Escalating energy prices, lower ore grades and higher labour costs are taking a heavy toll on the mining industry particularly copper and gold producers. Innovation in mining is the common theme of all industry conferences over the past 18 months, reflecting the need to improve operational efficiency. Mining and mineral processing are very energy intensive processes and energy costs represent a significant component of the total costs of operations for the mining and mineral processing industry all over the world. At present, the industry is confronting challenges such as volatility of commodity price, skilled staff shortages and cost cutting which significantly impact the sustainability of the industry. There are therefore compelling economic and environmental reasons for mining and milling operations to examine their energy consumption using the best available tools.

Energy benchmarking has been undertaken in various forms over the recent years with similar aims in terms of improving overall energy efficiency within the industry through the achievement of best practice. The challenges faced by the mining industry are many in this respect. Most significantly, all mines and ores vary in terms of a number of factors, ranging from the depth of deposit to the liberation required. Benchmarking energy efficiency was raised as an important step in the Innovation journey during the last Coalition for Eco Efficient Comminution (CEEC) workshop in June 2012. “One of the outcomes of the 2012 CEEC JKTech Workshop was a call for an industry wide benchmarking program; one which will enable the normalization of energy efficiency in each key operational area. The aim is to develop a Ratings System which can be used by any operation globally, to assess its unique energy efficiency as well as benchmark itself against like operations” announced AMIRA’s Managing Director Joe Cucuzza at the launch of the AMIRA Energy Efficiency Benchmarking project last week.

“Companies that participate in this project will benefit from

•  Improved capability in mapping current energy usage and of quantitatively assessing performance against industry norms.
• Availability of an energy efficiency reporting system (a Star rating) for use in benchmarking performance of current operations at both overall and at individual process step level
•  A tool for assessing energy performance of new or modified circuit designs “

CEEC International Ltd are partnering with AMIRA on the development of an energy efficiency rating system, to recognize mining operations with outstanding energy efficiency in their operations. “Mining companies have yet to be rewarded for their leadership in energy efficiency” said Prof Tim Napier-Munn, founding CEEC Director and former JKMRC Director and JKTech MD. “Only by establishing a global benchmarking system will companies be able to self assess their current status, and understand the potential benefits of improved efficiency. Each step in efficiency translates to improved earnings, a positive outcome for shareholders. Year on year efficiency energy improvements will be recognized with AMIRA-CEEC Energy Efficiency Star awards. ”