Decarbonising Australia’s Mining Sector Beyond Renewables Highlighted in Timely Black & Veatch eBook

Global infrastructure solutions provider identifies opportunities to achieve cost-effective, deep decarbonisation for Australia’s heavy industry

MELBOURNE, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Integrating mining infrastructure solutions across power, water and other critical technologies provides Australia’s mining industry with opportunities to overcome sustainability challenges at every stage of the mining process.

In its new eBook, Beyond Renewables: Impactful Decarbonisation of Australia’s Mining Sector, Black & Veatch examines emerging opportunities and provides insights into decarbonising Australia’s mining operations.

The eBook acknowledges that while mining companies have made substantial progress in recent years, many with long-established sustainability programs, opportunities have emerged to accelerate the impact of their decarbonisation efforts.

In the eBook, Black & Veatch’s water and energy experts propose that developing robust decarbonisation roadmaps will help mining companies manage and understand limited budgets, technology timelines and complex regulations over potentially a 30-year span, a timeframe similar to making major infrastructure investments.

“Decarbonisation strategies require the long view. When planning phases span decades, it is important to avoid the consequences of getting locked into path dependency or stranded assets by having a clear understanding of technology maturity and cost. We provide this clarity through our deployment of a diverse range of technologies, combined with our objective assessment of the maturity of emerging technologies,” said Mick Scrivens, Vice President, Director, Australia Pacific, Black & Veatch.

Decarbonisation roadmaps will help mining companies evaluate competing commercially-ready and emerging technologies, and present a de-risked pathway to zero emissions. Such roadmaps demonstrate to investors and communities that mining operators are systematically analysing the economic and operational feasibility of each infrastructure investment along the timeline.

The eBook also covers a range of other topics of interest including green hydrogen production, long-term energy storage, fleet and equipment electrification, direct air capture, net-zero water recycling, emissions-free explosives, small modular reactor nuclear power as well as future revenue opportunities through electricity production after mine closure.

Scrivens will be speaking about Australia’s opportunities for decarbonisation at NT Resources Week in August.

Editor’s Notes:

• Download a free copy of the Beyond Renewables: Impactful Decarbonisation of Australia’s Mining Sector eBook here
• Black & Veatch has joined the Australian Hydrogen Council (AHC) as part of its efforts to accelerate the global shift to zero emission energy and speed the development of a global hydrogen energy economy. The company is also a member of the Hydrogen Council, Center for Hydrogen Safety, the Fuel Cell Hydrogen & Energy Association, California Hydrogen Business Council and the Ammonia Energy Association.
• Black & Veatch designed, engineered and built Electric Island, a first-of-its-kind, high-capacity public charging station designed for medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles, and a template for electrifying vehicles and equipment at mine sites.
• BHP hired Black & Veatch to serve as designer and engineer of record on the Escondida Water Supply Expansion (EWSE) project at its Minera Escondida mine in Chile. The project supplies the world’s largest copper mine with 100-percent desalinated water, removing the need for groundwater.

About Black & Veatch

Black & Veatch is a 100-percent employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people around the world by addressing the resilience and reliability of our most important infrastructure assets. Our revenues in 2021 exceeded US$3.3 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and on social media.