MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA-- September 01, 2022 -- 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.