Improving Environmental Performance in theMinerals Supply Chain Using a Life-CycleApproach: The Role of Fuel and LubricantSuppliers in Enabling SustainableDevelopment
Turlough F. Guerin
Abstract Suppliers have a pivotal role in enabling the mining and minerals indus-try to achieve their goals for sustainable development and demonstrating corporateresponsibility. Reputable suppliers know their products and services and the indus-try, and are often well placed to have unique knowledge of these in relation to theircustomers’ business needs. A survey of professionals from the mining and miner-als industry was conducted, revealing factors limiting the influence of suppliers on amining company’s move toward sustainable development and specifically their envi-ronmental performance. Factors that affect a mining company’s ability to engagewith suppliers and the reasons why these companies believe suppliers are importantto the achievement of their goals for sustainable development are also identified anddiscussed. This aspect of sustainable development in the mining and minerals indus-try has not been studied extensively. Petroleum hydrocarbon suppliers, in particular,affect a mine’s goals for sustainable development because of the extensive reach ofpetroleum hydrocarbon products into the mining and minerals product life-cycle,their impact on operational efficiencies, cost, and mine viability, and their poten-tial for leaving negative environmental as well as safety legacies. The petroleumhydrocarbon life-cycle is a framework that enables structured engagement betweensupplier and customer on a range of sustainable development issues because it isan example of an input into the mining industry that affects the entire mining andminerals processing value chain. The life-cycle starts with supply of fuels, lubri-cants, speciality chemicals, and services to the mine, through plant operation andmaintenance, transport of mined products, and ship loading, and finally to mineralprocessing and other downstream value-adding. Eco-efficiency opportunities in thislife-cycle are the main focus of this chapter. There are barriers within the miningindustry to leveraging suppliers’ capabilities which have to be overcome before theindustry will realise the full benefits from such supplier engagement.
T.F. Guerin (B)Telstra Corporation Limited, Melbourne 3000, Australiae-mail: [email protected]
The views presented in this chapter are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those ofhis employer, Telstra Corporation Limited.
205J.P. Richards (ed.), Mining, Society, and a Sustainable World,DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-01103-0_9, C© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009
206 T.F. Guerin
1 Introduction
As companies compete for market share, they are increasingly focussing on theircore competencies to become customer-centric. This involves, among many otherelements of a business transformation, reducing costs, which inevitably involveslooking to the supply chain to increase efficiencies and enhance the value created.Companies in all sectors of industry are increasingly being required by their stake-holder groups to state where their raw materials are coming from, and take actionover and above this recognition and disclosure, to influence the supply chain toimprove business as well as environmental performance.
Strategic supply chain management has been recognised in the business andmanagement literature for many years as a critical element of any business plan-ning process. However, it is only in the past two decades that environmental per-formance has been recognised to be of strategic importance in the supply chain(Lloyd 1994; Mehta 1994; Fiksel 1995; Lamming and Hampson 1996; Anonymous1997, 1999; Tyler 1997; Christensen 2002; Hagelaar et al. 2004; Lutz 2005).Retailers and manufacturers, particularly in the automotive and electronics indus-tries, have been leading progress in the greening of supply chains (Lammingand Hampson 1996; Anonymous 1997, 1999; Eskew 1999; Christensen 2002;Lutz 2005; Rao and Holt 2005; Barton 2006; Ellinor 2007; Ryu and Eyuboglu2007; Simpson et al. 2007). Business’s awareness of cleaner production (or eco-efficiency) and its uptake has helped drive this change (Altham and Guerin 2005).However, there are fewer published studies that explicitly describe the role ofsuppliers to the mining and minerals processing industry in greening its supplychain (Robinson et al. 1995; Enever and Robertson 1998; Guerin et al. 2004;Guerin 2006a, b).
Globally, sustainable development principles relevant to the mining industrywere adopted by the International Council for Mining and Metallurgy (ICMM)in May 2003. ICMM member companies, which include the world’s largest min-ing and minerals processing companies, have pledged to report on their progressin implementing these principles and these are being adopted internationally.In Australia, the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has developed a frame-work for sustainable development for member companies, which is based onthese principles. The MCA’s framework, which is called Enduring Value, wasreleased in October 2004. This framework recognises the role that suppliers playin the transition of mining companies to a sustainable future (Anonymous 2008;Tables 1 and 2).
Two of the elements of this framework focus explicitly on how mining and miner-als processing companies who commit to the framework (referred to as Signatories)are to work with suppliers.
A survey of the international mining industry (Lane and Danielson 2001), thoughseveral years old, recognised that sustainable development, in the context of mining,included the following:
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 207
Table 1 International guiding principles of sustainable development in the mining and mineralsprocessing industry directly relevant to the supply chain
Organisation Principles and/or signatory commitments Source
The InternationalCouncil on Miningand Minerals(ICMM)
ICMM has developed and published ten principlesin relation to sustainable development in themining and minerals processing industry. Thefollowing sub-set of seven principles haverelevance to improving environmentalperformance in the supply chain:
• Implement/maintain ethical business practicesand sound systems of corporate governance.
• Integrate sustainable development considerationswithin the corporate decision-making process.
• Implement risk management strategies based onvalid data and sound science.
• Seek continual improvement of environmentalperformance.
• Facilitate/encourage responsible product design,use, reuse, recycling, and disposal of products.
• Contribute to the social, economic, andinstitutional development of the communities inwhich the industry operates.
• Implement effective and transparentengagement, communication, and independentlyverified reporting arrangements withstakeholders.
www.icmm.com
The Global MiningInitiative (GMI)
The GMI has set out the following principles fromthe Mining Minerals and SustainableDevelopment (MMSD) study:
• Minimise waste and environmental damagealong the whole of the supply chain.
• Ensure transparency through providing allstakeholders with access to relevant and accurateinformation.
www.iied.org
• Impact on lives of people in the local communities in which mining communitiesoperate;
• Interaction and consultation with local communities, particularly regarding theeconomic and social impacts of mining;
• Impacts on the environment where mining occurs.
