Mapping Mining to the Sustainable Development Goals An Atlas

Integrate SDG7 into core business
Improving energy efficiency.
Mining is energy-intensive and, depending on the mine,
anywhere from 10-40% of operational costs are for
energy. 53 Of these, extraction is responsible for up to
60% of energy consumption and ore concentration and
milling are responsible for up to 40%. (This varies with
the type of mine, especially between underground and
open-pit mines.) Approximately 3% of all electricity
used globally by the mining industry (and 45% of the
energy in a typical open-pit mine) is used to reduce
rock size. 54 Companies can support research and
development focused on new low energy grinding
technologies. In addition, energy audits, improved
energy efficiency (employee contests may yield good
ideas), reduced use and improvements in equipment
maintenance are all ways a company can reduce costs
and energy demand.
Incorporating renewable energy.
Many mines are in remote areas and not connected to
national power grids. Other mines are connected to
grids that may have periodic or seasonal outages due
to factors such as changing water levels in
hydroelectric reservoirs. 55 Diesel generators have
typically met electricity demand in such scenarios.
Forward-thinking mining companies are considering
environmentally friendlier and potentially lower cost
solutions such as off-grid or mini-grid wind, solar or
geothermal energy instead of diesel. Aside from the
benefit of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, these
companies can benefit from reduced energy costs,
given that the production costs of alternative energy
are falling rapidly. Furthermore, these energy sources
are less impacted by fuel supply bottlenecks.
Collaborate and leverage
Understanding the local context, national priorities and
the roles of different stakeholders in energy production
and distribution is the first step in identifying
opportunities to collaborate and leverage resources to
address the SDG7 targets.
Sharing benefits through energy infrastructure.
Many mining operations draw power from unreliable
power grids or are far from any power grids. In both
situations they must supply their own power to ensure
reliable access to energy for their operations. This
represents an opportunity for non-electrified
communities that are close to mine sites to gain access
to affordable, reliable, modern energy. Through shared
use energy infrastructure arrangements, access to
energy can be made affordable for local communities.
For instance, in a shared use arrangement, the
marginal costs of supplying energy to near-mine
communities through “last-mile” infrastructure are far
lower than the average unit cost of constructing the
“backbone” infrastructure that is typically anchored on
or paid for by the mine. Questions such as who is
responsible for the capital investment, operation and
maintenance of this last-mile infrastructure must be
answered in close coordination with the power utility,
government and community.
Supporting local energy initiatives.
Mining companies typically have deep knowledge of
the energy sector as a precondition to developing the
operation’s energy strategy. With this knowledge,
companies are likely to have a good understanding of
the local challenges in energy production and
distribution, who lacks access and why, barriers to
distribution and government-led plans in process.
Companies can work with stakeholder groups to
identify where the company can contribute planning
expertise, convening power or targeted investments to
contribute to the solutions.
Case studies and initiatives
Sunshine for Mines: Global.
Sunshine for Mines, an initiative of Rocky Mountain
Institute and Carbon War Room, works directly with the
global metals and mining industry to enhance the
competitiveness and profitability of industry-leading
companies by accelerating the adoption of cost-effective
renewables. Their goal is to rapidly accelerate the
installation of on-site renewable energy capacity –
especially solar photovoltaic technologies – integrated into
the power systems of on- and off-grid mines around the
world. The first project, a 40 MW power plant, is under way
in collaboration with Gold Fields in South Africa. Given the
extent of deep level mining in South Africa, electricity
supply and costs serve as key challenges to the South
African gold operations. In this context, multiple solar and
bioenergy projects are planned to reduce the costs and
56, 57
increase the reliability of mine electricity.
Energy efficiency: Canada.
In 2014, New Gold’s New Afton Mine in British Columbia
became the first mine in North America to receive ISO
50001 energy management system certification. As part of
the programme, employees attend training workshops on
energy efficiency in operations. One major outcome of the
programme was the miner-initiated idea to shut down
conveyor belts during shift changes, saving approximately
C$12,500 per month in energy costs. Expected energy
usage reductions are 9 GWh annually. 58
Geothermal power: Papua New Guinea.
Newcrest’s Lihir mine in Papua New Guinea is in an active
geothermal area where underground water in the rocks
regularly reaches temperatures up to 200°C. In early
stages of the mine, this presented considerable technical
challenges, and water was used to cool the rocks during
drilling and mining. However, in 2003, Newcrest built a
geothermal power plant, which captures steam and uses it
to drive turbines for electricity generation. By 2006,
geothermal power was fulfilling 75% of the mine’s power
demand, at a cost of $0.01 per kWh compared to $0.12 per
kWh for heavy fuel oil, saving the mine an estimated $40
million annually. 59
37