(Bloomberg) -- Rio Tinto Group., the world’s second-biggest miner, will develop seed farms in Australia under efforts to test the potential of biofuels to curb diesel consumption.
The company intends to acquire about 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) of land near Townsville, in northern Queensland, and to examine the possible use of Pongamia seed oil as a feedstock to develop substitute fuels.
“While we continue to pursue electrification as the long-term solution for displacing the majority of our diesel use, the Pongamia seed pilot is an important parallel pathway,” Chief Decarbonization Officer Jonathon McCarthy said Wednesday in a statement.
Biofuels could provide an option for “applications that are challenging to electrify, including blasting and non-haul equipment,” he said.
Rio consumed 1.6 billion liters of diesel at its major operations last year and spent a total of $1.6 billion on the fuel, according to the producer. Diesel is used to power more than 700 haul trucks, 350 locomotives and about 800 other vehicles, accounting for around 12% of Rio’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions, the company said.
Reducing industrial pollution, including in mining, is seen as a significant challenge. Emissions from the global industry sector have increased faster than in any other segment since 2000, Systems Change Lab, a research organization, said in a report last year.
Rio is targeting a 50% reduction of operational emissions by 2030 on 2018 levels, and aims to hit net zero by mid-century.
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