The same survey demonstrated a general trend that there was a widening of anorganisation’s perceived area of responsibility in relation to sustainable develop-ment. The survey also showed that the mining and minerals processing industryhas seen the emergence of many specialist contractors, for example in areas suchas earth moving and maintenance, and that it is normal that business-critical activ-ities are being outsourced. It indicated that while mining and minerals processing
208 T.F. Guerin
Tabl
e2
The
Aus
tral
ian
adap
tatio
nan
dde
velo
pmen
tof
guid
ing
prin
cipl
esof
sust
aina
ble
deve
lopm
enti
nth
em
inin
gan
dm
iner
als
proc
essi
ngin
dust
rydi
rect
lyre
leva
ntto
the
supp
lych
aina
Min
eral
sC
ounc
ilof
Aus
tral
ia(M
CA
)E
ndur
ing
Valu
efr
amew
ork—
Ove
rvie
w
End
urin
gVa
lue
will
appl
yto
alle
xplo
ratio
n,m
inin
gan
dm
iner
als
proc
essi
ngac
tiviti
esof
Sign
ator
ies,
whe
reve
rth
eyop
erat
e.It
will
also
appl
yto
the
rele
vant
activ
ities
ofco
ntra
ctor
sen
gage
dby
the
Sign
ator
ies
toun
dert
ake
such
activ
ities
.In
addi
tion,
sign
ator
yco
mpa
nies
will
stro
ngly
enco
urag
eap
plic
atio
nof
End
urin
gVa
lue
toop
erat
ions
inw
hich
they
hold
ano
n-co
ntro
lling
inte
rest
and
toot
her
supp
lych
ain
part
ners
hips
.Whe
nre
ferr
ing
toE
ndur
ing
Valu
e,Si
gnat
orie
sw
illbe
tran
spar
enti
nid
entif
ying
thos
eas
pect
sof
thei
rbu
sine
ssth
atar
eco
vere
dby
thei
rSi
gnat
ure.
For
min
ing
com
pani
es,t
his
may
enta
ilid
entif
ying
rele
vant
oper
atio
ns.C
omm
itmen
tto
End
urin
gVa
lue
brin
gsw
ithit
anu
mbe
rof
oblig
atio
ns.I
nsu
mm
ary,
thes
ear
e:•
Prog
ress
ive
impl
emen
tatio
nof
the
Inte
rnat
iona
lCou
ncil
onM
inin
gan
dM
etal
s(I
CM
M)
Prin
cipl
esan
dE
lem
ents
;•
Publ
icre
port
ing
ofsi
tele
velp
erfo
rman
ce,o
na
min
imum
annu
alba
sis,
with
repo
rtin
gm
etri
csse
lf-s
elec
ted
from
the
Glo
balR
epor
ting
Initi
ativ
e(G
RI)
,the
GR
IM
inin
gan
dM
etal
sSe
ctor
Supp
lem
ent,
orse
lf-d
evel
oped
;and
•A
sses
smen
tof
the
syst
ems
used
tom
anag
eke
yop
erat
iona
lris
ks(u
sing
eith
erin
tern
alor
exte
rnal
asse
ssm
enta
sap
prop
riat
e).
Min
eral
sC
ounc
ilof
Aus
tral
ia(M
CA
)E
ndur
ing
Val
uefr
amew
ork—
Impl
emen
tatio
ngu
idan
cefo
rE
lem
ent2
.4
Ele
men
t2.4
:“E
ncou
rage
cust
omer
s,bu
sine
sspa
rtne
rsan
dsu
pplie
rsof
good
san
dse
rvic
esto
adop
tpri
ncip
les
and
prac
tices
that
are
com
para
ble
toou
row
n.”
•Im
plem
enta
proc
urem
entp
olic
yth
atin
clud
essu
stai
nabl
ede
velo
pmen
tper
form
ance
outc
omes
inke
yco
ntra
cts;
•Pr
omot
epr
oduc
tste
war
dshi
pin
itiat
ives
thro
ugho
utth
esu
pply
chai
nth
roug
hpa
rtne
rshi
psw
ithco
ntra
ctor
s,su
pplie
rsan
dcu
stom
ers;
•E
ncou
rage
cust
omer
s,co
ntra
ctor
s,su
pplie
rs,a
ndbu
sine
sspa
rtne
rsto
adop
tsus
tain
able
deve
lopm
entp
olic
ies
and
prac
tices
;•
Est
ablis
h“s
uppl
iers
ofch
oice
”w
hich
incl
ude
sust
aina
ble
deve
lopm
entc
rite
ria,
such
asth
ero
leof
loca
lem
ploy
men
t,se
rvic
e,an
dsu
pply
tofo
ster
loca
leco
nom
ies.
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 209
Tabl
e2
(con
tinue
d)
Min
eral
sC
ounc
ilof
Aus
tral
ia(M
CA
)E
ndur
ing
Val
uefr
amew
ork—
Impl
emen
tatio
ngu
idan
cefo
rE
lem
ent5
.1
Ele
men
t5.1
:“Im
plem
enta
man
agem
ents
yste
mfo
cuse
don
cont
inua
lim
prov
emen
tof
alla
spec
tsof
oper
atio
nsth
atco
uld
have
asi
gnifi
cant
impa
cton
the
heal
than
dsa
fety
ofou
row
nem
ploy
ees,
thos
eof
cont
ract
ors
and
com
mun
ities
whe
rew
eop
erat
e.”
•Im
plem
enta
noc
cupa
tiona
land
com
mun
ityhe
alth
man
agem
ents
yste
mco
nsis
tent
with
reco
gnis
edqu
ality
stan
dard
sth
atin
clud
es:
•C
ontr
olof
haza
rds/
risk
sof
activ
ities
,pro
duct
s,an
dse
rvic
esov
erw
hich
the
orga
nisa
tion
has
cont
rol,
incl
udin
gth
eac
tiviti
es,p
rodu
cts,
and
serv
ices
ofco
ntra
ctor
san
dsu
pplie
rs;
•Id
entifi
edm
anag
emen
tstr
uctu
res,
resp
onsi
bilit
ies,
reso
urce
s,tr
aini
ng,a
war
enes
s,an
dco
mpe
tenc
ies;
•A
com
mun
icat
ion
syst
emth
atin
clud
esem
ploy
ees
and
othe
rin
tere
sted
part
ies,
and
prov
ides
for
the
rele
vant
and
timel
yre
port
ing
ofpe
rfor
man
ce;
•In
volv
eem
ploy
ees
and
othe
rre
leva
ntst
akeh
olde
rsin
audi
ting
man
agem
ents
yste
ms
and
inm
anag
emen
trev
iew
s.M
iner
als
Cou
ncil
ofA
ustr
alia
(MC
A)
End
urin
gV
alue
fram
ewor
k—Im
plem
enta
tion
guid
ance
for
Ele
men
t8.2
Ele
men
t8.2
:“C
ondu
ctor
supp
ortr
esea
rch
and
inno
vatio
nth
atpr
omot
esth
eus
eof
prod
ucts
and
tech
nolo
gies
that
are
safe
and
effic
ient
inth
eir
use
ofen
ergy
,nat
ural
reso
urce
san
dot
her
mat
eria
ls.”
