Rio Tinto turns to Pangamia farms for renewable fuel
Rio Tinto chief decarbonisation officer Jonathon McCarthy standing among Pongamia trees.
Mining giant Rio Tinto is turning to agriculture to reduce its reliance on polluting diesel by developing Pongamia seed farms in Australia as part of a new biofuels pilot.
The initiative will explore the potential of Pongamia seed oil, derived from a legume tree native to Australia, as a feedstock for renewable diesel – a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels.
The pilot aims to assess whether Pongamia seed oil can meet Rio Tinto's renewable diesel needs while fostering the growth of a new biofuel sector in Australia.
“Diesel accounts for around 10% of our emissions footprint in Australia. While we continue to pursue electrification as the long-term solution for displacing the majority of our diesel use, the Pongamia seed pilot is an important parallel pathway that could reduce our reliance on diesel in the mid-term. It also presents a compelling option for other applications that are challenging to electrify, including blasting and non-haul equipment,” said Rio Tinto chief decarbonisation officer Jonathon McCarthy.
Rio Tinto is in the final stages of acquiring about 3 000 ha of cleared land near Townsville in north Queensland, where it will study growth conditions and measure seed oil yields.
The miner has partnered with Midway to oversee the planting and management of the Pongamia seed farms. Midway will engage with nurseries, agricultural experts and research organisations throughout the pilot, and prioritise opportunities for Traditional Owners and local communities.
This larger pilot builds on a smaller trial at Rio Tinto's Gove operations in the Northern Territory, where Pongamia saplings were tested for their resilience to harsh climate conditions and low soil quality in northern Australia.
Comments
Latest Multimedia
Showroom
Since 1919, Victaulic’s innovative solutions and design services continue to increase construction productivity and reduce risk, ensuring projects...
VISIT SHOWROOM
We supply customers with practical affordable solutions for their testing needs. Our products include benchtop, portable, in-line process control...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
