Operations & financial report
Greenhouse gas emissions
Kennecott Utah Copper (KUC) currently has 49 projects that will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including reduction of diesel consumption by haul trucks and increasing throughput at the pebble crusher. The challenge in 2008 will be to achieve GHG reductions per unit of copper produced.
Palabora is expecting a reduction of 13.3 per cent which is below the targeted reduction of 19.8 per cent. The reason is the switch, made for economic reasons, from processing purchased concentrates to processing Palabora owned low grade surface stockpiles. This results in higher energy use and a reduction in production.
Given the energy limitations in South Africa, Palabora continues to implement energy efficiency measures while maintaining operational flexibility. Northparkes in Australia has set reduction targets although GHG emissions per unit of copper will increase due to the early cessation of the E26 underground phase and processing of harder ore.