•W
here
appr
opri
ate
supp
ortr
esea
rch
toim
prov
eec
o-ef
ficie
ncy
ofpr
oduc
tion
proc
esse
san
dpr
oduc
ts;
•R
evie
wan
din
nova
teto
redu
cew
aste
thro
ugh
clea
ner
prod
uctio
npr
oces
ses
recy
clin
gan
dre
use
ofm
ater
ials
;•
Rev
iew
usag
ean
din
nova
teto
impr
ove
effic
ienc
yin
the
use
ofen
ergy
and
wat
er;
•Ta
keot
her
user
s’pr
esen
tand
futu
rere
quir
emen
tsin
toac
coun
t,in
clud
ing
air
and
wat
erqu
ality
and
envi
ronm
enta
lflo
ws
ofw
ater
;•
Invo
lve
supp
liers
inid
entif
ying
oppo
rtun
ities
tore
duce
ener
gyco
nsum
ptio
nor
use
rene
wab
leso
urce
sto
redu
cepr
oduc
tion
ofgr
eenh
ouse
gase
san
dot
her
emis
sion
s;•
Whe
refe
asib
le,c
olla
bora
tein
indu
stri
alec
olog
yac
tiviti
esto
deve
lop
syne
rgie
sin
reso
urce
usag
e.
aT
hese
wer
eob
tain
edfr
omth
eE
ndur
ing
Val
uefr
amew
ork
docu
men
tsav
aila
ble
atw
ww
.min
eral
s.or
g.au
210 T.F. Guerin
companies have experience in dealing with contractors, they are not familiar withusing their influence over suppliers. Of the 32 companies surveyed, 78 and 59%required specific environmental standards to be met by contractors and suppliers,respectively. Respondents exhibited a strong interest in ensuring that local suppli-ers are used in their operations, and 90% of respondents stated that engaging withstakeholders effectively was one of the top five economic issues of concern to theircompany (Lane and Danielson 2001).
1.1 A Definition of Sustainable Development
A challenge for mining companies is defining what sustainable development meansat an operational level (Azapagic 2004; Guerin et al. 2004). This includes theextent to which the minerals value chain is included within the scope of a min-ing and minerals processing business, and therefore to what extent suppliers are“within scope”. There are many stakeholders for any one mining operation, andalso numerous approaches available to a mining operation for assessing the impactof suppliers, one of their major stakeholder groups. In the context of this chapter,sustainable development is defined in relation to the wider business impacts of min-ing within the mining and minerals processing supply chain. Sustainable develop-ment, should, by its implication, encompass impacts throughout the supply chainboth from a product as well as an input perspective. As referred to in the previ-ous section, this has not been extensively studied in the literature. An explanationfor this is the emphasis on the direct impacts of the mining industry, which arematerial in and of itself, even without considering the wider supply chain impacts.As the triple bottom line performance of mining and minerals processing compa-nies improves, it could be expected that there will be a refocus of attention onthe inputs into the industry. This chapter focuses on this input side of the supplychain.
The working definition of sustainable development in this chapter is framed inthe concept of stewardship. It is implementing the industry’s commitment to takingdirect responsibility for its production, including inputs and processes, and a sharedresponsibility with customers, suppliers, and end users to ensure that all outputs areproduced, consumed, and disposed of in an environmentally and socially responsi-ble way.
1.2 Suppliers’ Role in Supporting Sustainable Development in theMinerals Industry
Suppliers have traditionally been viewed as integral to the normal operation ofmining companies (Enever and Robertson 1998). With the advent of heightenedstakeholder awareness of environmental and social impacts of a mine, the role ofsuppliers is coming into sharper focus as an important contributor to both a mine’s
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 211
liability and opportunity for contributing to sustainable development. There are sev-eral specific drivers emerging both from within and external to the mining industry,which are influencing suppliers to recognise and embrace their role in assisting theminerals industry to work towards sustainable development (Enever and Robertson1998; Blowfield 2000; Halme et al. 2007). These include:
• Formal recognition by the industry of a supplier’s role in assisting mining com-panies in working towards sustainable development (e.g., ICMM Principles, andMCA Framework for Sustainable Development; Tables 1 and 2);
• Enhanced recognition by the industry that extended producer responsibilityapplies to products supplied to industry as raw materials, as well as the mineralproducts purchased as a result of mining (i.e., product stewardship);
• The business need for suppliers themselves to be more competitive. This isdriving product and service differentiation in the mining industry marketplacethrough social, environmental, and financial performance;
• Recognition by responsible corporations, including both suppliers and miningcompanies, that their activities, products, and services interact with and affect thebroader environment and the communities in which they do business; and
• The business needs of the mining industry to identify materially important eco-efficiency gains across their business, and their recognition that suppliers can helpdrive these types of improvements.
There are two main mechanisms by which suppliers can affect a mining cus-tomer’s operations. These are through indirect or direct supply-chain leverage,which was highlighted in a presentation made to the forestry and timber industryin Australia (Guerin et al. 2003), but which is equally applicable to any industry.Indirect mechanisms include engaging with industry groups (common to supplierand customer) to assist in moving the entire industry forward, such as by devel-opment of industry and professional standards, frameworks, or codes of practise,and direct mechanisms through the supplier’s unique understanding of their productand/or service, their life-cycle, and nature of risks and opportunities in relation totheir customer’s business.
There are numerous suppliers for any mining company or mining operation.These include product, service, and people suppliers covering every aspect of theminerals value chain. Table 3 provides examples of generic supplier groups, suppli-ers active in the industry, and the types of products and services they can provide.It also provides a description of the niche leverage that each supplier grouping canexert in support of their mining customer’s sustainable development performance.This paper addresses these direct mechanisms.
