Health & safety
says that mining operators need to do a better job at explaining how they’re approaching weather-related emergencies, something she says has traditionally been an “uphill” struggle. Yet even here, there are signs of change. In September, to give one example, BHP announced it was investigating the consequences of climate change at its Escondida mine in Chile. Among other things, that includes studying the potential collapse of a tailings facility due to flooding, and how an increase in sea temperature could disrupt the local desalination plant.
Mining corporations are under pressure to shift their operations to deal with climate change.
$7.5bn Rio Tinto 71% Carbon Brief 18
The amount pledged by Rio Tinto in October 2021 to halve its direct emissions by 2030.
This may not sound like much. Yet, it speaks to an industry increasingly aware of the climate threat – and one eager to change. With proper roads, after all, staff can be sure operations won’t sink into the mud the moment it rains, particularly welcome given climate change is increasing the likelihood of heavy storms across Southern Africa. “It adds resilience,” stresses Spano, “to the kind of response that you can give when these events happen.” Nor is the Sentinel Copper Mine unique. Across the world, mining companies are working hard to bolster their operations in the face of wild weather. Like in Zambia, these moves are often appealingly straightforward. If asphalting can help mitigate the impact of heavy rain, crushing ore inside a pit can reduce the need for roads altogether. It’s a similar story when it comes to fighting heatwaves. In Australia, for instance, Anglo American has improved evaporation monitoring at its Drayton mine dam, ensuring it retains more water in dry conditions. That’s shadowed by better equipment more broadly. Spano says that some companies are giving staff waterproof workwear in the case of sudden storms, while others are improving in-mine communications, crucial to keeping staff safe if they need to leave quickly. Combined with more fundamental changes – Vale recently announced an $800m fund to cut tailings dams from its operations – and it’s hard to disagree with Spano that the industry has been “learning a lot” over recent years.
Percentage of extreme weather events that were found to be more likely or severe thanks to human-made climate change.
As varied as these technical tweaks are, however, the experts agree that they can’t succeed in isolation. As Spano puts it: “It’s not just one single thing – which tyres do we need to use on the trucks, or which telecom equipment do we need to improve? It’s the whole system that leads to better health and safety for an operation.” Morrill makes a similar point, suggesting that working with local communities, the people most threatened by rain or heat, is especially important. In particular, Morrill
Regulation, regulation, regulation In other words, mining corporations are obviously shifting their operations to deal with climate change. Even here, however, the question of their own role in exacerbating the crisis remains unresolved. Morrill sees the irony here, arguing that the “best tailings dam is the one that isn’t built”. To put it differently: it’s all well and good mitigating the impact of climate change after the fact, but wouldn’t it be wiser to scale down operations altogether? Spano isn’t sure. As he says, industry giants have fought to reduce their carbon footprint for years, with the entire membership of the ICMM pledging to cut emissions to zero by 2050. At the same time, Spano hints these broad-brush promises are being echoed by a genuine change in attitude. “15 years ago, there was one person with the title of climate change in a sustainability team,” he says of a company’s corporate structure. “And now, the climate change team in many of our companies are part of the strategy team.” Certainly, the financial extravagance of companies like Rio Tinto suggest something big is happening. All the same, the future is far from secure. At Earthworks, for example, Morrill and her team have uncovered 13 tailing dam failures or leaks since November 2021. It goes without saying that this trend will continue – climate change has, among other things, helped increase the likelihood of intense hurricanes by about 8% per decade since 1979. Beyond the largesse of the industry itself, Morrill therefore argues that lawmakers should get involved too, forcing operators to bolster their resilience to storms or sun even as they push emissions down. “We really need stronger and protective laws in place,” she says, “and then we really need governments to make sure that they’re being enforced.” There has certainly been some movement in this area. In Sierra Leone, a new law will allow local communities to veto new mining projects in their area, while Canada recently proposed tougher rules around coal mining waste. After all, considering international mining still contributes 8% to the world’s carbon footprint, plenty more than just our economic future remains in the balance. ●
World Mining Frontiers /
www.nsenergybusiness.com
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