AngloGold Ashanti announced a target for reducing carbon emissions by 30 per cent in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
AngloGold Ashanti plans to carry out its target through a combination of renewable energy projects, fleet electrification, and lower-emission power sources.
In a statement, AngloGold Ashanti, which has cut its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by more than two-thirds since 2007, has stated that it intends to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
The reduction announced today seeks to reduce emissions from the company’s operations to around 1 million tonnes by the end of the decade from a baseline of 1.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 e) in 2021. When expansion projects are considered, AngloGold Ashanti expects to reduce emissions by 46 per cent by the end of the decade. Scope 1 includes emissions from the mine site, whereas Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from third-party electricity purchases.
The capital cost to achieving these savings over the next eight years is expected to be around $1.1 billion, with AngloGold Ashanti providing $350 million and third-party funding, including providers of renewable energy infrastructure, covering the remaining $750 million. The company intends to launch a process in the coming weeks to establish a green funding facility of $250m to $300m to finance its portion of these decarbonisation measures across its business.
“We have a clear pathway to achieve our target by 2030 when we expect to have lowered our overall emissions by almost a third. This ensures we continue to do our part in reducing our carbon footprint, while also improving the value of our business,” said AngloGold Ashanti Chief Executive Officer Alberto Calderon.
According to AngloGold Ashanti, the announced reductions include activities at each Business Unit, such as using renewable energy, better grid electricity, and partial fleet electrification. Large renewable energy projects, such as wind and solar projects at the company’s Australian operations and solar-power facilities at Siguiri in Guinea and the Iduapriem and Obuasi enterprises in Ghana, would account for around 60 per cent of the targeted emissions reductions.
In addition, in the Cuiaba mine in Brazil, a pre-feasibility study has begun to confirm the benefits of replacing some mobile fleet with Battery Electric Vehicles. AngloGold Ashanti will also collaborate with Sandvik to test the largest-capacity BEV vehicle for underground mining at Sunrise Dam.
The feasibility of a wind farm on Argentina’s Cerro Vanguardia is also being examined. The vast majority of these projects are expected to have a positive nett present value (NPV), adding value to our business by lowering energy costs and improving energy security.
Two “clean grid” efforts are now nearing completion: the transfer from diesel generation at Tanzania’s Geita mine site to the country’s national power grid, which has a significant share of power produced from gas and renewables, and Brazil’s shift to complete hydro-grid power.
AngloGold Ashanti’s road towards decarbonisation began in 2008, when the business set a long-term goal of reducing emissions intensity by 30 per cent from its 2007 baseline. By 2021, it had achieved a 47 per cent reduction in emissions intensity, owing to some fuel switching and efficiency gains and asset closure and sale.
AngloGold Ashanti’s Board of Directors authorised a new Climate Change Strategy last year. The business produced its first Climate Change Report per the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures’ rules and recommendations. AngloGold Ashanti’s 2030 ambitions are integrated into a Roadmap to Net Zero that focuses on all sources of energy-related emissions, both at mine sites and from the company’s electric power providers.
As an ICMM member, AngloGold committed in 2021 to achieve net zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2050 and to accelerate action on Scope 3 emissions, including defining credible targets in collaboration with its suppliers.