1.3 Purpose and Scope
This chapter describes ways in which suppliers to the mining and minerals process-ing industry can support its move towards sustainable development. It also describes
212 T.F. Guerin
Tabl
e3
Rol
eof
supp
liers
inin
fluen
cing
envi
ronm
enta
lper
form
ance
ofth
em
inin
gva
lue
chai
n
Supp
lier’
sin
dust
rySe
rvic
esor
prod
uctp
rovi
ded
Nic
heva
lue-
add
tocu
stom
erE
xam
ple
ofsu
pplie
ra
Ele
ctri
city
supp
lier
Ele
ctri
city
(and
com
mon
lyna
tura
lga
s)su
pply
Prov
ide
carb
onof
fset
prog
ram
sfo
rcu
stom
ers;
rene
wab
leen
ergy
offe
ring
sO
rigi
nE
nerg
y;A
GL
(in
Aus
tral
ia)
Exp
losi
ves
Exp
losi
ves
and
rela
ted
serv
ices
Tech
nolo
gies
toin
crea
sebl
aste
ffici
ency
and
redu
ceen
viro
nmen
tali
mpa
cts;
prov
ide
expe
rtis
ein
enga
ging
with
and
man
agin
gne
ighb
our
rela
tions
hip
Ori
ca,A
kzo
Nob
el
Faci
lity
man
ager
sB
uild
ing
and
faci
lity
man
agem
ent
Iden
tify
and
inco
rpor
ate
envi
ronm
ent-
rela
ted
key
perf
orm
ance
indi
cato
rsin
tom
inin
gco
ntra
cts;
iden
tify
and
driv
ein
itiat
ives
tore
duce
wat
eran
den
ergy
use
Tra
nsfie
ld,S
potle
ssan
dU
nite
dG
roup
Serv
ices
(UG
S)(a
llop
erat
ing
inA
ustr
alia
)
Fuel
supp
lier
Fuel
supp
ly,d
istr
ibut
ion,
and
rela
ted
serv
ices
Prov
ide
biof
uels
,car
bon-
offs
etfu
els,
and
low
part
icul
ate/
low
emis
sion
sfu
els;
advi
ceon
fuel
effic
ient
driv
ing
Shel
l,B
P,E
xxon
Mob
il,C
alte
x
Lab
our
hire
Tem
pora
ryst
aff
hire
serv
ices
Prov
idin
gst
aff
with
envi
ronm
enta
lski
lls,a
war
enes
str
aini
ngpr
ogra
ms
for
staf
fSk
illed
Gro
up(A
ustr
alia
);lo
cal
indi
geno
usla
bour
hire
rs,
Ade
cco,
Exa
lt
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 213
Tabl
e3
(con
tinue
d)
Supp
lier’
sin
dust
rySe
rvic
esor
prod
uctp
rovi
ded
Nic
heva
lue-
add
tocu
stom
erE
xam
ple
ofsu
pplie
ra
Lub
rica
ntsu
pplie
rL
ubri
cant
supp
ly,d
istr
ibut
ion,
and
rela
ted
serv
ices
Bio
degr
adab
lelu
bric
ants
alte
rnat
ives
;adv
ice
and
serv
ices
onlu
bric
antl
ife
exte
nsio
n;lif
ecy
cle
man
agem
ento
flu
bric
ants
Fuch
s,Sh
ell,
Cas
trol
Min
ing
cont
ract
ors
Min
ing
oper
atio
nsse
rvic
esId
entif
yan
din
corp
orat
een
viro
nmen
t-re
late
dke
ype
rfor
man
cein
dica
tors
into
min
ing
cont
ract
sR
oche
Bro
s.M
inin
g(A
ustr
alia
),K
aipa
ra(N
ewZ
eala
nd)
Tele
com
mun
icat
ions
Voi
ce,d
ata,
inte
rnet
acce
ss,
dedi
cate
dne
twor
ksfo
rm
inin
gop
erat
ions
Tra
vels
ubst
itutio
nsu
chas
high
defin
ition
vide
oco
nfer
enci
ng;t
elem
etry
solu
tions
for
rem
ote
real
-tim
em
onito
ring
Tels
tra,
Bel
lCan
ada,
Vod
apho
ne,
Ver
izon
Was
tem
anag
emen
tco
ntra
ctor
sTo
talw
aste
man
agem
ents
ervi
ces
Iden
tify
and
inco
rpor
ate
envi
ronm
ent-
rela
ted
key
perf
orm
ance
indi
cato
rsin
tom
inin
gco
ntra
cts;
advi
ceto
min
eon
was
tepr
even
tion
stra
tegi
es;
impl
emen
tand
driv
ew
aste
redu
ctio
nin
itiat
ives
acro
ssth
em
ine
Thi
ess;
Veo
lia;T
rans
paci
ficIn
dust
ries
(Asi
aPa
cific
regi
on)
aPr
ovis
ion
ofa
supp
lier’
sna
me
does
noti
mpl
yth
atth
eypr
ovid
eth
eni
che
valu
e-ad
ded
serv
ices
,or
that
itis
bein
gen
dors
edby
the
auth
or.
214 T.F. Guerin
the perceived barriers within mining companies to harnessing the opportunitiespresented by their suppliers, and how these barriers may be overcome. The chapterhas been prepared to help mine personnel and procurement and operations managersto leverage greater value from a mine’s relationship with its suppliers, particularlythose supplying petroleum hydrocarbons (fuels and lubricants). The chapter doesnot address the issues of suppliers engaging the services of people from communi-ties in which their mining customers are operating.
2 A Qualitative Survey of Sustainability and the MineralsIndustry Supply Chain
2.1 Background
Australia is a major player in the global mining industry. The expansion of the indus-try over the past 5–10 years has led to a large investment to support this growth,particularly in Western Australia, the nation’s richest source of minerals. The flow-on effect from this expansion has been widespread across the Australian economyand society, with large increases in wages (in the mining sector) and house pricesin Western Australia. In 2006/2007, mining contributed to 8% of Australia’s GDP,employed 127,500 people directly, and 200,000 people indirectly (including sup-pliers). It also represented 26% of Australia’s total capital investment, and con-tributed exports totalling A$91.3 Bn. Suppliers have been major stakeholders inand beneficiaries of this industry’s wealth, and therefore have had an importantrole in influencing and shaping the Australian industry’s transition to sustainabledevelopment.
2.2 Survey Purpose
During 2006, a qualitative survey was conducted by the author of a segment of theAustralian mining industry to identify views, opinions, and examples of the types ofsuppliers providing products and services to the mining industry. The purposes ofthe survey were to investigate what mining companies perceive the role of suppli-ers to be in their supply chain, and to identify any barriers that suppliers should beaware of that could negatively affect the role that they play. It was also conducted toestablish a baseline of the wider minerals industry to understand the potential lever-age that exists among suppliers to help meet its own objectives for environmentalperformance, and to work towards sustainable development goals. Specifically, itwas anticipated that the survey would generate qualitative data and anecdotal evi-dence that suppliers contribute to the sustainability of the minerals supply chain andhow they make this contribution.
