than in the copper case due to Brazil’s lower grid EF (0.213 kg CO2e/kWh). The same can be seen for the lithium case study, as Finland’s grid electricity EF (0.146 kg CO2e/kWh) is also lower than Chile’s (0.563 kg CO2e/kWh). In both cases, emissions from wear materials and reagents account for around 50% of the total LCA emissions, underscoring the importance of focusing on scope 3 emissions. An important part of the 4th stage in the LCA framework is not only to interpret the results but also to understand the sensitivity. A sensitivity analysis was therefore conducted across all three processing plants to evaluate the effects of various parameters on the final emissions results. This analysis (Figure 4) highlights the dominant role of electricity in the copper case study. Doubling the electricity EF increases the copper case GWP by approximately 72%, while doubling grinding electricity consumption raises it by ±61%. In comparison, equivalent changes in wear and reagent EFs result in relatively smaller impacts. For the iron case, the electricity EF and grinding electricity are also both influential (50% and 35% respectively). The lithium case resulted in similar findings to that of the iron case, hence only the iron results are shown below. Figure 4 – Sensitivity of GWP to change in key variables (a – copper and b – iron cases) These findings suggest that near-term decarbonisation gains are most effectively achieved through procurement or generation of lower-carbon electricity and optimisation of grinding energy, with continuous improvement pursued in consumables and reagents via supplier engagement and operational practice. 5. LCA AS A ROADMAP FOR THE SCOPE 3 RESIDUAL The mining sector has made strong progress in lowering Scope 1 and 2 emissions through renewables and electrification, but a large share of the remaining footprint now lies in Scope 3, embedded in consumables, wear materials, reagents and services. Emerging disclosure rules require companies to measure and report value-chain emissions, and the IFRS S2 Climate-Related Disclosure Standard [6] now requires companies to disclose material Scope 3 emissions with high-quality, GHG Protocol-aligned data. This shifts attention to more reliable accounting for purchased goods, consumables, and other indirect costs. Despite this, many plant-level decisions still rely on generic EFs for materials or treat 217
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0Mzk2