When mining companies start talking about their obligation to the environment, they’re not always taken seriously.

Digging holes in the ground doesn’t exactly qualify you as a conservationist.

It takes more than rhetoric to convince non-miners that companies care about the earth they’re mining.

New research has presented mining companies with an opportunity to enhance their green credentials and reduce minesite operating costs.

The study, by Murdoch University in Western Australia, examined the carbon footprint of a typical, WA minesite accommodation camp.

Lead researcher and PhD candidate David Goodfield looked at everything associated with the construction and operation of the camp.

He calculated the carbon footprint at about 2600 tonnes of CO2-e – carbon dioxide equivalent – or about 16t per camp resident over a five-year period.

To put these figures into perspective, the average Australian household’s carbon footprint varies from 3t to 30t per year. Therefore, 16t per resident over five years is relatively low.

“That includes the carbon emissions from constructing the camp and buildings, the electricity to run the camp, deliver goods, pump water, deal with waste and so on.

“It equates to at least 16t per camp resident, not including the carbon they are responsible for while at home,” said Goodfield.

The study, funded by the Australian Research Council’s Linkage program, found that applying energy efficiency and behaviour change measures was only likely to reduce the carbon footprint by 6%.

Mining companies will find the real savings in switching to renewable energy, such as generating heat and electricity from solar panels or wind turbines.

“The camp I examined is powered by the generator at the mine itself, with an 8km spur line running the electricity between the two points,” Goodfield said.

“That spur line cost approximately $2 million to construct. For the same cost, they could have installed a renewable energy system which could have paid for itself in as little as three and a half years.

“At the end of the village’s life, solar panels and wind turbines can simply be packed up for use at the next location.”

Choosing renewable energy doesn’t instantly make a mine camp carbon neutral. But Goodfield reckons a little foresight and planning, particularly at the construction phase, can go a long way to achieving that goal.

He added: “These initiatives need to be implemented at the design level, which can be very cost effective.

“Ways to reduce the carbon footprint are usually overlooked in the early planning and design stage.

“However, the continually falling price of solar and rise of gas and diesel costs means that further investigation is warranted.

“What company could argue with attractive payback periods and return on investment, whilst reducing their impact on the environment?”

Diesel costs alone on Australia’s minesites are considerable, to say the least and mining companies are always looking at ways of reducing operating costs.

For projects that have a long working life, renewable energy has to be an attractive option.

Reducing a mine’s carbon footprint and limiting the impact on the environment are attractive benefits that boost companies’ green credentials.

With the initial investment in renewable energy infrastructure recovered in just a few years, when you factor in money saved on diesel for generators, it’s difficult to argue against going green.