CHASING THE GREEN PREMIUM
Boliden ’ s Low-Carbon Copper comes with cradle to gate emissions of less than 1.5 t of CO 2 per tonne of copper
“ When things get bad from an economical perspective , these products could really make a difference ,” he said . “ The customers might not pay extra for them , but if they scale down their purchases , our contracts should be the last to be cancelled .”
Speaking more recently in the company ’ s 2022 Sustainability Report , Johan Andersson , Boliden ’ s Sales Manager for Copper , said of Low-Carbon Copper : “ We already experience increasing demand and there are several examples where customers have asked us if we can supply copper that does not exceed a defined emissions level as this , in turn , has been required by their customer .”
Inevitably these requirements are going to keep on filtering down from the top of the supply chain , meaning all mining companies – not just the ones seeking an initial competitive advantage – will need to reduce and showcase their minimised emissions intensity .
The gains of ‘ going green ’
The benefits of ‘ greening ’ the mining and metallurgical processes associated with metal extraction and production are fast becoming apparent , with leaders in the sector looking to gain a first-mover advantage . Dan Gleeson examines some examples of where this environmental push could lead to premium pricing
There is undoubtedly a necessity to decarbonise mining operations across the globe in order to achieve the targets within the Paris COP21 agreement , but that isn ’ t to say this climate change-focused transition doesn ’ t come with benefits .
Boliden , for example , looks like leading the base metals industry when it comes to both calculating and incorporating reduced carbon emissions into its embedded products .
It recently registered two new products – Low- Carbon Copper and Low-Carbon Zinc – as a way of highlighting its leading carbon-cutting credentials to end users and investors .
Speaking to IM around a year ago , Mikael Staffas , CEO of Boliden , said : “ The point was to differentiate our products , with many people expected to receive this differentiation .”
The formula for these two low-carbon products is based on the production of finished metal , from cradle to gate , that has emissions of less than 1.5 t of CO 2 per tonne of copper , compared with the global average of around 4 t of CO 2 per tonne . For zinc , the threshold is even lower – less than 1 t of CO 2 emissions per tonne of zinc , compared with the industry average of 2.5 t .
To this point , the introduction of both products
has resulted in a slim premium over other products on the market . Staffas said the
development of these products was also to lay down a benchmark for the rest of the industry and provide market protection .
Positioned to capture ‘ green revenue ’
The Weir Group has caught onto this evolving trend and , in its recent Capital Markets Day presentation , outlined tactics to further highlight its role in decarbonising the mining industry .
The company has already had its Scope 1 , 2 & 3 greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emission reduction targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative : an important distinction for mining company clients looking to source equipment and services from suppliers aligned with their own sustainability goals .
Yet , it is going one step further by introducing a Scope 4 emissions calculation associated with the use of its products . This factors in the emissions avoided by choosing one technology rather than an alternative , with Weir seeing an opportunity for it to recognise “ green revenue ” with this designation .
Stephen Marshall , Head of Engineering Operations at Weir Minerals – owned by Weir Group – says it would currently be considered a stretch for most miners to call themselves ‘ green ’ given mining is a such an energy-intensive industry , but acknowledged that many of these same companies were out to change this .
“ Miners are committed to reducing their carbon , water and waste footprints , and are actively pursuing technology and operational solutions to achieve that ,” he told IM .
Marshall acknowledges mining companies will need to pursue developments on two fronts to successfully achieve their decarbonisation targets and says Weir ’ s technology can aid on one of these fronts .
“ On the one hand , better end-to-end
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