The mining sector is a significant contributor of greenhouse gas emissions.
There is no hiding from the fact that the mining sector is a significant contributor of greenhouse gas emissions. It is publicly viewed as a “dirty” industry alongside other fossil fuel-based industries such as the oil and gas sector, and rightly so.
The mining sector is reportedly responsible for 4 percent to 7 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions resulting from direct emissions from owned or controlled sources (Scope 1) and indirect emissions from generation of purchased energy (Scope 2)1. If we extend the scope to all other indirect emissions that occur in the value chain (Scope 3), this estimate rises to approximately 28 percent of global emissions.
In 2019, approximately 1.5 billion tons of iron ore were traded. 23 percent was exported by Brazil (some 335 million tons) and 72 percent (some 1 billion tons) was imported by China. Using this supply chain as an example, the ore is transported up to 1,000 kilometres by land and shipped more than 20,000 kilometres by sea. Due to the sheer volume of ore and distances travelled, emissions associated with the freight and associated infrastructure such as ports are of increasing interest as a component of the supply chain and contribute to the exposure of the mining sector.