Back to Extractives & Minerals Processing

Audit-Ready Carbon Reporting for Metal Mining Operations

Track mining diesel equipment, ore crushing and grinding energy, smelting furnace emissions, and tailings facility carbon for base and precious metals.

Book Demo Start Free Trial

The Industry Hotspot: Ore Processing and Smelting Energy

Ore processing highly energy-intensive

Metal mining operations are highly energy-intensive with emissions concentrated in ore processing and smelting. Ore crushing and grinding mills consume substantial electricity to reduce rock to fine powder for metal extraction. Smelting furnaces operate at high temperatures using electricity or fossil fuels to separate metals from ore concentrates. Lower ore grades require processing larger volumes of rock per unit of metal produced, increasing energy intensity over time. NetNada tracks equipment diesel consumption, processing plant electricity, smelter fuel and power, and calculates emissions per tonne of metal produced.

SASB Industry Definition

The Metals & Mining industry extracts and processes non-ferrous metals including copper, gold, silver, zinc, nickel, aluminum ore (bauxite), and other base and precious metals. Operations span exploration, open-pit and underground mining, ore crushing and grinding, concentration through flotation or leaching, and smelting/refining to produce metal products. The industry is energy-intensive with emissions from diesel mining equipment, electric grinding mills, and high-temperature smelting furnaces.

View SASB Standard →

Industry-Specific Carbon Accounting

No generic solutions. Metrics, data sources, and reporting aligned to Metals & Mining operations.

Mining Equipment Diesel Tracking

Open-pit mines use haul trucks, excavators, drills, and loaders consuming diesel fuel. Underground operations use diesel load-haul-dump vehicles and ventilation fans. Track fuel consumption by equipment type and mining phase. Calculate emissions per tonne ore mined and per tonne metal produced to benchmark operational efficiency.

Diesel per tonne metal

Ore Processing Energy Intensity

Crushing reduces run-of-mine ore to smaller fragments. Grinding mills pulverize ore to fine powder for flotation or leaching. Energy consumption increases as ore grades decline (processing more rock per unit metal). Track processing plant electricity consumption and calculate energy per tonne ore processed and per tonne metal recovered.

Processing energy tracked

Smelter and Refinery Emissions

Pyrometallurgical smelting uses high-temperature furnaces to extract metals from concentrates. Copper smelters consume fuel and electricity for roasting and converting. Aluminum smelters use electrolysis with very high electricity intensity. Track smelter fuel consumption, electricity use, and process emissions from chemical reactions. Report per tonne refined metal.

Smelting emissions per tonne

Declining Ore Grade Impact Modeling

As high-grade deposits deplete, mines process lower-grade ore requiring more energy per unit metal. Model energy intensity trends over mine life as average ore grades decline. Example: copper mine ore grade declining over decades increases processing energy significantly per tonne copper. Forecast future emissions intensity under reserve grade assumptions.

Ore grade impact modeled

Renewable Energy Integration for Mining

Remote mine sites often rely on diesel generation but increasingly adopt solar, wind, or hybrid systems. Track on-site renewable generation capacity, renewable energy percentage of total consumption, and diesel offset achieved. Large-scale solar and wind projects at mine sites can substantially reduce emissions intensity.

Renewable energy percent tracked

SASB EM-MM Metrics Automation

Auto-generate disclosure including gross Scope 1 and 2 emissions, energy consumption, emissions intensity per tonne metal, water consumption intensity, tailings production, and percentage of operations in water-stressed regions. Footnotes cite metal products and production volumes.

SASB EM-MM compliant

Product Features for Metals & Mining

Use Carbon Data Uploader to import fuel logs, processing plant electricity bills, and production data for automated mining emissions calculation per tonne metal. Learn more →

The Activity Calculator applies emission factors for diesel equipment, electricity, and smelting fuel—calculating comprehensive metal mining carbon footprints. Learn more →

Related Solutions

See our Carbon Accounting solution for end-to-end metals mining emissions tracking from extraction through processing and refining.

View solution

Metals & Mining Case Studies

How entities in this industry use NetNada to solve carbon accounting challenges.

Copper Mining Operation (Open-pit, Processing 50M tonnes ore/year, Producing 200k tonnes copper)

Challenge

Declining ore grades increased processing energy over ten years. Emissions per tonne copper rose significantly as more ore required grinding per unit metal. Investors demanded emissions intensity disclosure and reduction trajectory aligned with SBTi.

Solution

Deployed NetNada tracking processing plant electricity, smelter energy, and diesel fleet fuel. Calculated baseline emissions intensity per tonne copper. Modeled future intensity under reserve grade forecast. Evaluated energy efficiency projects and renewable energy procurement.

