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Excellence Award
James Keenan
(Team representative)
EKATI Diamond Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada
James Keenan is sponsor of an Operating Excellence team formed at Ekati with the objective of saving half a million litres of diesel fuel per year as part of a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the mine.
Coined the Energy Smart Program, the initiative commenced in May 2002. By October that year, the objective had been reached; and the team doubled the target to one million litres, which represents about 12 per cent of the mine’s annual power generation consumption. That goal was achieved in June 2003.
Located 200 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, the remote mine site is only accessible by air or seasonal ice road. Fuel must be purchased in advance and transported in by road tanker during an eight-week period, at comparatively high cost.
The team focused on cutting fuel use and tackling inefficient uses of energy at the mine. To help build an energy-saving culture, employees were invited to provide suggestions. The response has been overwhelming. Ideas adopted have included installing motion sensors on office lights; regulating room temperatures with thermostat controls; installing dual-flush toilets in washrooms; and shutting off ventilation systems, fan motors, welders and pumps when not required. Employees who contribute accepted ideas are recognised and rewarded.
Other initiatives include shutting off the airport lights when no planes are scheduled and recycling waste oil from the mobile fleet. Rather than paying for it to be carted off-site, the mine now uses the oil as an energy source for boilers. Converting incinerators to waste oil burners is also being investigated. New buildings are being designed to be energy efficient.
Following the success of the EKATI initiative, the Company is implementing a Global Energy Smart Project, with James as sponsor. A project team from Australia, South Africa, Chile, Colombia and Canada is developing a program that can be shared across all our businesses worldwide.
Highly Commended
Márcia Sanna Moreira Neves
(Team representative)
Mineração Rio do Norte SA (MRN), Pará, Brazil
Márcia and her team have been working on a project to help conserve significant plant species threatened by deforestation in the Amazon forest. Epiphyte plants, such as orchids and bromeliads, grow on other plants and trees but do not rely on them for nutrients as they derive their moisture and nutrients from the air and rain. In areas recovering from deforestation, these plants are often the last to become established.
The team has been preserving Epiphyte plant species from areas prior to exploration activities and relocating them in areas of reforestation. As the plants are removed, they are documented, contributing to scientific knowledge, such as species distribution, level of occurrence, luminosity requirements, site forest stratum, and preferred host tree species.
The plants are propagated to increase their number and allow distribution in areas reforested up to 20 years ago and still lacking Epiphytes. To date, more than 6000 plants from approximately 70 Epiphyte species have been rescued.
Maurício Macedo Santos
(Team representative)
Alumar Smelter and Refinery, Maranhão, Brazil
Maurício and a multi-disciplinary team from the plant’s HSE, Operations, and Procurement areas developed a waste management program that has achieved significant results. Through a range of practical initiatives, waste generation has been reduced by 12 per cent. A key part of the program has been the recycling of stockpiled process residues. The proportion of residues recycled has nearly doubled, to more than 90 per cent.
The team has also ensured the industrial waste is recycled in a way that benefits the environment. Collaborative research with other industries and universities showed that ash residue from the boiler house, when combined with sludge from a nearby brewery, could assist revegetation in the rehabilitation of the bauxite residue disposal area.
This innovative use of waste has resulted in significant cost savings, reduced the risk of possible contamination from the stockpiles and avoided the need for construction of new waste disposal areas.
Albert van der Westhuizen
(Team representative)
Bayside Aluminium Smelter, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa
Albert and the Upgraders Team initiated a project aimed at meeting an Environmental Impact Assessment requirement that fluoride emissions from the aluminium smelter be reduced from 14 kilograms of fluoride per tonne of aluminium to below six kilograms of fluoride per tonne of aluminium.
The project was a resounding success, exceeding the goal to achieve consistent emissions of below three kilograms of fluoride per tonne of aluminium. In addition, the project was completed six months ahead of schedule and within budget. A good project safety record was also achieved in a high-risk work environment, with three minor injuries recorded in the 300 000 workhours completed.
The project has resulted in reduced health risks to employees and the community and has significantly improved the potroom working environment for employees.
Merit
Carl Bagnall
(Team representative)
Mt Arthur Coal, New South Wales, Australia
Carl and his team managed an innovative noise monitoring and attenuation project that has resulted in equipment noise at the mine being reduced to the lowest levels in the industry. The monitoring system can accurately measure, record and assess noise from different directions, which allows the site to respond proactively to noise issues before they impact on the community.
Mónica Arrieta Bechara
(Team representative)
Cerro Matoso Nickel Mine and Smelter, Cordoba, Columbia
Mónica and her team have developed a waste management program that minimises waste at the plant and provides benefits to the community. The program has led to extensive recycling of scrap and waste and the transformation of organic waste into compost and pig feed. The program has also provided jobs for local people. Profits from the recycling initiatives are allocated to community projects.
Jannie Cronje
Samancor Manganese, Metalloys, Gauteng, South Africa
Jannie developed a methodology to identify, quantify and prioritise environmental issues at the site as the basis for developing an environmental plan. This facilitated the preparation of an action plan, detailing all planned projects, for submission to the governing authorities. The plan has improved on-site awareness of environmental issues and allows progress of the plan to be tracked against measurable objectives.
Bill Lyon
(Team representative)
Beenup Mine, Augusta-Margaret River, Western Australia
Bill and the Beenup Rehabilitation Team are implementing a program to reinstate surface water flow across the rehabilitated mine site. A system of wetlands has been designed to facilitate controlled water flow and encourage diverse flora and fauna habitat. The program is a key part of the team’s rehabilitation plan, which aims to restore the site as a self-sustaining environment of native vegetation, wetlands and pasture.
Alexandre Vianna
(Team representative)
Valesul Aluminio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Alexandre and the casthouse team developed a new mould to reduce oil consumption in the Horizontal Direct Chill (HDC) casting machine. The high oil consumption was causing unacceptable levels of oil content in the water effluent. The innovation has resulted in an 80 per cent reduction in oil consumption and a 90 per cent reduction in oil content in the water effluent.
Ross Wilson
(Team representative)
Cannington Silver/Lead/Zinc Operation, Queensland, Australia
Ross and the Cannington Environment Team have implemented a waste management and sustainable land use program that has helped Cannington achieve a recycle to waste ratio of about 4:1. Practices include colour-coded waste bins to maximise opportunities for recycling, composting food scraps in a worm farm and washing gloves for reuse. The program has increased the expected life of the landfill from one year to three.