Further support for miners to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston has announced that the Western Australian (WA) Government will expand the research scope for the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia (MRIWA) so it can support research into clean energy and emissions reduction technologies.

Minister Johnston announced the news at today’s MRIWA Net Zero Emissions Mining WA Conference, along with the release of a guide and template for the Hybrid Power Purchase Agreement.

Minister Johnston said the McGowan Government is committed to supporting the WA mining industry as it transitions to net zero emissions by 2050.

“Expanding MRIWA’s research scope will position our State to benefit from research and development focused on emissions reduction and broader clean energy value chain,” he stated.

In a statement, Minister Johnston said the template would enable miners and independent power providers to negotiate contracts for the installation of onsite renewable generation.

He added that with decarbonisation operations and downstream processing opportunities accelerating, the push for the industry to decrease emissions remains increasing and achieve the McGowan Government’s target of net zero emissions by 2050.

The WA Government is supporting the mining industry by committing $6 million to significant mineral research and development, precision and low-impact mining, and the use of renewable energy technology; collaborating with the industry to build its Sectoral Emissions Reduction strategies and Greenhouse Gas Storage and Transport Bill writing; and offers a variety of resources through its Energy Industry Development (EID) team.

“WA’s mining and technology services sectors are world leaders in innovation — their skills ad expertise are being applied to companies’ decarbonisation goals,” Minister Johnston said.

Parallel to legislative amendments, MRIWA will start consultations to identify and prioritise the high-impact research fields.