Rio Tinto, owner of the Kennecott copper mining and refining operations in Utah, will replace its entire fossil diesel consumption with renewable diesel Utah copper operation in beginning in 2024.
Kennecott’s fleet of 90 haul trucks and all heavy machinery will begin to transition to renewable diesel in the first quarter of 2024, along with fuel consumption at its concentrator, smelter and refinery operations. The transition will reduce Kennecott’s Scope 1 carbon emissions by approximately 495,000 tons of CO2-equivalent per year, comparable to eliminating the annual emissions of more than 107,000 passenger cars, the company said.
The renewable diesel Kennecott will use is made from renewable biogenic materials sourced in the United States. It will be supplied through the existing diesel supply chain, as part of a continuing partnership between Kennecott and HF Sinclair.
“Transitioning Kennecott completely to renewable diesel builds on a suite of decarbonization initiatives that have reduced carbon emissions from the operation by 65 percent since 2019,” said Clayton Walker, Rio Tinto Copper chief operating officer. “This is an important next step in our commitment to finding new and better ways to reduce operational emissions, while producing materials essential to the global energy transition.”
“As a long-time supplier of Rio Tinto and a fellow operator in the Rocky Mountain region, we are pleased to support Rio Tinto’s sustainability journey with a low-carbon fuel made at our facilities,” said Steven Ledbetter, HF Sinclair executive vice president of commercial. “This is a great step demonstrating our continued progress to meet the evolving energy needs of our customers.”