The Code calls upon Association member companies to seek “continual and ongoing improvement in their environmental performance … auditing, as appropriate, their environmental performance against their legal requirements and their environmental policies”. “You can put the Manhattan telephone directory into these kind of documents, but in the end, you want it workable, you want it sharp and you want it clearly and directly able to be implemented, understood and accepted by the communities of which we are a part,” Doug says. “Our members all have environmental policies of their own; many have entered into treaties and agreements committing themselves to high standards and accountability. Across the sector, the commitment to doing right by the environment is huge. It’s something to be proud of and it’s something to be built on,” Doug says. The Association’s environmental Code of Conduct can be found at http://www.minerals.co.nz/html/main_topics/about_nzmia/ So, how have our members met their environmental obligations? Read on. (back to top)
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| click to enlarge The public are welcome at OceanaGold’s Macraes Gold Mine in East Otago, as they are at the nearby trout hatchery which is a joint initiative with Fish and Game |
Indeed to this day, it is one of only two such agreements negotiated – the other being with New Zealand Refineries. The Government has now put further agreements on hold while it conducts its climate change review.
Mark Cadzow, Oceana Gold Vice President Corporate Technical Services, is proud of the agreement, both in practical and symbolic terms “It’s still a valid agreement and Oceana Gold is adhering to it,” he said. “We drove the process because we considered it a very important way of stamping ourselves as a genuine corporate citizen.
“We’re here for the long haul and the only way that works is by doing the right thing, and that is something Oceana Gold is very strong on. We entered the agreement because we wanted to secure our long-term future in New Zealand and to be a leader in this area,” Mr Cadzow said.
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| click to enlarge OceanaGold’s snow tussock plantings around the Macraes Gold Mine are all part of its environmental restoration work |
The agreement required the company to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to an agreed benchmark level based on an independent assessment of World’s Best Practice or incur a carbon tax. Oceana Gold’s exposure to the now abandoned carbon tax could have cost up to $5 million per annum.
Under the New Zealand assessment regime, Oceana Gold’s mining operations are already operating at world’s best practice levels and the company expects to meet its Greenhouse Agreement emissions targets largely by operations-based initiatives that yield efficiency benefits for the business. The company’s environmental management covers the entire lifecycle of a mine, from exploration, through development and operation, to decommissioning, closure and final rehabilitation.
“We are committed to meeting or exceeding regulatory requirements to ensure that the environment is protected for future generations and that the sustainability of nearby communities is safeguarded,” Mr Cadzow said.
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| click to enlarge A billboard installation at the Macraes Gold Mine form the Heritage Art Park where industry meets art |
Oceana Gold, one of largest gold producers in Australasia, has dominant land holdings in the Macraes and Reefton gold fields in the South Island. It is strongly involved in restoration work while the mining is underway, and has a strong and ongoing research relationship with Otago University on environmental protection and rehabilitation alternatives. “I think our environmental record stacks up very well. It’s not an add-on. It’s a real part of what we are and how we operate,” Mr Cadzow said.
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Solid Energy exploring carbon storage sites
Solid Energy’s announcement last month that it will survey potential land-based carbon dioxide storage sites is just the latest step in a 20-year, $100 million commitment to doing it right by the environment.
And the company’s Chief Executive, Dr Don Elder, says New Zealand has vast opportunities for underground carbon storage, including in depleted gas reservoirs and in deep coal seams, and that it is the way of the future.
He said surveying of the potential sites around Otago and Southland over the next six months would hopefully identify areas where further detailed drilling programmes could be undertaken, to employ carbon storage techniques being increasingly used around the world.
The initial project will be undertaken using expertise developed through the Australian-based Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC), in which Solid Energy is a participant. Future research will involve New Zealand scientists.
In announcing the project, Dr Elder described the programme as part of a worldwide commitment to clean coal technology.
“Internationally, the coal industry is investing significantly in developing and introducing clean coal technologies that will improve the efficiency of burning coal and reduce emissions from coal-fired power stations and industry.
“Solid Energy is leading the way in developing these technologies to support New Zealand’s sustainable energy future in a world facing more scarce and expensive energy, while simultaneously seeking to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
“Solid Energy probably has the largest single New Zealand commitment to these solutions as part of our $100 million, 20-year technology research and development programme. This includes a leading role in developing carbon capture and storage (sequestration), seen internationally as a key option, for New Zealand conditions.”
Internationally carbon capture and storage (CCS) is expected to be vital in helping to meet the challenge of climate change, given that the world will continue to be dependent on fossil fuels for some time.
Technologies for carbon dioxide capture are well established and have been successfully used for many years as part of everyday industrial processes, for example in the production of ammonia, and to provide CO2 for use in the food and beverage industry. The petroleum industry routinely separates excess carbon dioxide from raw natural gas before transporting it to market by pipeline.
When coal or lignite is gasified to produce chemicals or fuels, carbon dioxide capture is an integral part of the process. Likewise, the injection of carbon dioxide underground has been carried out safely for decades by the oil and gas industry as part of the process of enhanced oil recovery.
The geological storage of carbon dioxide offers huge potential for the permanent storage of large volumes of carbon dioxide as an alternative to emitting it as a greenhouse gas.
Solid Energy is a founding shareholder, with several Australian coal, oil and gas majors in a CO2CRC-related company formed to operate Australasia’s first project to trial carbon dioxide storage technology in the onshore Otway Basin of western Victoria. The trial will involve about 40 Australian and overseas researchers.
Dr Elder said, “If we are to exploit our huge lignite resources, we must work to address the challenge of CO2.”
E-News #9 - December 2006 |
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