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 215
2.3 Survey Method
The survey asked a series of multiple-choice and open-ended response questions.To develop the questions, the author engaged several marketing managers fromsupplier organisations and procurement managers from mining companies, as wellas other corporate environmental managers. Twenty two professionals in the Aus-tralian mining industry and their suppliers, were surveyed using an online surveydelivery program. These individuals were colleagues known to the author. Althoughthis was a relatively small sample, the major industry sectors represented in thesurvey included diversified mining and minerals processing companies, metal pro-ducers, exploration, and energy companies (51% of respondents). The majority ofthe respondents (65%) were mining and minerals processing and consulting compa-nies. Other respondents included researchers, academics, government organisations,and suppliers to the mining and minerals processing companies. Suppliers and othersupport organisations to the mining sector were also represented. The majority ofroles represented were consultants, contracting and procurement, and communityengagement staff.
2.4 Survey Findings
Energy, chemicals, telecommunications, and equipment were, not surprisingly, themost important supplied products and services to the mining industry (Fig. 1).
The most important finding was that when mining companies engaged with sup-pliers, greater than 50% of the respondents indicated that the most effective interac-tions occurred when:
• The supplier understood the needs of the business and tailored its approachaccordingly;
• The supplier could demonstrate how its own commitment to environmental man-agement and sustainable development would benefit the mining operation;
• The supplier created value for the mining operation by reducing costs and pro-viding an improved solution (compared to existing solutions); and
• The supplier knew the life-cycle impacts of its own goods and/or services on themining operation’s business.
These findings show the high expectations that mining operations have of theirsuppliers, and they provide useful guidance for suppliers aspiring to work for themining industry.
Secondly, the survey explored the major barriers identified to maximising therole of suppliers in, and leveraging their contribution and influence to, enhancinga mining company’s strategy for working towards sustainable development. Thesebarriers include limited engagement between a mining company’s contracting and
216 T.F. Guerin
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Facilities management services
Waste management service providers
General contractors incl. labour hire
Speciality chemical suppliers
Logistics and transport
Lubricant suppliers
Consultants
Mining contractor
Water utilities
Spare parts suppliers
Fuel suppliers
Explosives suppliers
Tyre suppliers
Telecommunications services providers
Equipment manufacturers
Electricity suppliers
No. of responses
Extremely Important & Important Somewhat or Minor Importance Not Important at All
Fig. 1 Importance of suppliers to the normal running of business
procurement staff and environmental teams, and suppliers having limited under-standing of their mining company customers’ operations and business needs. Othersbarriers included mining companies having limited financial and human resourcesfor engaging with suppliers, and the hurdles presented by preferred vendor status orsimilar programs in effect at mining operations (Fig. 2).
Respondents indicated that the most important action a supplier could take toimprove a mining company’s drive towards a more sustainable future was demon-strating the supplier’s own commitment in these areas. These are described inTable 4.
These findings reflect the largely cultural issues of maximising the value obtainedfrom supplier relationships and in particular resistance to change. These findingsunderscore the importance of effective relationships between suppliers and miningcompanies such that there is fruitful exchange of ideas, innovations and relevantinformation to address problems or to identify opportunities for improvement. Pre-ferred vendor status can work well, though less so when prices start to increase(without corresponding value increase). Such programs can also promote the
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 217
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Policies preclude assessment of supplier's potential contribution tosustainable development
A transactional approach to procuring goods and services fromsuppliers
Engaging with suppliers is a relatively low priority for the business
Absence of strong competition (among suppliers)
Limited contractor management skills in the business
No long term plan for ongoing engagement with suppliers
Lack of trust that suppliers can enhance performance and respond tobusiness' needs
Absence of industry drivers to change the status quo
Suppliers are not seen by the business as strategically important
There is little or no incentive for suppliers to provide exceedinglyhigh levels of service
Preferred vendor status and programs
Insufficient time and resources to dedicate to managing supplierseffectively
Suppliers have a limited understanding of your business
Limited interaction between contracting and procurement and theenvironmental teams in the business
No. of responses
Extremely important & important Somewhat and minor importance Not important
Fig. 2 Barriers to maximising suppliers’ influence
Table 4 What is the most important action that a supplier to your business could do to improveyour organisation’s commitment and transition to sustainable development?
Improve their own sustainability performanceUnderstand the business of their customersMake sustainable development part of the selling proposition and ensure the proposition is cast at
the customer audience as they may not be experts in the fieldProvide products that are energy efficient, have a limited impact on the environment, and are
socially responsibleBe proactive in promoting to customers the sustainability aspects of their products and services
as awareness is a key issueDemonstrate their commitment to customers and an understanding and alignment with
customer’s needs and aspirations
status quo and limit innovation (such as increasing environmental performance) incontracts.
The third major finding identified from the survey was the barriers that limitedmining companies from further engaging with their suppliers. These were a lackof time (for this particular activity), absence of commitment from senior mine man-agement to such engagement, uncertainty of outcomes from such engagement, and a
218 T.F. Guerin
lack of interest from suppliers to such an engagement. Other barriers include the per-ceived increase in cost from such engagement, and that such engagement is unusual(i.e., not standard business practise or part of management culture) for mining oper-ations (Fig. 3).
When respondents were asked what made their interaction with suppliers effec-tive (using examples), 86% of respondents indicated that it was extremely importantor important to them that the suppliers understood the needs of the business and tai-lored their approach accordingly, and that the suppliers could demonstrate how theirown commitment to environmental management and sustainable development couldbenefit the business (Fig. 4).
