A NEW ERA FOR FORTESCUE

DECARBONISATION IS AT THE HEART OF FORTESCUE'S FUTURE. AUSTRALIAN MINING TAKES A LOOK AT THE MAJOR'S LATEST MOVES IN THE SPACE.

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As the world continues to embrace renewables, the mining industry is set to play an important role in the global energy transition.

An Australian mining company that understands this and is ramping up its decarbonisation efforts is Fortescue.

Known globally as one of the largest iron ore producers, Fortescue is aware of the amount of carbon emissions it has created through its operations over the years.

Now, Fortescue has a plan to eliminate Scope 1 and 2 emissions at its Pilbara iron ore operations by 2030 without voluntary carbon offsets and carbon capture and storage, known as 'real zero'.

"We have identified the solutions needed to eliminate approximately 90 per cent of terrestrial Scope 1 and 2 emissions from our Australian iron ore operations and are actively working to identify solutions for the final approximately 10 per cent," Fortescue said in its 2023-24 financial year (FY24) sustainability report.

"We are also finalising our plan for how to eliminate Fortescue's remaining Scope 1 and 2 emissions from across our operations, including Fortescue Energy." As 2024 comes to a close, Fortescue has spent the year accelerating its commercial decarbonisation on a rapid, profitable and global basis.

Australian Mining looks at some of the major miner's most significant decarbonisation moves over the past 12 months.

Liebherr

In December 2023, Australia's first newly-built electric excavator debuted at Fortescue's Cloudbreak iron ore mine in Western Australia.

It was the first of three R 9400 E electric excavators commissioned by Liebherr at Fortescue operations during the FY24.

"The commissioning of this fully electric excavator is a massive achievement by the team and is the first of its kind in Australia for the mining industry," Fortescue Metals chief executive officer (CEO) Dino Otranto said.