Green Economy Journal Issue 56

MINING
MINING
“As the Global Industry Standards on Tailings Management (GISTM)
have further raised the bar for mine safety, the mining sector is
working hard towards GISTM compliance,” says Engelsman. “The
GISTM emphasises the integration of disciplines, such as specialised
tailings, water and civil engineers, as well as practitioners in fields such
as geochemistry and environmental and social impact assessment.”
RESPONSIBLE MINING
demands multidisciplinary teams
Global trends toward decarbonisation are raising demand expectations for battery minerals, and
geopolitical tensions suggest that Africa may become more of a focus for sourcing these critical
commodities. At the same time, the changing landscape of regulations, best practice and public
perception makes for a complex environment to navigate.
BY SRK CONSULTING
EXPLORATION TOOLS
As part of its innovation strategies, SRK Consulting’s sister company SRK
Exploration Services (SRK ES) has also developed a new tool to assist
companies in valuing, managing and forecasting their exploration.
John Paul Hunt, principal exploration geologist at SRK ES, explains
the significance of Management and Valuation through Absolute
Prospectivity (M-VAP), “M-VAP replaces traditional relative prospectivity
with a quantified absolute prospectivity that estimates the probabilities
of making a discovery of deposits of different magnitude within an area
of interest.” He adds, “These probabilities can then be used within a
decision tree model to assess if the estimated future value of potential
discoveries warrants exploration activity.”
ANGLO AMERICAN ACCELERATES
ZERO EMISSIONS HAULAGE SOLUTION
Early gains in decarbonisation
include the move by many
South African mines toward
developing their own solar or
wind generating capacity.
Anglo American launched the prototype of its nuGen ZEHS hydrogen-powered mine haul truck
at its Mogalakwena platinum group metals mine in South Africa in May 2022 – the world’s largest
of its kind designed to operate in everyday mining conditions.
in Africa will want to harness the potential of
commodity demand,” says Andrew van Zyl, incoming
“Investors
managing director of SRK Consulting (SA), “but there are
growing expectations from host countries and end-customers alike
on how mining is conducted and benefits are shared.”
INDUSTRY INTEGRATION
The mining industry’s journey is increasingly demanding the integration
of disciplines in planning, operating and closing mines, emphasises
Van Zyl. Project teams need to pursue their engineering solutions with
early-stage input on pressing issues like ESG risks, water stewardship,
climate action and energy efficiency.
“Mining companies must not only pay more attention to mitigating
their own impacts by decarbonising their operations but must also
be adapting to the inevitable effects of climate change,” he says. Early
gains in decarbonisation include the move by many South African
mines towards developing their own solar or wind generating capacity.
Alternatively, they are partnering with energy providers or broadening
their corporate mandates to acquire businesses specialised in
renewable energy.
The replacement of on-mine technologies that run on fossil fuels,
however, could take longer. This is in part due to the complex supply
chain alterations that would be demanded by new technology – from
battery electric vehicles to hydrogen powered trucks. An acceptable
level of confidence is required in any innovation, as this affects the
cost and rate at which the ore can be extracted – and therefore
underpins the ore reserve declaration.
WATER STEWARDSHIP
Management of water is posing several growing risks for the stability
of mining, not just in water-scarce countries. Sufficient supply of water
is just one aspect of a broader challenge, says Peter Shepherd, partner
and principal hydrologist at SRK. Some mining areas will become more
drought-prone due to climate change, and there is a general trend to
use less water and recycle as much as possible.
“It should be remembered, though, that mines are part of a natural
and social ecosystem, where they will increasingly compete with other
users who share their water catchment,” says Shepherd. “Engagement
and collaboration therefore become as important as good engineering
to the future sustainability of a mining operation.”
This has led to the gradual embrace by the mining sector of water
stewardship principles, which emphasise that mines need to look
beyond their on-site water management strategies to a consideration
of all stakeholders in the respective catchment area.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Similarly, ESG concerns have broadened to include the impact of
mining and other industrial projects on human rights – with financial
institutions requiring more detailed from borrowers regarding their
impacts in this respect.
“Many segments of society have become increasingly mobilised
around human rights, labour practice and anti-corruption measures,”
says Dr Vidette Bester, SRK senior social scientist. “This has raised
the potential for stakeholder concerns to boil over into the serious
disruption and delays, and even collapse of projects.”
TAILINGS MANAGEMENT
This greater social involvement has also been witnessed in the field
of tailings management, especially following recent fatal tailings
dam failures. Bruce Engelsman, principal engineer at SRK, highlights
that responsible tailings management is about people – particularly
the protection of vulnerable communities.
ANGLO AMERICAN
Conceived as part of Anglo American’s FutureSmart Mining programme,
nuGen ZEHS is an end-to-end solution to decarbonise heavy duty
transport and includes hydrogen production, on-site storage, refuelling
and hydrogen-battery hybrid powertrains to replace incumbent fossil fuel
technology. With diesel emissions from its mine haul truck fleets accounting
for 10% to 15% of Anglo American’s total Scope 1 emissions, and haulage
trucks accounting for up to 80% of diesel emissions at open-pit mines, nuGen
ZEHS will play an important role in delivering not only Anglo American’s target
of carbon neutral operations by 2040, but also supporting the decarbonisation
of the mining industry, with potential across other industries.
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