For each of the following statements, approximately three quarters of respon-dents stated it was extremely important or important that the supplier:
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
If we engage with one supplier we will have to engage withtheir competitors too
Supplier not a signatory to the Minerals Council of Australia"Enduring Value" framework for sustainable development
Supplier may gain access to knowledge that should be keptby the business only
No policy to engage with suppliers
Not been done before by our business
Potential increased cost of supplied goods and/or services(over the long term)
Supplier is set in its ways and is unlikely to change the way itdelivers its goods or service
Lack of interest from suppliers in undertaking furtherengagement with the business
Uncertain outcomes (from further investment of time inengagement)
Absence of senior management commitment to engagementwith suppliers
Lack of time (for further engagement with suppliers)
No. of responses
Extremely Important & important Somewhat & Minor Importance Not Important at All
t
Fig. 3 Barriers to engaging with suppliers
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 219
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
The supplier was a signatory tothe Minerals Council of
Australia "EnduringValue"framework for sustainable
development or at leastdemonstrated an awareness
of this framwork'ssignificance to the business
The supplier provided the servicesrequired but then went beyond
what was expected of them
The supplier provided thegoods and/or services required
and at a competitive price
The supplier helped reduceprocurement costs (i.e., the
process of procurement)
The supplier created value forthe business by reducingcosts and providing an
improved solution(compared to that existing)
The supplier knew the life-cycleimpacts of its goods and/or
services on the business
The supplier understood theneeds of the business and
tailored their approachaccordingly
The supplier could demonstratehow its own commitment to
environmental management andsustainable development could
benefit the business
No. of responses
Extremely important & important Somewhat or minor importance
Fig. 4 Importance of engaging with suppliers
• Provided the services required but then went beyond what was expected of them(in terms of delivering their products and services);
• Provided the goods and/or services required and at a competitive price;• Helped reduce procurement costs (i.e., the process of procurement);• Created value for the business by reducing costs and providing an improved solu-
tion (compared to that existing); and• Knew the life-cycle impacts of its goods and/or services on the business.
220 T.F. Guerin
These characteristics provide useful criteria for how to select suppliers or sup-ply chain partners. They are aspirational attributes for any supplier to the mineralsindustry.
This survey indicated fuel suppliers were perceived as important to the miningand minerals industry, and the remainder of this paper focuses on their role, alongwith that of lubricant suppliers, in providing a life-cycle examination of how a sup-plier impacts a customer’s business.
3 Overview of the Supplied Petroleum Hydrocarbon Life-Cycle
The downstream oil industry is a major supplier to the mining and minerals industryglobally as demonstrated in the survey described in the previous section and alsoin other industry reports (Guerin et al. 2004; Guerin 2006a, b). Suppliers in thisindustry interface with many parts of the mining and minerals production process.
A useful way of understanding the inter-connections between a supplier and amining or minerals processing operation (customer) is through the supplied productand service life-cycle across the mine operation. The life-cycle approach enablespetroleum hydrocarbons for example to be tracked from the point of supply throughto their end-of-life (Fig. 5).
Petroleum hydrocarbons are used through the entire mining and minerals pro-duction process and can generate impacts along the minerals processing value chain.
Storage & Internal DistributionUse & Servicing (Advice)
Terminal Disposal
End-of-Life Management(Collection/Transportation)
Supply
Well Head
Reprocessing & Recovery
Fig. 5 Lubricant life-cycle
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 221
Typically, the most recognised impacts of petroleum hydrocarbon usage are negative(Table 5), often associated with pollution.
A life-cycle analysis approach enables the full benefits of closer engagement withpetroleum hydrocarbon suppliers to be identified. It also facilitates development ofsubsequent joint action plans to address problems and explore opportunities. Manyof the opportunities can be positive, and the minerals industry can reap the benefitsif they are aware of and invest in the relationships with their petroleum hydrocarbonsupplier(s). Similarly, credible and professional suppliers can add depth to the levelof services or quantity and range of products they supply to a mine, including thosethat bring environmental and social as well as financial benefits.
The life-cycle approach provides a useful model for mapping supplier-customerrelationships and therefore marketing opportunities across the range of businessesin the minerals industry. Engagement between suppliers and their customers shouldstart at the tendering stage, continue during contract management, and remain inongoing interactions. Suppliers can also be a catalyst in other parts of the miningoperation, in addition to product supply and procurement, such as health, safety,and the environment (HS & E), to initiate activities in the customer organisation toenhance environmental performance of the mine.
The following four areas of a mining company’s business (in relation topetroleum hydrocarbons) are affected by and need to be considered by mining oper-ations for effective petroleum hydrocarbon management. These are also stages ofthe petroleum hydrocarbon life-cycle, and illustrate where a mining operation willneed to proactively manage hydrocarbons (Fig. 5):
• Supply and procurement;• Storage and internal distribution;• Product use and servicing; and• End-of-life management.
These stages are discussed in order. Selected examples of how suppliers ofpetroleum hydrocarbon can interact with mining companies are provided at eachof the stages of the life-cycle.
3.1 Supply and Procurement
During procurement and supply of petroleum hydrocarbons, there is an opportunityfor the supplier to consider supply transaction options, and understand the typesof products and/or related services needed at the mine. There is also the opportu-nity to review existing supply arrangements, that will help improve delivery, andreduce costs, and to provide environmentally-preferred products where these areavailable. This stage is critical in driving change in the mining and minerals indus-try. In the future, there will also be increasing pressure on suppliers as well as lubri-cant users as to the types of products used in particular applications. At this stage of
222 T.F. Guerin
Tabl
e5
Env
iron
men
tali
mpa
cts
asa
cons
eque
nce
ofeq
uipm
entm
aint
enan
cean
dsu
pplie
dpe
trol
eum
hydr
ocar
bons
toth
em
inin
gin
dust
ry
Asp
ecto
fm
aint
enan
cepr
ogra
ma
Des
crip
tion
ofim
pact
orpo
tent
iali
mpa
ctb
Liq
uid
petr
oleu
mhy
droc
arbo
nsc
Gro
undw
ater
cont
amin
atio
nfr
omsp
illag
esan
dle
aksd
Soil
and
surf
ace
wat
erco
ntam
inat
ion
from
spill
ages
and
leak
sd
Air
pollu
tion
(fro
mun
cont
aine
dvo
latil
eco
mpo
nent
sif
pres
ent)
Dis
posa
lwith
outr
euse
oren
ergy
reco
very
isun
sust
aina
ble
Solv
ents
Air
pollu
tion—
unco
ntai
ned
vapo
urs
coul
dad
vers
ely
affe
cthu
man
heal
thD
ispo
salw
ithou
treu
seor
ener
gyre
cove
ryis
unsu
stai
nabl
eG
roun
dwat
erco
ntam
inat
ion
from
spill
ages
and
leak
sd
Was
tegr
ease
Surf
ace
soil
cont
amin
atio
nfr
omsp
illag
esan
dle
aksd
Soil
and
grou
ndw
ater
cont
amin
atio
nfr
ompe
trol
eum
hydr
ocar
bons
and
met
als
impr
egna
ted
ingr
ease
d
Dis
posa
lwith
outr
euse
oren
ergy
reco
very
isun
sust
aina
ble.
