ANGLOGOLD Ashanti is to build one of the largest renewable energy projects in Australia as part of a wider plan to cut Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030, said BusinessLive.
Citing an announcement, BusinessLive said the gold miner had entered into an agreement with Pacific Energy to construct and operate 62MW of wind and solar generation capacity, which will supply additional power to its Tropicana gold mine.
“We have a responsibility to proactively identify and address current and future climate-related threats,” AngloGold Ashanti CEO Alberto Calderon said.
“This renewables project at Tropicana is another important step forward for us, not only in realising our overall climate objectives, but also improving our overall security of energy supply and significantly reducing the site’s natural gas consumption.”
AngloGold Ashanti’s plans align with the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change whose goal is to limit the increase in global warming to below 2ºC to mitigate climate-related disasters, said BusinessLive.
In October, AngloGold Ashanti rolled out plans for a $1.1bn emissions reduction initiative in which the miner intends to be carbon neutral by 2050. Emissions are expected to fall to one million tons by the end of the decade from a baseline of 1.4 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2021. This will be achieved through a combination of renewable energy projects, fleet electrification, and lower-emission power sources.
Tropicana’s hybrid wind and solar with battery storage facility will be the first of its kind to be implemented by the company and will reduce the average carbon emissions by more than 65,000 tons per annum over the 10-year life of the agreement, making a significant contribution towards AngloGold Ashanti’s climate commitments.
Pacific Energy will construct the renewables project and continue to operate the combined renewables-gas power station under a 10-year power purchase agreement.
The capital cost of constructing the renewables infrastructure will be incorporated into the ongoing power costs charged to AngloGold and its strategic partner Regis Resources, which jointly own Tropicana mine.
