At Kinross, we strive to incorporate energy efficiency strategies into all aspects of our operations and projects including mine planning, transportation, metallurgy, electricity consumption, fuel management and power generation. We are currently incorporating these principles to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at our Tasiast 24K expansion, Lobo-Marte and Chulbatkan projects.
We have also introduced a Company-wide fuel management program to improve fuel efficiency, lower costs and emissions. The program has an assigned fuel management coordinator at each of our sites that monitors fuel usage and ensures the site meets our Fuel Management Best Practices Guidelines and complies with our Environmental Management System.
Some site-specific examples of process optimization initiatives to reduce fuel use include:
- Fort Knox: optimized slopes at the Walter Creek Heap Leap Facility to increase the leaching surface area and reduce energy consumption
- Tasiast: modified haul truck routes and speeds and increased operator training and mine planning to reduce emissions by minimizing the use of heavy equipment fleets
- Chirano: installed underground fueling station to reduce the need to travel to surface for refueling
- Paracatu: maintained mill throughput while using process optimization to shut down one of the ball mill circuits, resulting in reduced power consumption as part of the PTU950 program
In addition, in 2018, Kinross acquired two hydroelectric power plants in Brazil to supply 70% of Paracatu’s power needs. The plants have significantly decreased our total GHG emissions intensity (from 6.1 kg CO2e in 2017 to 3.8 in 2019). We continue to evaluate opportunities to add renewable energy at sites across our global operations.
To learn more about Kinross’ commitment to sustainable energy, visit page 47 of our 2019 Sustainability report or visit our Climate Change and Energy section on Kinross.com.