Det
erge
nts
Toxi
city
tonu
mer
ous
aqua
ticor
gani
sms;
emul
sific
atio
nof
petr
oleu
mhy
droc
arbo
ns(a
ndre
duce
dw
aste
oil
reco
very
)Se
dim
ent(
susp
ende
dso
lids)
Surf
ace
wat
erco
ntam
inat
ion
from
spill
ages
and
leak
sd;b
lock
ages
caus
eflo
w-o
nef
fect
sin
oily
was
tew
ater
man
agem
ents
yste
ms
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 223
Tabl
e5
(con
tinue
d)
Asp
ecto
fm
aint
enan
cepr
ogra
ma
Des
crip
tion
ofim
pact
orpo
tent
iali
mpa
ctb
Con
tam
inat
edra
gs,p
aper
,pro
tect
ive
equi
pmen
t,an
dga
sket
seE
xces
sive
use
and
was
tage
isun
sust
aina
ble
Use
doi
lfilte
rs,b
urst
hydr
aulic
hose
s,em
pty
fuel
,oil
and
grea
seco
ntai
ners
(e.g
.,dr
ums)
Oft
enla
ndfil
led
whi
chis
unsu
stai
nabl
e.Pe
trol
eum
hydr
ocar
bons
with
inth
ese
mat
eria
lsha
veth
epo
tent
ialt
oim
pact
soil
and
grou
ndw
ater
(i.e
.,ac
tas
cont
amin
atio
nso
urce
s)
Ene
rgy
usag
e(p
ower
edeq
uipm
ent)
Hig
hle
vels
ofus
eca
nbe
unsu
stai
nabl
eif
notl
inke
din
toan
ener
gyge
nera
tion
syst
emon
site
Wat
erus
age
(for
was
hing
vehi
cles
prio
rto
mai
nten
ance
)H
igh
leve
lsof
use
are
unsu
stai
nabl
e(m
ayre
duce
quan
tity
and
qual
ityof
wat
ersu
pplie
sfo
rot
her
uses
,e.g
.,av
aila
bilit
yfo
rlo
calc
omm
uniti
esne
arm
ine)
a Incl
udin
gco
ntam
inan
ts,c
o-co
ntam
inan
ts,o
rw
aste
type
s.bN
ote
that
thes
ear
equ
alifi
edas
“pot
entia
l”im
pact
sbe
caus
eth
ese
was
tes
will
nota
lway
sha
vea
nega
tive
impa
cton
the
envi
ronm
ent(
i.e.,
ifth
eyar
em
anag
edan
ddi
spos
edof
prop
erly
).c T
hese
incl
ude
fuel
san
den
gine
,hyd
raul
ic,g
earb
ox,d
iffe
rent
ial,
and
stee
ring
oils
,off
-spe
cific
atio
nfu
els
and
oils
,cut
ting
fluid
s,an
doi
lyw
aste
wat
er.
dSo
ilan
dgr
ound
wat
erco
ntam
inat
ion
can
add
sign
ifica
ntly
toth
een
viro
nmen
tall
iabi
lity
ofa
min
ing
oper
atio
n,an
dsi
tein
vest
igat
ions
,ris
kas
sess
men
tsan
dre
med
iatio
npr
ogra
ms
may
bere
quir
edto
addr
ess
thes
eat
clos
ure
oras
part
ofth
edi
vest
men
tof
the
oper
atio
n.e A
lso
incl
ude
oil-
cont
amin
ated
plas
tics,
spec
ialit
ych
emic
als,
leat
her
and
clot
h(e
.g.,
glov
es).
224 T.F. Guerin
the life-cycle suppliers can help mining companies achieve their sustainable devel-opment goals through:
• Product design and development, supporting research and optimisation ofproduct selection, and offering product options and alternatives to conventionalproducts;
• Product procurement transactions and supply chain leverage.
3.1.1 Product Design and Development, and Offering Product Optionsand Alternatives
Petroleum hydrocarbon suppliers invest resources into developing and producingnew products for their customers. This is reflected in the financial commitmentsmade by large oil companies into product research. Examples of this includethe manufacturing and supply of low emission fuel products. Low sulphur diesel(50 ppm) is now being produced at refineries in Australia, and benzene reductionunits are currently being installed at Australian refineries to produce low benzenepetrol (1 ppm). These required maximum concentrations for sulphur and benzenewill be reduced even further as fuel regulations continue to become more stringent.Biofuels development will be of increasing importance as the price of crude oil con-tinues to increase and the demand for these products increase from larger users suchas mining and other heavy industries. Formulations that allow for longer storage lifeand that do not cause engine power to be significantly reduced are also needed bythe mining industry.
Petroleum hydrocarbon suppliers can provide alternatives to the conventionalrange of products currently being offered to the mining industry. Though cost iscritical, customers of lubricants increasingly want to exercise their ability to chooseoptions when purchasing products, including options related to environmental per-formance. For example, biodegradable lubricants are preferable for applicationswhere there are acute risks from mining or operations in environmentally-sensitiveareas such as during exploration and at ship-loading facilities (Battersby et al. 2003).
3.1.2 Product Procurement Transactions
Petroleum hydrocarbon suppliers can use their purchasing power to secure supplyarrangements with specialised chemical manufacturers or suppliers. This includesthird party supply of specialist products which can be procured at lower cost thancan be achieved by the end user (mine), such as specialist greases, fluids, coolants,and solvents. The benefits of this also include reduced administration to the mine,and the fact that it places responsibility for security of supply of these specialistproducts with the petroleum hydrocarbon supplier.
Suppliers can also assist a mining operation’s overall environmental program inthe development of environmental management plans (EMPs) for supplied products,which can be negotiated at the contract stage of the procurement process. Some of
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 225
the larger mining operations in Australia are now stipulating that EMPs be preparedby major fuel suppliers that are supplying product to their operations. EMPs shouldhighlight the risks and controls in place in relation to the supplied product or service(including its transport, storage, and handling); this increases the assurances that themining company has identified and is controlling these risks.
3.2 Storage and Internal Distribution
The second stage of the life cycle relates to facility design and layout, which influ-ences the placement of supplied product in relation to the operational needs of themine. Storage and internal distribution issues can have a significant impact on thepotential or likelihood of environmental contamination from products such as fromleaks, particularly those undetected, which can result in additional costs to the mine.These costs can be incurred during the normal life of the mine, or will be realised atmine closure if no action is taken during normal operations. Strategic capital invest-ment in appropriate storage and internal distribution facilities ultimately reduces thelong-term financial liability for a mine, because it can eliminate or reduce environ-mental contamination from product losses.
