Rio Tinto successfully completed the full transition of its heavy equipment from fossil diesel to renewable diesel at its Boron, California operation, making it the first open pit mine in the world to do so.
Switching to renewable diesel brings an anticipated CO 2 equivalent reduction of up to 45,000 tons per year, comparable to eliminating the annual emissions of approximately 9,600 cars.
Rio Tinto Minerals chief executive Sinead Kaufman said: “We are proud that our US borax operations have become the first open pit mine to operate a fleet that runs entirely on renewable diesel.”
“This is a great example of what happens when internal and external partners collaborate towards a carbon reduction goal. The support of the State of California has also been incredibly important, as without their vision, this would not have been possible,” he said.
“The transition at Boron is an important first step and will undoubtedly lead to further opportunities to decarbonise our global operations. Renewable diesel is one of several sustainability solutions that Rio Tinto is using to transform its businesses,” he added.
Massive CO2 reduction: Rio Tinto US Borax leads the shift to renewable diesel in the mining industry
An initial trial of switching from fossil diesel to renewable diesel was conducted in a US borax extraction truck through 2022 in partnership with Neste and Rolls-Royce. Rio Tinto US Borax used Neste MY Renewable Diesel™ during the trial.
Made with 100% renewable, sustainably-sourced raw materials, such as used cooking oil and animal fat residues, the use of Neste MY Renewable Diesel TM can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 75% over the life cycle of the vehicle. fuel compared to fossil diesel.
Renewable diesel offers performance and reliability in the Rio Tinto US Borax fleet
The test results showed that a truck running on renewable diesel offers similar performance and reliability to trucks running on conventional diesel.
Building on these positive results, Rio Tinto US Borax continued to work with Rolls-Royce, Neste, the Environmental Protection Agency and the State of California to fully transition its on-site heavy equipment fleet to renewable diesel by the end of May 2023.
This transition includes all heavy machinery on the property, from haul trucks to loaders, and the renewable diesel is even used in blasting.
This conversion to renewable diesel supports Rio Tinto’s global decarbonisation targets, which include a 50% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, and a commitment to reach net zero by 2050.
The company estimates carbon emissions from the use of diesel in its mobile fleet and rail accounted for 13% of its Scope 1 and 2 emissions in 2022.
Source and internal photo : https://www.rumbominero.com/usa/rio-tinto-us-borax-mina-diesel-renovable/
Cover photo : ShutterStock
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