AngloGold Ashanti announces plans to cut down carbon emissions by 2030

Gold mining giant, AngloGold Ashanti has outlined plans to cut down carbon emissions and the company is targeting 30% by 2030.

The gold mining company, AngloGold Ashanti released the plan on Wednesday, saying the target aims to achieve a 30% absolute reduction in its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030.

As it is listed at the Johannesburg and New York Stock Exchange, AngloGold Ashanti, which has reduced its absolute GHG emissions by more than two-thirds since 2007, is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 – the reduction will come through a combination of renewable energy projects, fleet electrification, and lower-emission power sources.

The targeted reduction by AngloGold, from a 2021 baseline of 1.4-million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, aims to see emissions from the company’s activities diminish to about one million tonnes by the end of the decade.

“We have a clear pathway to achieve our target by 2030 when we expect to have lowered our overall emissions by almost a third,” said AngloGold CEO Alberto Calderon in a release to Mining Weekly.

“This ensures we continue to do our part in reducing our carbon footprint, while also improving the value of our business.”

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.

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, of which $350 million will be funded over that period by AngloGold and the remaining $750 million through third-party funding, including from providers of renewable energy infrastructure,” reports Mining Weekly. 

“The company plans in the coming weeks to initiate a process to secure a green funding facility of $ 250 million to $300 million to finance its portion of these decarbonisation initiatives across its business.”

The mining journal has it that the targeted reductions incorporate 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.

Furthermore, a pre-feasibility study has commenced at the Cuiaba mine in Brazil to confirm the benefits of replacing some mobile fleet with battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

AngloGold also announced it will be working with Sandvik to trial underground mining’s largest-capacity BEV truck at Sunrise Dam.

Main Image: Anglogold Ashati/CWPhotography