Result

Installed more energy-efficient grinding mills reducing electricity per tonne ore processed. Signed renewable energy PPA supplying significant portion of processing plant power. Despite continued ore grade decline, maintained stable emissions intensity per tonne copper over five years through efficiency gains and renewable energy.

Gold Mine (Underground, Processing gold-copper concentrate)

Challenge

Remote location relied on diesel generators for all electricity. High diesel consumption resulted in elevated emissions intensity per ounce gold. Carbon pricing scenarios threatened project economics.

Solution

Used NetNada to baseline diesel generation emissions and model hybrid renewable alternatives. Compared diesel-only versus solar-wind-battery-diesel hybrid system. Calculated emissions reduction potential and economic payback under carbon price scenarios.

Result

Implemented hybrid renewable system with significant solar and wind capacity plus battery storage. Diesel consumption reduced substantially. Emissions per ounce gold decreased significantly. Project economics improved with lower fuel costs. Demonstrated climate resilience under carbon pricing scenarios in investor presentations.

SASB Disclosure Topics for Metals & Mining

Material sustainability topics beyond emissions that investors and stakeholders expect disclosed per SASB standards.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

environment

Track Scope 1 from diesel equipment, smelter fuel combustion, and explosives. Report Scope 2 from electricity for crushing, grinding, and electrowinning. Calculate emissions intensity per tonne of metal produced.

Energy Management

environment

Monitor electricity consumption for grinding mills, flotation circuits, and electrowinning. Report energy intensity trends as ore grades decline. Disclose renewable energy procurement and on-site generation.

Water Management

environment

Track water consumption for ore processing, dust suppression, and tailings management. Monitor water recycling rates and discharge quality. Report operations in water-stressed regions.

Tailings Management

environment

Disclose tailings storage facility design standards, monitoring protocols, and failure prevention measures. Report tailings volume, storage capacity remaining, and closure planning.

Community Relations and Indigenous Rights

social

Track stakeholder engagement processes, benefit-sharing agreements with local communities, and free prior informed consent protocols for operations on indigenous lands.

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Impacts

environment

Report mine footprint in protected areas or critical habitat. Disclose offset programs, progressive rehabilitation, and post-mining ecosystem restoration targets.

NetNada tracks all SASB material topics, not just emissions. Our platform supports disclosure across environmental, social, governance, and business model topics relevant to your industry.

Metals & Mining FAQs

Common questions about carbon accounting for this industry

How do you calculate emissions intensity per tonne of metal produced for mining operations?
Sum total Scope 1 and 2 emissions from mining equipment, ore processing, and smelting/refining. Divide by tonnes of refined metal produced in the period. Includes diesel for haul trucks and excavators, electricity for crushing and grinding mills, and smelter fuel consumption. Report separately for each metal product. Benchmark against peer operations producing same metals. Intensity increases as ore grades decline over mine life unless offset by efficiency improvements.
Why does declining ore grade increase emissions intensity in metal mining?
Lower ore grade means less metal concentration in each tonne of rock mined. Must process larger volumes of ore to produce same amount of metal. Crushing and grinding energy scales with tonnes of ore processed, not metal content. Example: ore grade declining over mine life requires processing proportionally more material per unit metal. Energy per tonne metal increases unless offset by processing efficiency improvements or lower-emission energy sources.
Should metal mining companies include Scope 3 emissions from steel used in equipment?
Equipment and capital goods are Scope 3 Category 2 (Capital Goods) - optional but increasingly reported by large miners. Haul trucks, excavators, mills contain substantial embodied steel. Report separately from operational Scope 1 and 2. Life cycle assessment of mining equipment shows capital goods can represent significant portion over asset life. Focus operational efforts on Scope 1 and 2 reduction (diesel efficiency, renewable electricity) which have greater near-term impact.
How do copper mines and gold mines differ in carbon intensity?
Gold typically has much lower ore grades than copper requiring processing much larger volumes of rock per unit metal. Gold mining often has higher emissions per dollar value of metal produced. Copper smelting is energy-intensive but copper has higher ore grades. Both vary widely by deposit geology and mining method. Underground mining generally higher energy than open-pit due to ventilation and deeper ore access. Compare intensity metrics per tonne metal to benchmark within same commodity.
Can carbon capture be applied to metal smelting emissions?
Some metal smelting processes produce concentrated CO2 streams amenable to capture. Aluminum smelters using electrolysis do not have combustion emissions to capture but have very high electricity demand. Copper and nickel smelters with high-temperature furnaces could potentially capture combustion emissions but technology not yet commercially deployed at scale in mining sector. Focus currently on renewable electricity for processing and efficiency improvements as more economically viable emission reductions.

Track Mining Equipment, Ore Processing, and Smelting Emissions

See how metal miners calculate emissions per tonne metal, model ore grade impacts, and generate SASB-compliant disclosures—automated from operations data.

Book a Demo Start Free Trial