Anglo American, De Beers and Sasol have signed a groundbreaking joint development agreement that should in time result in the development of up to 400 million litres of locally manufactured biodiesel for use in mining.
The three groups signed the agreement at the Investing in African Mining Indaba on Tuesday, which is being held at the International Conference Centre in Cape Town. The plan is to make biodiesel from an invasive species Moringa and the tobacco variety Solaris plant, on land that has been degraded by mining, with the vegetable oil to be processed at Sasol’s Natref refinery in Sasolburg.
Sasol business and technology development director Dr Sureshen Pillay said the three groups were operating in an environment where South Africa, and the rest of the world, was transitioning to a low carbon economy.
Their initial testing - so far some 500 litres had been produced for further research and testing - had shown that the biodiesel from these plants will reduce diesel carbon emissions by up to 90%, said Naidoo. The use of Sasol’s existing facilities, its refinery capacity that were able to use a variety of feedstocks, and fuel testing capabilities, meant that it could commercialise biodiesel at lower costs and faster than other greenfields biodiesel operations, he said.
Alison Atkinson, Anglo American Group Director - Project & Development, said biodiesel would become a very important part of Anglo American’s decarbonisation journey, because their research showed that while there were other methods to generate renewable electricity, and electric vehicles would become more prevalent, the use of liquid fuels would still continue for many years to come.
She said Anglo American could have imported the biodiesel, but this would have been a very expensive option, and the group preferred to manufacture it locally. She said 20 hectares would initially be provided to cultivate the plants.
In addition, growing biodiesel feedstock was a good way to rehabilitate degraded mining land, as well as provide additional employment and agricultural opportunities for communities around the mines.
She said they chose the Moringa and Solaris plants because they were low maintenance, hardy plants that could grow on degraded land, and while biodiesel can be made from other crops such as maize, the group did not wish to use a food crop to make biodiesel.
The joint development agreement is the latest in Anglo American’s journey towards reaching its target of carbon-neutral operations by 2040.
“The initiative aligns with De Beers’ Origins strategy, reflecting a strong focus on sustainable practices and innovation. It also fits in well with De Beers’ strategy to replace fossil fuel, which is critical element of the 2030 decarbonisation goals. Pre-feasibility studies have been approved, and renewable diesel production trials have been initiated within De Beers’ mining operations and host communities,” she said.
The deal represents another step in Anglo American’s decarbonsation journey, for instance, in 2022, the group also unveiled a prototype of the world’s largest hydrogen powered mine haul truck.
Naidoo said the Natref oil refinery, which currently produces fuels from crude oil feedstock, would not have to alter its production plants to refine the biodiesel, up to between 2-4 million litres per year. He said this agreement brought all aspects of a good commercial chemicals agreement together: a competitive feedstock, the assets to convert it and customers to market it. He said the biodiesel production would be trialed for up to two years, also to understand the growing cycle of the feedstock.
BUSINESS REPORT