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Climate change

Energy usage and efficiency

Four areas of energy decision, each expressed as a requirement attaching to a decision rather than as a programme with a completion date.

The approach The four areas Where the energy goes in mining Grid context

The approach

Our energy requirements attach to decisions rather than to sites. That is deliberate. A programme has a completion date and a scope, and both change; a requirement attached to a decision applies every time that decision is taken, at any site, at any scale, indefinitely. We therefore use the form: where we specify or procure X, we assess Y and record the assessment.

The recording requirement is not incidental. An assessment that is not recorded cannot be reviewed, and a requirement that cannot be reviewed is not a control.

Key facts

Form of requirement

Our requirements attach to decisions, not to programmes, so that they do not expire.

Recording

We record every assessment; an unrecorded assessment cannot be reviewed.

Grid connection

Grid connection versus self-generation is among the largest determinants of an activity's emissions profile.

Energy and water

We assess energy and water decisions together, because each is a load on the other.

The four areas

Energy sourcing

Where an activity requires electricity, we assess renewable supply options as part of the procurement decision and record the assessment. Where we procure renewable supply, we record the contractual basis and any associated certificates. Where on-site generation or storage is technically feasible, we assess it as part of the sourcing decision.

Electrification of operations

Where we specify or replace mobile mining equipment, we assess electric and hybrid options. Where we procure light vehicles, we assess electric and hybrid options. Where we design material handling, we assess electrified conveying against the alternatives.

Energy efficiency and process optimisation

Where we design or modify a concentration or refining facility, we specify energy management systems and record their performance. Where the process design permits it, we assess heat recovery and process integration. Where we set maintenance regimes, we assess predictive approaches for their effect on energy losses.

Value chain emissions

Where we onboard a supplier, we apply environmental, social and governance screening and collect emissions data. Where we enter into a procurement contract, we consider emissions provisions and record the outcome. Where metal-bearing residues arise, we assess recovery and reprocessing.

Where the energy goes in mining

Energy consumption in mining is concentrated in a small number of places, and our requirements above are aimed at them. Comminution, which is the crushing and grinding of ore, is characteristically the largest single electrical load at a processing operation. Materials movement, whether by haul truck, conveyor or hoist, is the largest diesel load. Ventilation and dewatering dominate underground energy demand and rise with depth. Camp and ancillary load is small by comparison but is frequently the load most readily served by on-site renewable generation, which is why we assess it separately rather than absorb it into a site total.

Stating this openly makes our requirements legible: a reader can see which decision each requirement is aimed at, and can judge whether the requirement is aimed at the right place.

Grid context

Electricity supplied from the Peruvian national grid carries a materially different emissions intensity from diesel generation, and the difference between grid connection and self-generation is therefore one of the largest single determinants of an activity's Scope 2 and Scope 1 profile. Where an activity can be connected, we assess connection against self-generation as part of the energy sourcing decision and record it, together with the emissions consequence of each option.

Energy and water together

Water treatment, pumping and recirculation are energy loads, and energy generation and cooling are water loads. Where we install or modify a water system, we specify water-saving and recycling options and assess their energy consequence as part of the same decision rather than separately.

Reporting

Where an activity generates them, energy consumption, energy intensity and renewable share are published. We collect consumption data under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol inventory methodology, and record the boundary and emission factors, so that reporting against ESRS E1 rests on a defensible basis.