Mining plays a crucial role in the global economy and is a key driver of global energy transformation. However, mining has long relied heavily on fossil fuels such as diesel as the main source of power for mining equipment and factory operations. According to McKinsey’s calculations, the carbon dioxide emissions from mining accounts for approximately 4% to 7% of the total global carbon emissions. Among them, diesel powered equipment and operations account for a large proportion of carbon emissions; And depending on the actual geographical and geological conditions, the proportion of greenhouse gas emissions directly generated during the mining process can reach 30%, or even as high as 80%.
In China, mining is not only a fundamental industry of the national economy, but also an important support for building a new industrialized country. As a key industry in energy consumption and carbon emissions, mining is also an important field for promoting green and low-carbon development. In the context of “dual carbon”, mining enterprises are facing multiple challenges such as digital transformation and sustainable development, process and quality control, efficiency and efficiency improvement; The entire industry urgently needs to accelerate the adjustment and optimization of industrial structure, energy structure, and product structure, in order to accelerate the dual transformation of “digitalization” and “green and low-carbon”, and steadily achieve high-quality development through the transformation from “striving for large quantity” to “striving for strong quality”.
The demand for metal and mineral resources will continue to increase, promoting clean energy technology innovation
Compared to similar facilities/equipment based on fossil fuels, building facilities/equipment with green energy technology as the core, such as solar power plants, wind farms, and new energy electric vehicles (EVs), requires investing more metal and mineral resources. For example, a new energy vehicle requires about 6 times more mineral resources than a traditional fuel powered vehicle. Therefore, with the further development of the clean energy industry, mining will also play an increasingly important role in promoting global sustainable development.
The latest report from the World Bank predicts that by 2050, the global market demand for metals and mineral resources will increase by nearly 500%, mainly to meet the research and application of green technologies such as clean energy. For mining enterprises, the core challenge they face is not only to meet the huge demand for metals and mineral resources in the market, but also to combine green and low-carbon technologies to strictly control their carbon emissions during the mining process.

With the help of advanced digital technology and green low-carbon technology, enterprises can use low-carbon or decarbonized electricity to replace fossil fuels, providing power for process operations, equipment, and power generation facilities, which will become an important way for mining to reduce carbon footprint. At the level of open-pit mining equipment, such as electric trucks replacing traditional transportation trucks that used diesel and gasoline as fuel in previous mines; At the level of underground mining equipment, the use of trolleybus transportation has become a powerful alternative for enterprises to achieve carbon reduction and control.
The application of digital technology is also an important means for mining enterprises to achieve energy conservation and consumption reduction. For example, using AVEVA APC advanced process control technology to achieve on-demand ventilation underground, that is, the operating load of the fan is automatically adjusted based on oxygen concentration frequency conversion; Adopting EMS energy management system to achieve real-time monitoring, analysis and optimization of energy; And, using MES manufacturing execution system to achieve plan scheduling optimization, intelligent job scheduling, etc. to promote efficient production.
The International Mining and Metals Association (ICMM) predicts that there are currently approximately 28000 large mining transport trucks in use worldwide. These mining vehicles emit over 68 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, which is equivalent to the annual carbon emissions of over 8.5 million households. By replacing these gasoline or diesel powered vehicles with electric trucks, such a large amount of carbon emissions will be almost completely eliminated. Therefore, this plan is of great significance in helping mining companies reduce their carbon footprint.
The practice of multiple mining areas, including the Borden mine located in Ontario, Canada, has shown that it is feasible to implement digital, green, and low-carbon transformation while ensuring the normal production and operation of the mine. In the Borden mining area, Newmont Mining Company upgraded its entire underground truck fleet from diesel power to battery power through digital transformation. This not only reduced its own carbon emissions, improved the air and environmental quality around the mining area, but also saved high internal combustion engine maintenance costs and reduced noise pollution.
Upgrading and transforming underground mining operations with digital, green, and low-carbon technologies will accelerate enterprises towards decarbonization production and achieve sustainable development. The reason for this is that the energy efficiency of electric engines is about 90%, while diesel engines are only around 30%. On the other hand, due to the residual heat generated by the engine being discharged into the surrounding air, the mining site needs to ventilate the working environment. In underground mining operations, the operation of ventilation systems accounts for approximately 30% to 50% of the total energy consumption, so electric engines can also help reduce ventilation demand by 30%.