Gold mining firm AngloGold Ashanti announced yesterday that it had released a carbon emissions reduction target that aims to achieve a 30% reduction in its Scope 1 and 2 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 through a combination of renewable energy projects, fleet electrification and lower-emission power sources.
The company, which said it had reduced its GHG emissions by more than two-thirds since 2007, is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
The targeted reduction, from a 2021 baseline of 1.4 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 e), aims to see emissions from the company’s activities diminish to about 1 million tons by the end of the decade.
“When growth projects are factored in, including those in Nevada and Colombia, AngloGold Ashanti is targeting a 46% reduction in emissions by the end of the decade,” it said.
Scope 1 covers emissions from within the mine site, while Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the purchase of electricity from third-party providers.
“The capital cost required to achieve these reductions over the coming eight years is anticipated to be about $1.1 billion (R17bn), of which $350 million will be funded over that period by AngloGold Ashanti, and the remaining $750m through third-party funding, including from providers of renewable energy infrastructure,” it said.
The mining firm planned in the coming weeks to initiate a process to secure a green funding facility of $250m to $300m to finance its portion of these decarbonisation initiatives across its business.
AngloGold Ashanti CEO Alberto Calderon said: “We have a clear pathway to achieve our target by 2030 when we expect to have lowered our overall emissions by almost a third. This ensures we continue to do our part in reducing our carbon footprint while also improving the value of our business.”
The group said the targeted reductions it announced yesterday incorporated initiatives at each business unit including the introduction of renewable energy, cleaner grid power, and partial fleet electrification.
“Approximately 60% of the planned emissions reductions will come from large renewable energy projects, including wind and solar projects at the company’s Australian operations and solar-power plants at both Siguiri in Guinea and the Iduapriem and Obuasi operations in Ghana,“ the company said.
In addition, a pre-feasibility study had commenced at the Cuiaba mine in Brazil to confirm the benefits of replacing some mobile fleets with battery electric vehicles, it said.
“AngloGold Ashanti will also be working with Sandvik to trial underground mining’s largest-capacity BEV truck at Sunrise Dam. The viability of a wind farm at Cerro Vanguardia in Argentina is also being investigated,” the group said.
The vast majority of these projects were expected to be NPV-positive, adding value to its business by reducing energy costs and improving energy security.
“Two ‘clean grid’ initiatives are already close to completion – a switch from diesel generation at the Geita mine site in Tanzania to the country’s national power grid, which has a high proportion of power sourced from gas and renewables, and the transition to full hydro-grid power in Brazil,“ it said.
AngloGold Ashanti’s decarbonisation journey started in 2008 when the company set a long-term target to reduce emissions intensity by 30% from its 2007 base. By 2021 it had achieved a 47% reduction in emissions intensity, through some fuel switching and efficiency improvements, but also due to the closure and divestment of assets.
Last year AngloGold Ashanti’s board approved a new climate change strategy, and the company published its inaugural climate change report in line with the guidelines and recommendations of the task force on climate-related financial disclosures.
AngloGold Ashanti’s 2030 targets are embedded in a Roadmap to Net Zero, which focuses on all sources of energy-related emissions, both at the company’s mine sites and from its electric power providers.
BUSINESS REPORT