Digging Deeper for the dream of net zero 

Aiming high from mining’s deepest depths 

How do you aim for the stars when you’re underground? Net zero mining might sound like a moonshot – but in our recent Digging Deeper livestream, we heard from Jouko Niemenen and Rajendra Mishra why today’s mining professionals should dream big when it comes to sustainability in their industry.

Change is all around us 

Historically, piles of discarded waste and dirty water have been tell-tale signs that precious metals are being mined from the earth – without much care for the Earth itself. But change is already happening. Consumers are increasingly ‘voting with their feet’ when it comes to choosing products made with sustainable materials, and producers are adapting accordingly.

As the energy transition ramps up, we need a lot more metal quickly, in a much greener way – and in fact, environmental impact is already a non-negotiable consideration if you want permission to open a new mine today. So, what is net zero, and how do we get there? 

Adding up the benefits across the chain 

That’s the several-hundred-million-dollar question (the average cost of a new mine)! There are three main areas of the mining process we can target to make an impact: what we’re mining for, how we mine, and what comes after operations finish.  

Net-zero mining essentially means no environmental impact – in the air, the water, or on the land. It’s a significant challenge, but there are already many fantastic tools that can help, such as technological innovations that significantly reduce carbon footprint across the mining value chain. Think automation, real-time environmental monitoring, ore sorting, optimized furnace performance, and much more. And these solutions are far from the drop in the ocean they might appear! When applied systematically across all three areas, they create huge value like savings in energy, resources, and costs. 

What we mine, and how we do it

One radical shift that could make a huge difference in the industry is combination mining. By extracting every element that could be useful from the mined rock instead of only one, you’ll generate far less waste, scale your profits more easily, and support the industry with valuable extra resources, such as rare earth elements. This approach relies on great elemental analysis to characterize exactly what’s in your rock – which is very achievable today with technology like PFTNA analyzers. 

Our experts agreed that processing, or how we mine, is the best target for producers looking to go green. If you sort your ores in the mine or at the stockpile, you can put them in the right place the first time, avoiding the heavy (energy-intensive!) work of moving them around later. You can also cut out all the energy spent on crushing and grinding waste rock – because only the ore-bearing material will make it to the mill.  

And the benefits of ore sorting and analysis keep compounding further along the chain! When you know exactly what’s entering the furnace or smelter, you can maximize metal yield while minimizing wasted material and energy. Getting all this data in real-time also prevents potential tons of wasted material due to issues and downtime. 

Taking the waste out of wastewater 

Huge piles of waste might be easily reduced via on-line analysis, but less visible wastewater is also critical when it comes to mining’s environmental impact. The water used for processing can be recycled, but it takes precise monitoring to pick up on potentially toxic elements and remove them safely. It’s all about the sensors! Luckily, this kind of technology is now more accessible than ever through instruments like the Epsilon Xflow. 

Shoot for the stars 

The takeaway from both our experts is that mining companies should aim high and not be discouraged by how big the task seems – because there’s a lot of support available! Technology is filling in a lot of gaps, but there are also a lot of people working on helping the mining industry over the hurdles to net zero. From academics and researchers to people like us, at Malvern Panalytical, we’re all on the same side – so, let’s go for it! 

Missed our Digging Deeper livestream on lowering carbon footprint? Make sure you catch the next one by following us on LinkedIn here! 

Read our blog based on the first livestream here.

Explore all our solutions for process control and smart analysis in mining here.