“A renewable energy revolution is powering the A$720 billion mining and resources industry” – Interested in that?

Except when it’s not: “fossil fuels – especially gas – will still be needed for many remote resource projects for some time.”

A renewable energy revolution is powering the A$720 billion mining and resources industry

ABC Rural / Via Daniel Mercer and Tom Edwards

In a remote mine in the deserts of central Western Australia, winds of change are blowing.

Along with a solar and battery farm, five giant wind turbines are powering much of the operation at the Agnew gold project, about 1,000 kilometers northeast of Perth.

This is the first resource project in Australia with a wind farm, but it is unlikely to be the last.

Furthermore, the combination of renewable energy sources to increasingly meet the needs of mines like Agnew will be replicated nationwide.

“It was amazing,” said Stuart Mathews, executive vice president of Gold Fields, the South African company that owns the Agnew project.

…

Despite the upbeat outlook, Mr Harman warned that fossil fuels – particularly gas – will still be needed for many remote resource projects for some time.

He noted that most mines operate around the clock, which means they require a constant source of electricity.

And while renewables have the potential to fill many of those needs, he says fossil fuels will be needed to fill the gaps until green technology catches up.

“The real challenge is storage scale,” said Mr. Harman.

“You have to prepare backup items when it is not sunny, the wind does not blow.

“The amount of capital you have to spend to always have renewable energy available is too high.

“So storage is key.”

…

Read more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2021-11-15/green-mines-a-renewable-energy-evolution/100613266

I suspect that this rush to embrace green mining is more aspirational than reality.

In some remote locations, the use of renewable energy makes sense. I have used solar power in the past, to operate the sensors remotely which are inconveniently far away from the power generation point. So maybe the solar panels will save some natural gas or diesel or whatever consumable the mine uses for power.

But the sheer magnitude of the energy needs of the mines make this a bit difficult to take seriously. Maybe the PR value outweighs the cost. But I really doubt my adjacent renewables’ end-to-end value in terms of mining returns will be the lowest.