Climate change, energy, and GHG emissions
While supplying critical copper to support the energy transition globally, Kamoa Copper SA Copper recognises the importance of minimising its mining operations’ environmental impact and carbon footprint.
Our strategy considers the decarbonisation initiatives to support climate change reporting and decarbonisation strategies, plans, and activities, including:
- Optimisation of transport routes: A reduction in Scope 3 emissions using the Lobito Corridor for the transport of copper concentrate as an alternative to road transport.
- Process optimisation: Construction of the direct-to-blister copper smelter will result in an improvement in Scope 3 emissions from the on-site smelter. However, the most significant impact will be in terms of the transportation of a higher-grade copper anode instead of shipping copper concentrate, as the former has double the contained copper content.
Further investigation for the feasibility of other carbon footprint reducing initiatives for deployment will be undertaken as part of the strategy.
To ensure sustained performance, we have entered a public partnership with DRC’s state-owned power company, La Société Nationale d’Electricité (SNEL), securing clean and renewable hydro-generated electricity at Mwadingusha. The refurbishment of Turbine 5 at Inga II dam is also on-schedule and on-budget to produce 178 MW of green hydroelectric power from Q1 2025.
The fully operational Mwadingusha hydropower plant supplies approximately 78 MW of sustainable electricity to the national grid, meeting the needs of Kamoa Copper SA Copper’s initial two production phases. In collaboration with Ivanhoe Mines Energy DRC, a partnership addendum was signed to upgrade Turbine 5 at the Inga II hydropower plant along the Congo River, with an estimated 178 MW of renewable hydropower upon completion. These combined efforts will provide Kamoa Copper SA Copper with access to 250 MW of clean electricity.
This commitment to sustainable energy is crucial for the ongoing development of Kamoa Copper SA Copper into one of the world’s largest, greenest copper mines.
Ivanhoe Mines works towards a groupwide decarbonisation strategy and roadmap to combat the identified risks associated with climate change and to strive towards net zero.