Environment

In our SDG Mapping Report, reviewing industry spend on all SDGs for the time period 2015-2020, the primary shift in spend focus has been the growth of Climate Action (SDG 13) related proportional spend, growing by an additional 2.5% of total industry spend over the period. Given the quantum of spend in the industry, this is a significant input. While both mining and fabrication organisations have increased proportional focus on Climate Action, the real step change has come from the fabricators, driven by increasing pressures in Europe. For the PGM Industry, most of the impact (both positive and negative) related to the environment relates to climate change and water usage, even while the most visible impact may be on land usage.

Direct reported emissions from companies have risen between 2015 to 2020, with the rise also in production volumes. CO₂ emissions have grown by more, tracking 38% higher in 2019 compared to 2015, against a production growth of 33% over the same period. The South African grid heavily relies on coal, and as coal quality degraded over time CO₂ emissions increased. Most other GHG emissions could be reduced even though production has increased. 

IPA Members are operating in very diverse environments, and with access to different power sources. In addition, the operating regions of primary producers are often located in areas affected by scarcity of water, insecurity of power supply, and increasing costs of utilities such as energy and water, as well as rising regulatory and societal pressures, creating adverse impacts on profitability.

South Africa is a major carbon emitter on an international scale, the fourteenth-largest emitter by country and the tenth-largest per capita. The country’s electricity generation is still highly dependent on mainly hard coal fired electricity supply by Eskom, the national energy supplier, which has the strongest impact on CO₂ emissions during primary production. Its 2030 target is to reduce carbon emissions to between 398-million and 614-million tonnes a year, excluding changes because of land use and forestry, while the 2050 target is between 228-million and 44-million tonnes a year, equivalent to a 25% reduction in present levels.[1]

The implementation of South Africa’s postulated Integrated Resource Plan 2019 (IRP 2019) was anticipated to reduce the carbon intensity of the national electricity supply. The plan states that about 30 GW, or 75%, of the existing capacity will shut down from 2021 to 2040 and be replaced by wind (14 GW), solar (6 GW), gas (3 GW) and hydropower (2.5 GW). The IRP 2019 also forecasts that it will take South Africa 30 years to decarbonise its electric power generation and energy transition costs are estimated at R550 billion, money that will need to be raised on the international capital markets.[2] However, experts believe that South Africa needs to act more urgently and decisively than outlined in the IRP and that higher levels of public funding could be mobilised and secured for renewable energy project developments through political activism. On the other hand, resistance to energy transition has manifested through protests from coal miners, truck drivers and trade unions in response to the planned closure of State-owned power utility Eskom’s power stations and the advent of renewables.
An updated IRP is to be published in October 2024.

[1] Decarbonisation of local power generation sedate, by Tracy Hancock, 17^th April 2020, https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/decarbonising-of-local-power-generation-sedate-2020-04-17

[2] Decarbonisation of local power generation sedate, by Tracy Hancock, 17^th April 2020, https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/decarbonising-of-local-power-generation-sedate-2020-04-17

Mining companies' investment in renewable energy

All mining companies have kicked-off significant projects to decarbonize the sector by reducing the use of coal as primary energy source and replacing it by the use of renewable energies. The big platinum miners such as Anglo American Platinum, Implats, Northam and Sibanye-Stillwater plan to scale up solar and wind farms for their own use to cut reliance on state-owned utility Eskom and to reduce their carbon footprint. Another option is the use of electrolysers to generate green hydrogen, an emerging technology which will also become less costly over the next decade. This will lead to a considerably decline in emissisons of CO₂ once the projects are completed and their benefits materialise.

Mining companies have adopted their individual low-carbon transition strategies towards climate change regarding the reduction of Scope 1 (direct emissions) and Scope 2 (purchased energy) GHG emissions and other focus areas such as water preservation, shift to electrified mining operations and power generation from renewable sources. 

Activities to improve environmental performance, reduce carbon intensity and reach net-zero include:

• Continously improving ESG strategies, principles, practices and results, while providing clear and comprehensive reporting on environmental management and climate-related impacts, in line with global best practice guidelines and recommendations
• Developing low-carbon transition strategies and appointing energy specialists to lead decarbonisation efforts
• Identifying and implementing projects for the self-generation of energy via solar, wind and hydrogen, in addition to external sourcing of renewable energy
• Understanding, controlling and reducing gases, dust and waste generated at operations to prevent adverse impacts on host communities
• Integration of mine-closure planning into life-of-mine planning with a focus on rehabilitating land in parallel with mining activities, while ensuring the protection of water and biodiversity resources
• Re-mining tailings and improving tailings storage facilities
• Transition the drivetrain of large mining trucks from fossil fuels to battery, electric, or hydrogen
• Reducing the overall consumption of energy and water, and specifically from fresh potable water

To provide stakeholders involved in the PGM value chain with background information and techical guidance on what the industry perceives as best practice approach regarding the measurement of GHG emissions, the IPA has published a guidance document for the calculation of the carbon footprint of primary produced PGMs.



