What were the reasons behind Ausenco creating its first sustainability report in 2021, and what does the report hope to achieve?

Ausenco is working on improving its social and environmental performance and the report was a way to take stock of where we are at – where we are performing well and where we need to improve. It is a signal to our stakeholders, internally and externally, that we understand the challenge of sustainable development and that we will be making continuous efforts to track and report our challenges and our contributions. Ausenco has always tried to be as efficient as possible and minimize resource use, but it had not been well documented.

The areas we will focus on in the coming years are better data collection of key metrics and identifying priorities, establishing a better governance structure for driving sustainability performance forward, and integrating ESG into our core business processes.

Can you explain how Ausenco considers sustainability from a holistic standpoint when designing process plants that treat ore and the infrastructure needed to enable this?

The initial raison d’être of Ausenco was to be more efficient in the design of mineral processing – finding a better way. If you are more efficient in designing and building, it naturally leads to less use of resources and less environmental impact. The company is flexible in that it believes there is not just one pathway for processing – rather we select the pathway that makes the most sense from a technical, environmental, and social perspective.

Key tactics we embrace include using advanced processes and metallurgical techniques focused on reducing the plant’s footprint, energy consumption, and water usage through resource use and recycling processes. The mining industry consumes approximately 6% of global energy consumption. Approximately 40% of this 6% comes from the crushing process, so any improvement in this process is a benefit from a cost, energy consumption, and environmental perspective. We also focus on reducing impacts such as dust emissions and noise. Working closely with local communities is another vital component, as employment opportunities are key to ensuring successful projects.

What are some of the sustainability-related concerns that are common regardless of jurisdiction?

Specific issues vary by region, but there are some challenges that transcend borders. Climate change is the number one concern, but water use, tailings pond management, land use, noise and air emissions, habitat and biodiversity loss are also major environmental concerns. Social aspects such as community and worker health and safety, local employment, fair wages, corruption, human rights, and respectful and meaningful engagement with indigenous peoples are also important concerns. Increasingly, companies need to show how they are managing these issues and driving performance in the direction of optimizing benefits and reducing impacts. This is being driven by investors, regulators, business partners, employees, Indigenous peoples and downstream markets who want to drive risk out of there supply chain and also meet their own ESG/sustainability commitments.

To what extent has water management become a key aspect of mining strategy, and what are the different ways water-related factors permeate throughout a project?

Water is a critical issue for us as mineral processing is a significant user of water. Depending on the region, the approach can vary. For example, we have used saline process water in places such as Australia where fresh water is limited; we have used desalinated seawater in South America; we are using dry ore processing methods where it is appropriate; or a dry stack filtered tailings approach which allows for maximum water recovery as well as safer tailings impoundment.

In general, Ausenco works in the integrated management of water resources across the mine life cycle. This includes upfront hydrogeological studies, analysis of mine impacts on surface and ground water, improvements in the efficiency of water use in operations and ensuring minimisation of impacts on water quality.

Anti-mining sentiment is prevalent in many of the countries with most mining activity. Why do you think this exists, and how can the industry improve its image?

Historically, anti-mining sentiment has been partly driven by harmful practices and insufficient efforts to minimize impacts and share the value generated from producing minerals and metals. Furthermore, there are jurisdictions whose regulatory climate and procedures are not as rigorous as others, and some miners have taken advantage of that.

As an industry, we must ensure that projects are designed to minimize impacts and optimize benefits for all stakeholders. This can be achieved through early engagement with communities, clear understanding of impacts so that mitigation strategies can be put in place, focusing on low carbon energy sources, health and safety, community development, and local employment. We also need to demonstrate how minerals and metals contribute to sustainability in the use phase – for example by enabling low carbon energy technologies such as solar panels, windmills and battery technologies.