Mining industry has the tools to decarbonise now

Electrification of the largest mining trucks in the industry is happening today in mines around the world. Photo: Copper Mountain

ABB has released a global Mining’s Moment report that highlights the progress being made by the industry to make operations more sustainable. Surveying 412 mining leaders and experts across 18 countries, the report finds that 70% of mining companies are confident significant decarbonisation can be achieved with existing technologies.

There is notable confidence among business leaders that they will achieve their sustainability targets because the technology to decarbonise already exists — 15% are very confident they will hit their 2030 sustainability targets, while 52% are relatively confident. This rises to 48% of being very confident when considering 2050 sustainability targets.

The report stated that 77% of mining leaders surveyed see integrated electrification, automation and implementation of digital technologies as the key areas of technology through which sustainability goals can be achieved. Ambitious plans are in place to invest in technologies which will make operations more sustainable — 53% are anticipating significant transformation or complete overhaul; 28% are investing in moderate evolution; and 19% are investing in incremental change. This means 81% are looking to evolve or transform their operations to become more sustainable.

Pictured right: the mining industry sees people as the main driver of sustainable change

This new report is the latest installment of ABB’s ‘Real Progress’ campaign, which aims to showcase the power of technology and expertise to accelerate sustainability while enhancing productivity. Mining in particular faces a challenging environment, where it must increase production to provide the raw materials for the ‘green’ energy transition while limiting, and reducing where possible, its environmental impact. The report reveals an industry rising to that challenge — 73% said they were excited about the opportunities presented by the increasing recognition of mining’s role in supplying resources for ‘green’ technologies.

‘Green’ transition
Max Luedtke, global business line manager for mining, ABB Process Industries, said: “There is real excitement among business leaders about the role they are playing in supporting the ‘green’ transition, and they are taking the issue of mining’s impact on the environment seriously.

“We see this in the successful roll-out and progress towards sustainability targets, the willingness to invest to reach these goals, and the availability of technologies to make real progress. However, we must not think it is job done. A significant minority are struggling to meet their goals. Our report outlines three key areas where investment can help mining businesses become more sustainable, step-by-step — investing in their people; investing in technology; and investing in their processes.”

The report also finds that by investing in people, technology and processes, mining businesses can continue to make good progress towards their sustainability goals — 44% surveyed said that limited expertise and skills are a significant barrier to decarbonising, while 70% of respondents said their business is committed to re-skilling and training existing employees to support decarbonisation efforts.

Electrification is seen as a major contributor to being able to achieve significant decarbonisation gains; 91% of business leaders said electrification is essential to, or part of, their decarbonisation strategy.

Finally, 46% of respondents say the risk to disruption of operations and production is a barrier to their sustainable transformation, highlighting the need for a new approach to systems and processes. This is backed up by the report respondents, with 73% believing mining transformation requires a new approach to technology and risk management.