Assessment of greenhouse gas reduction options for the iron, gold, and potash mining sectors

• Author / Creator

  Katta, Anil K

• Canada has one of the world’s highest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per capita among developed countries and was the 10th largest global GHG emitter in 2017. Consistent with the Paris Agreement’s goal of controlling the temperature increase by 2°C to 1.5°C, Canada aims to reduce GHG emissions by 30% in 2030 and 80% in 2050 from 2005 levels. The Canadian government is focusing on several GHG abatement pathways in various energy demand and supply sectors to reduce GHG emissions.
  
  In 2016, the Canadian industrial sector was responsible for 36% of the total energy demand sector’s GHG emissions. The industrial sector comprises of mainly upstream mining (including oil and gas), mineral mining, and manufacturing activities. It is important to identify the energy use and GHG emissions at the process and technology levels in different sub-sectors to develop effective GHG reduction strategies. In this work, disaggregated energy use and GHG emissions data were developed for the iron, gold, and potash mining sectors. The end-use processes were identified for each mining operation, and energy demand trees were developed. The energy intensities for each end-user were calculated and used in a bottom-up, energy-environmental model to determine the associated end-use process GHG emissions. A bottom-up approach uses end-use device data; this approach is well suited for analyzing technical energy-saving opportunities. The results were used to develop Sankey diagrams that allow us to visualize the energy and GHG emissions flows from resource to end use by sector, fuel type, and province. The energy demand shares by province in 2015 were 38% (32.4 PJ) in Saskatchewan, 23% (19.4 PJ) in Quebec, 19% (16.3 PJ) in Newfoundland and Labrador, and 15% (12.8 PJ) in Ontario. 56% of the iron mining energy demand was from Newfoundland and Labrador; 54% of the gold mining energy demand was from Ontario; and 98% of the potash mining energy demand was from Saskatchewan. More than half (56%) of the GHG emissions were from Saskatchewan, followed by Quebec (17%) and Newfoundland (15%). The overall energy and GHG emission intensities for iron, gold, and potash mining are 0.6, 164.8, 1.8 GJ/t and 31, 5278, and 157 kg CO2 eq./t, respectively. The results provide baselines of Canadian average energy and GHG emission intensities and can help industry determine whether mine-specific operations are underperforming. Also, the disaggregated data can be used to identify equipment or processes that will benefit the most from new technological or operational improvements.
  Following this disaggregation, we assessed the potential and associated costs of various GHG mitigation pathways for the iron, gold, and potash mining sectors in Canada. These sectors have not widely accepted the available energy management options and so there is a potential to improve energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions. We investigated the potential for improvements in energy efficiency and GHG mitigation and also the incremental costs associated with GHG abatement. Twenty-four GHG emission reduction options not yet implemented in Canada were identified following a review of current processes and operations. The data from 102 mine sites were studied to identify the existing technologies and potential for implementing new GHG mitigation options. The market share of technology options was modelled through development of correlation models where applicable, and a cost-benefit analysis was conducted for each pathway using a bottom-up approach. The results suggest that cumulative energy savings and GHG mitigation potentials are 98 PJ and 8 Mt CO2 eq. for iron mining, 323 PJ and 10 Mt CO2 eq. for gold mining, and 45 PJ and 3 Mt CO2 eq. for the potash mining sector, respectively, by 2050 over a planning horizon of 30 years. These GHG mitigation potentials represent 10%, 20%, and 2% of sub-sectoral emissions with total marginal GHG abatement costs of -525, -1176, and -258 $/tonne CO2 eq. for the iron, gold, and potash mining sectors, respectively. More than 80% of the emission reductions are from cost-effective measures, as indicated by the negative marginal GHG abatement costs. Decision-makers in Canada and other jurisdictions can use the developed cost curves to identify low-cost options to meet specific GHG reduction targets. The results could be used for policy formulation and investment decision-making.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Mining
  • Abatement cost
  • Scenario analysis
  • Greenhouse gas
  • Market share model
  • Energy model
  • LEAP

• Graduation date

  Fall 2019

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-52ty-7f90

• License

  Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission.