Carbon Footprint of the Large Scale Gold Mining Industry of Ghana Y
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Carbon Footprint of the Large Scale Gold Mining Industry of Ghana Y. K. Amoako 1*, C. Gordon 1, P.A. Sakyi2 and R. Gyimah3 1 Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies (IESS), University of Ghana, (UG) 2Department of Earth Science, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana 3Verification and Field Audit Manager, Forestry Commission of Ghana, Accra, Ghana * Corresponding author; Email: [email protected] Abstract Mining has been an important economic activity accounting for a substantial part of foreign exchange and government revenue. The gold mining sector has undergone considerable expansion due to liberalization with more foreign mining companies investing in the sector in particular large-scale open pit gold mining. Resultant expansion in mining has led to heightened environmental concerns and significant challenges due to key activities used in the mining operations hence contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Investigations were conducted to assess the sources and key activities in large scale gold open pit mining operations in Ghana giving rise to greenhouse gas generation. The study adopted the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guideline for estimating greenhouse gas inventory. The operational boundary as against the organizational boundary was considered for the study. The operational boundary was drawn around the physical mining site. Within this boundary, the emissions were quantified and reported under direct emission due to company activities (Scope 1) and indirect emissions from secondary use or activity (Scope 2). The study found that activities due to land use, blasting, fuel use to power mobile equipment and stationary combustion sources, electricity use and waste management were the contributing greenhouse gas emission sources in a large scale gold mining operation with electricity use and fuel used in transportation accounting for 92.46% of the total emissions. Average contribution of the large scale gold mining industry in Ghana to the total national greenhouse gas emission inventory for the country was established to be 11.08%. Introduction Countries, organizations and individuals alike Global warming has occurred in the past as are starting to take responsibility. Businesses a result of natural influences, but the term is and services that are not currently regulated often used to refer to the warming predicted under the Kyoto protocol may wish to preempt to occur as a result of increased emissions of future regulations, and may find marketing greenhouse gases (Van der Geest, 2002). This advantages in being ‘green’ (Kumar, Sharma, brings in the concept of climate change. The and Vashista, 2014). In the past, companies Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change focused on their own emissions and measured (IPCC) shares the view that global climate their own footprint, but now they are change is a rise in temperature caused by increasingly concerned with emissions across emissions of greenhouse gases (Houghton, their entire supply chain. Calculating a carbon Jenkins and Ephraums, 1990). These are gases footprint can be a valuable first step towards released into the atmosphere based on energy making quantifiable emissions reduction. usage. The increasing interest in ‘carbon Footprint analysis is a useful tool that can footprints’ comes as a result of growing compare environmental performance between public awareness of global warming. Carbon companies and nations and provide an footprint describes the amount of Greenhouse indication of how these companies or nations Gas (GHG) emissions caused by a particular are moving along a sustainable development activity or entity. The global community pathway. recognizes the need to reduce greenhouse Studies on carbon footprint of mining in gas emissions to mitigate climate change. Ghana as a contributor to climate change is West African Journal of Applied Ecology, vol. 26(SI), 2018: 242 - 2 243 West African Journal of Applied Ecology, vol. 26(SI), 2018 lacking. The Ghana National Greenhouse and dung management, forest degradation and Gas Inventory Report for 2014 fails to deforestation, afforestation and reforestation, capture contribution of the mining industry to wood and fuel wood harvesting, wildfire emissions as part of its report although mining disturbance, etc) and the waste sector (solid is one key sector that requires high energy to waste disposal, biological treatment of produce an ounce of gold. In 2016, mining solid waste, incineration and open burning, consumed 10% of the electricity generated for waste water treatment and discharge, etc). the country (Energy Commission of Ghana, The mining industry, with contribution to 2016). deforestation of large acres of land and high The large scale gold mining industry in energy consumption resulting in emissions Ghana is firmly established with twelve large from operations into the atmosphere as well scale operational sites actively involved in as waste generation has a big role to play gold mining. These are AngloGold Ashanti - in contributing to greenhouse gas (GHG) Obuasi Mine, AngloGold Ashanti - Iduapriem emissions. Mine, Goldfields - Tarkwa Mine, Goldfields The drift towards greener processes is - Damang Mine, Golden Star - Bogoso/ unachievable with the exclusion of the Prestea Mine, Golden Star - Wassa Mine, extractive minerals industry for which gold Chirano Gold Mine, Newmont - Ahafo Mine, mining remains key. Of the twelve large scale Newmont - Akyem Mine, Adamus Gold gold mining companies in Ghana, only two of Mine and Perseus Gold Mine. The process of these companies (Goldfields and Newmont) mining in Ghana is heavily reliant on three report on their greenhouse gas emissions key components; water, fuel and electricity. fundamentally due to no policy requirement by All twelve (12) large-scale mining companies the regulatory authorities of Ghana compared rely on hydro processes to extract gold from with countries such as Australia, USA and the ore and this makes water a most essential Europe where reporting on greenhouse gas component of mining in Ghana. Similarly, emissions form part of the basic requirement transportation cannot be taken out of mining of environmental impact statement for mining. due to the need to move material from the The study gives guideline to effectively mining pits to stockpiles and "waste" dumps estimating greenhouse gas emission for a as well as supply of goods to and from site. large-scale gold mining operation with the aim Electricity consumption demand for mining is to equipping both company and regulatory high and cuts across all regions in the world authorities such as the Environmental where mining takes place. Protection Agency with the needed tool to Sectors within the economy contributing to compute, monitor and manage greenhouse gas greenhouse gas emission are well available emissions from large-scale mining operations. in terms of literature. These main sectors are the energy sector (made up of the oil and Materials and Methods gas industry), industrial process and product This research is guided by three key reference use sector (chemical industry, electronics methodologies: the 2006 Intergovernmental industry, mineral industry, etc), agriculture, Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines forestry and land use sector (livestock rearing for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories; Amoako et al: Carbon Footprint of the Large Scale Gold Mining Industry of Ghana 244 World Research Institute (WRI) and World GHG have different Global Warming Potential Business Council for Sustainable Development (GWP) and persists for a different length of (WBCSD) Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative time in the atmosphere (AlHashmi, Haider, on Corporate Accounting and Reporting Hewage and Sadiq, 2017). To compare Standard; and ISO 14064-1 - Specification greenhouse gases, they are indexed according with guidance at the organizational level for to their GWP. GWP is the ability of a GHG to the quantification and reporting of greenhouse trap heat in the atmosphere relative to an equal gas emissions and removals (ISO, 2007). amount of carbon dioxide. Greenhouse gases To calculate the carbon footprint of a company, are expressed in carbon dioxide equivalents it is important to establish the boundaries - MMTCDE, or million metric tons of carbon organizational boundaries and the operational dioxide equivalents (AlHashmi et al., 2017). boundaries. This guides in defining the Table 1 gives a breakdown of the three major sources and sinks to be included or left out greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide (CO2), of calculation. The operational boundary is methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) - and drawn around the physical mining site. Within their relationship with carbon dioxide. these boundaries the emissions associated with the following activities are quantified and *For purpose of confidentiality, the company reported under direct emission due to company name is withheld and indicated as Company activities (Scope 1); indirect emissions from XYZ. Company XYZ is a large-scale gold secondary use or activity (Scope 2); and mining company operating an open pit other indirect emissions from activities of (surface) mine in Ghana. All computations are contractors providing service to the company based on the data made available by Company (Scope 3) (WRI/WBCSD, 2006). The study is XYZ as well as the Ghana Chamber of Mines. limited to only Scope 1 and 2 of the company's The study was carried out between the period operations. of January, 2016 and December, 2016. Another key item in GHG