Science : Year 7 - Alternative Energy and Mining - Rio Tinto and BHP: Home

Our ambition is to reach net zero emissions across our operations by 2050
Further reduce our carbon footprint:
Our 2030 targets are to reduce our carbon intensity by a further 30% and our absolute emissions by a further 15%

We supply the metals and minerals used to help the world grow.
We also want to pioneer a more sustainable future, and believe we can be part of the solution: from helping to develop technology that can make the aluminium smelting process entirely free of direct GHG emissions, to providing the world with the materials it needs – such as copper and titanium – to build a new low-carbon economy and products like electric vehicles and smartphones. In 2018, we also exited fossil fuel production, becoming the only major mining company to do so.

Our portfolio is also an important part of our sustainability strategy. In 2018, we became the only major player in our industry to have a portfolio free of fossil fuel production.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has approved the construction of a large-scale solar PV and battery storage system for its Koodaideri mine in Western Australia. When completed, the solar plant will be among Australia’s largest PV installations at a mining site.

Global mining giant Rio Tinto is looking at adding renewables and battery storage to its main mining sites, including the Tom Price iron ore operations in the Pilbara where it sending $1 billion to upgrade and extend the life of the massive project.

Rio Tinto has bolstered its low-carbon aluminium production credentials by partnering with Shawinigan Aluminium Inc (SAI) for its recycling services, through a US$7 million state-of-the art melting facility being built next to SAI’s billet casthouse in Quebec.

Mining giant Rio Tinto says a plan to power a new mine with solar energy is the first step in a push towards decarbonisation
The company says the reduction in emissions will be the equivalent of taking 28,000 cars off the road
A sustainability expert says it's a small but welcome step driven by heightened concern about climate change

The financial performance of solar power systems has been proven in many business sectors and building types. However, the technology offers additional benefits in the mining industry, where diesel generators often power remote operations. Solar panels can produce electricity at a lower cost and with a local resource.

With 24-hour operations and vast technical equipment, mining sites use a lot of energy and are often in remote areas where they aren’t connected to the power grid. Usually they depend on diesel-generated power plants to produce electricity, which can be extremely costly and pose challenges such as transport and logistics.
Supplementing with solar power can help cut costs significantly and increase the reliability of their energy supply.

BHP has signed a five-year clean energy deal with CleanCo for the Big Australian’s Queensland mines to be part-powered by renewable energy.

BHP has signed a firm renewable power purchasing agreement to meet half of its electricity needs across its Queensland Coal mines from low emissions sources, including solar and wind. The agreement will help BHP reduce emissions from electricity use in its Queensland operations by 50 per cent by 2025, based on FY2020 levels.

“Water is critical to our operations in Chile and to the communities where we operate in the Atacama Desert.”
“In addition to our new desalination plant at Spence, we have also invested over US$4 billion in Escondida’s desalination facilities to further our progress to eliminate groundwater usage in Chile by 2030.”

Global mining giant BHP has signed a five year contract that will see it source wind and solar to deliver up to half of the power needs for its coal mining operations in Queensland.

Sustainability is integral to how we contribute to social value creation. It is core to our strategy and sits at the heart of everything we do. We put health and safety first, aim to be environmentally responsible, respect human rights and support the communities in which we operate.

Our Purpose and Our Strategy provide a clear direction for our climate change strategy. The materials we provide are central to modern life and we constantly evolve our approach so we can continue to deliver them sustainably into the future. Our iron ore and metallurgical coal create the steel that builds cities and makes renewable energy infrastructure possible; our copper is needed for electrical appliances and wind turbines; our oil powers mobility; our natural gas and energy coal provide energy and heat; and our nickel enables the development of storage solutions for intermittent wind and solar power. And looking to the future, potash has the potential to support more efficient and sustainable agriculture by making crops more productive.

Why climate change matters to BHP
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing the world. Without sufficient action, extreme weather threats will
be amplified, risking lives and livelihoods, and opportunities from global decarbonisation will be reduced. BHP fully supports the global commitment to avoid the
worst effects of climate change by limiting warming to well below 2˚C – and the aim to keep it to no more than 1.5˚C.

It’s not a match you normally associate with a heavy industry like mining. But wind and solar-powered mining is increasingly common in remote mine sites in Western Australia’s rich gold and gem fields.

Energy and Mines has built a reputation amongst the mining and renewables sectors as the first point of contact for connection and information on renewables in mining. We have strong links with senior mining leaders, renewable energy developers and key players driving the technology, research and development in this space.

Rio will likely power its copper mining operations using renewable energy to meet its goal to become carbon neutral by 2050.
To that end, Rio retired three of its four coal-fired power-generation units in Magna in 2016 after agreeing on a deal to purchase power from Rocky Mountain Power.

Our industry must address critical challenges of safety, productivity, and the way we use land, energy, and water. As our global population grows, this leads to a greater demand for minerals and metals, core components of products and services that are essential to human progress.

Fossil fuel price volatility and logistics have a significant impact on mining viability but are outside the control of most miners. Industry and Government have acknowledged the risks and environmental impacts of fossil fuels and are supporting the adoption of renewable electricity and energy efficiency measures.

Renewable energy is an affordable choice for miners, who use it to crush, dig, and process minerals. Renewables (or green energy) are generated from sources that replenish over time. The most common uses of renewable energy in the mining industry involve:

Mining is one of the most energy-intensive industries on the planet, but it is also one of the most important, with commodities from base metals to rare earths in high demand. Many mining companies have however begun incorporating renewable power sources into their operations, offsetting some of the carbon costs of mining.

Scientists found mining potentially influences 50m sq km of the Earth’s land surface, and that 82% of mining areas produce materials used in renewable energy production.
Furthermore, they found 8% of these mining areas overlapped with regions designated as protected areas, 7% with key biodiversity areas, and 16% with remaining wilderness.

The objective of this platform is to communicate how mining companies are already applying renewable energy (Solar & Wind project database) and to give some background information about the topic.

Clean energy procurement by miners has accelerated to unprecedented levels in the last two years, as the drop in the cost of wind and solar power has made this an increasingly attractive pathway to decarbonise operations.