, Mahoney added. The initial reductions will be easier to achieve: “Half of our initiatives to
22 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL
Alisha Hiyate | Editor-in-chief, CMJ
Luke Mahony | Head of technology and innovation for Vale Base Metals
Emily Thorn Corthay | Founder and CEO of Thorn Associates
Mark Fellows | Co-founder and CEO of Skarn Associates
Brian Huff | VP technology and product line for Sandvik’s BHEV business unit
Maarten van Koppen | VP product management with MacLean Engineering
reach that 2030 goal are NPV (net present value) positive, they make sense,” Mahoney said. It’s efficiency, it’s being more efficient in how you use your electrical equipment, it’s being more efficient from a process (standpoint).” But once those initiatives are complete, he noted the incentive of a price on carbon will likely be needed to go further. Investment in technology to capture carbon also needs to be accelerated for the future to get to net zero. Emily Thorn Corthay of Thorn Associates noted that the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has excellent guidance for companies on how to get started. However, the guidance, which so far applies to Scope 1 and 2 emissions only, has changed over time and become more stringent. Initially, the SBTi targets allowed for maximum global warming of 2° Celsius, before being reduced to 1.7°. In July, the organization reduced that guidance further, to 1.5° Celsius. “If (companies) can keep up with the SBTi, which very rapidly keeps getting more ambitious, that’s already very challenging for mining companies,” Corthay
said. “If you can do that, you’re doing really well.” In addition, SBTi targets need to be between five and years in the future – meaning 2050 targets are not compliant with the initiative. In order to align with the SBTi guidance to stay within a 1.5° Celsius maximum rise, companies need to reduce their emissions by around 42% between now and 2030, Thorn Corthay said. “That’s generally possible on a corporate level – every site does not need to (achieve) that,” she said. “So I think mining companies can really strategically look at all of their assets, and choose which ones are easier to decarbonize. And then unfortunately, which ones eventually to potentially divest from.” Mark Fellows of Skarn Associates added that while the 2050 goal is achievable, miners should be prepared for the major structural impediments that will arise. “It’s easy to envisage how the equipment manufacturers’ order books are going to get pretty blocked out by the major mining companies as low-carbon
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