"The Carbon Footprint of Platinum Group Metals" complements the LCA publications that are made available on the website, and the industry-average life cycle asssessment data that LCA practitioners can source from the IPA or through the LCA For Experts database.



The methodology explained in the document has been applied throughout two industry wide IPA studies, and is also being applied in our recent update on 2022 production (to be released in 2024).

Establishing a sector guidance

Given the high representation of our LCA data collected, covering 95% of the global primary production of PGMs, and the experience built up in the course of over 13 years working on PGM industry LCAs, it is our aim to establish our methodology through the Carbon Footprint Guidance as sector guidance for all parties performing product carbon footprint (PCF) calculations on primary mined PGMs.

We collaborate with the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) on their PACT framework, and the guidance has been assessed against the PACT PCF methodology.
PACT aims to offer a streamlined methodology for calculating and exchanging product carbon footprints to improve accuracy and enable decarbonization across value chains.
Our guidance has been included in their online library of sector guidance resources.
Find their assessment here:
The Carbon Footprint of Platinum Group Metals | PACT Resources (carbon-transparency.org)

We are planning to incorporate some of the feedback in an updated version which is scheduled for end of 2024. We are also seeking to get recognized as sector guidance by Catena-X.

Updated results for primary production of 5 PGMs per gram of metal from our LCA 2017 study with 2022 upstream data are shared in the table below:

Assessing the life cycle of platinum group metals

The PGM industry is currently finalizing its third Life Cycle Assessment, on 2021/2022 production data, with the participation of 9 out of 11 members. We expect results to be available in Q3-4/2024. The study is performed on the primary production of platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium and iridium, and the secondary production of platinum, palladium, and rhodium.

Second IPA LCA Study (2017 data)

In 2018, the PGM  industry has conducted a second industry-wide LCA based on 2017 production data and adapted to new reporting requirements. The study was reviewed according to ISO 14040 (2006) & 14044 (2006) and ISO/TS 14071 (2014) by and independent technical expert. The LCA has been conducted on platinum, palladium, and rhodium, since these are the most relevant metals for application in catalytic converters, an application accounting for over 70% of demand in 2021.
Data has been updated in 2022 with new upstream data (energy etc.) from the LCA for Experts/GaBi database, reflecting changes in the electricity grid and other areas. Data coverage has been expanded to primary ruthenium and iridium to reflect the growing interest in these metals. Reliable data on iridium is particularly relevant given the rapid development towards a hydrogen economy in the EU, and the upscaling of hydrogen projects based on large-scale water electrolysis. There have also been some modifications to the original secondary (recycling) data of platinum, palladium and rhodium, as more pre-processing data could be included during the recounting, and a more realistic approach to waste stream calculations has been adopted. Results tables are shown below. The data is available in the LCA for Experts database or upon request from IPA (see LCA questionnaire).

Please see our Frequently Asked Questions document for further information: FAQs.

The results ouf our second LCA are presented in the Environmental Profile of PGMs and the LCA Fact Sheet.

Eleven out of twelve IPA members took part in the study, representing the primary producers of PGMs (95% representation), the secondary producers of PGMs (>70%) as well as the fabricators of autocatalysts (90% representation). Hence, the LCA study offers a remarkably high representation of the global platinum group metals production, with a high geographical and technological coverage.

The LCA Fact Sheet on Iridium and Ruthenium with updated data on Pt, Pd, Rh, can be downloaded here.

For access to iridium and ruthenium data please use our LCA Data Questionnaire or get in touch with Tania Bossi, Senior Manager Sustainability, at tania.bossi(at)ipa-news.

The IPA LCA followed the "cradle-to-gate" approach which covers processes within the life cycle of the product from the extraction of the raw materials to the finished product.The separate applicaton study on autocatalyst production covers Euro-6d TEMP modelled diesel and gasoline vehicles with an average lifetime of 160,000 km.