Use renewables to cut carbon and create hydrogen, then use hydrogen to replace diesel
In the last 100 years, energy consumption by the mining industry has rocketed. To use copper as an example, Anglo American reports that producing a pound of copper today requires 16 times more energy than it did 100 years ago.
Against that background, the mining industry has no excuse but to lead the new way without any delay. The route to be taken is to produce big volumes of renewable electricity from the sun and wind and ensure there is excess for green hydrogen production. That green hydrogen must then be deployed to replace diesel. This must set the benchmark for the whole of South Africa, which must be incentivised to pursue it without delay. Sun and wind are fortunately ubiquitous and available in abundance in these parts.
Mines have enough water to produce green hydrogen, with additional desalinated drinking water as a bonus, and the world is funding decarbonisation fast and furiously, so there will not be an absence of private- and public-sector funding to do all this. South Africa must be made to understand that mining is the key player in supporting the energy transition, and today’s mining must be incentivised to produce crop nutrients on organic low-carbon footprints to at least double agricultural productivity to free up enough land for carbon sinks.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest News
Showroom
ENVASS is a customer and solutions-driven environmental consultancy with established divisions, serviced by highly qualified and experienced...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Weir Minerals Europe, Middle East and Africa is a global supplier of excellent minerals solutions, including pumps, valves, hydrocyclones,...
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