Elements of the product storage and internal distribution stage of the life-cycle,where suppliers can help mining companies achieve their goals for sustainabledevelopment, include the following:
• Ensuring facility design meets construction standards appropriate for thepetroleum hydrocarbon and chemical tanks and infrastructure present at the mine.
• Optimising fuel and lubricant delivery across an operation to ensure the lowestcost and safest way of keeping the mobile (i.e., portable or transportable) plantrunning.
• Identifying and assessing compliance of chemical storage areas to dangerousgoods standards (for packaged products).
• Stock reconciliation to account for product flows into and across a mine or aseries of mines.
• Testing of infrastructure (asset) integrity to prevent and minimise stored productlosses.
3.2.1 Meeting Design Standards
Fuel and lubricant storage distribution, and dispensing facilities must be designedand built to meet minimum engineering standards. There are standards that coverissues such as materials, tank and pipe configurations, electrical, safety, and envi-ronmental issues. In Australia, one of the main standards is Australia Standard (AS)1940:2004, that describes the requirements for storage of non-flammable liquidssuch as diesel and lubricants. Petroleum hydrocarbon suppliers have expertise inauditing and redesigning, rebuilding and/or repairing such facilities because they
226 T.F. Guerin
are continually working with fuel and lubricant infrastructure at their own facilities.They also have extensive experience in applying these standards because they auditand manage their own facilities. Suppliers are in a position to offer focused audit-ing capabilities to their customers, and to know which fuel and lubricants standardswill be applicable to the mine. There are a range of other industry standards as wellas those for handling flammable goods, and for construction of fuel and lubricantstorage and dispensing facilities.
3.2.2 Optimising Product Delivery
As a mine expands, and the location of the mined ore body changes relative tothe mine’s fixed infrastructure, so does the mining operation’s need for the sup-ply and dispensing of fuels and lubricants. For a mine to optimise the delivery offuels and lubricants in the mine, it requires extensive knowledge of transport anddistribution logistics. This will ensure that capital is not wasted on infrastructurethat could become redundant as a result of inappropriate placement of fuel or lubri-cant delivery infrastructure. Minimising the amount of time required for refuellingand maintenance ensures loss of productivity is kept as low as possible as well asenvironmental impacts.
3.2.3 Stock Reconciliation Solutions
Fuel and lubricant stock reconciliation systems include, for example, simplemechanical measurement (i.e., dipping) of tanks, reconciliation of flow meters ona regular basis across a single mine, and more complex network-level (i.e., acrossmultiple sites) leak detection systems that have data collection, statistical analyses,and red-flag reporting mechanisms. Reporting from stock reconciliation systemsidentifies where stock control practices are inadequate, and identifies tanks, or usersof mobile and fixed mechanical plant (i.e., machinery), that have or contribute tounusually high product losses. Such systems are particularly important for under-ground product storage facilities. Inventory control and monitoring systems are arelatively small investment that can reduce environmental testing and remediationcosts in the long-term, and are the only effective and preventative mechanisms formonitoring leaking underground storage systems. Stock reconciliation systems canalso enable better control of fuel management data for more effective reporting andreconciliation of greenhouse gas emissions.
3.2.4 Asset Integrity Testing
Asset integrity testing is the assessment of petroleum storage, distribution and dis-pensing equipment, and other facilities for product leaks. Mining operations andother facilities that handle fuel and lubricants are required to conduct integrity test-ing on their assets at specified time intervals. Ten-year test intervals are common inmany jurisdictions. Asset testing can include positive and negative pressure testingsystems, which can measure the loss of pressure or vacuum in the product storageor distribution system over time to determine the presence and extent of leaks. Asset
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 227
integrity testing should form the first stage of assessing the risks associated with thestorage and dispensing of fuel at a mine site. It is not uncommon to find that assetintegrity testing reveals that a proportion of underground storage structures (pipesand tanks) are leaking at a facility. A recent study of a commercial fuel networksupplying the road transport industry revealed that there were approximately 10%of sites that reported failures using vacuum testing of all underground storage anddistribution assets across the network. The presence of a failure from asset integritytesting, when using the common vacuum testing approach, indicates that there isair ingress and/or a crack or hole in the infrastructure. Where an asset failure hasoccurred, the concrete or surface overlying the underground asset will have to beremoved to examine and identify the reason for failure. Apparent asset failures (i.e.,reporting false positives during the vacuum test) may simply be a loose collar on apipe or loose pipe fittings, and not necessarily a hole in a tank or pipe.
3.3 Product Use and Servicing
Petroleum hydrocarbon products can and should be managed, during their workinglife, to ensure that they do what they are supposed to do during this time. The thirdstage of the life-cycle examines the impacts of the supplied petroleum hydrocar-bon product(s) on fixed and mobile mine plant components and how these productscan be best serviced to extend their own as well as the plant’s life. Fluids selec-tion across a mine’s fixed and mobile plant can include consolidating the range ofgrades of lubricants being used. Consolidation itself can reduce the range of prod-ucts and containers stored (and ultimately disposed of) at a mine site, which canenhance waste management. But more importantly, fluid selection can have a dra-matic impact on the eco-efficiency of mining equipment. Suppliers can work withmining companies in the product use and servicing stage to achieve the mine’s goalsfor sustainable development, in the following ways:
• Reviewing the mine’s maintenance strategy to enhance reliability of mobile andfixed mine plant.
• Recommending the use of energy efficient-lubricants for high-friction applica-tions.
• Managing lubricant cleanliness to maximise lubricant and plant life.• Developing lubricant laundering (i.e., cleaning) as an option to extend the useful
life of lubricants.
3.3.1 Reviewing the Mine’s Maintenance Strategy to Enhance Reliability ofMobile and Fixed Mine Plant
Further examples from this stage of the life-cycle are the contributions supplierscan make to maintenance strategies. These should include planning for mainte-nance activities, monitoring and analysing maintenance costs, establishing targetsfor maintenance performance (in particular percentage downtime) and establishing
228 T.F. Guerin
preventative maintenance programs. Preventative maintenance is an area where con-siderable cost savings may exist for a mine, particularly because the numbers andsizes of fixed and mobile plants can be large. An important part of any preventativemaintenance program is to have predictive tools to define equipment defects as earlyas possible. Early detection of a defect allows for better failure analysis to improvethe equipment’s service life performance. It also assists in identifying the true prob-lem rather than a symptom of the problem. In many cases, what we see as the failedcomponent is a symptom of what the true cause of the failure was. To determine thecauses of failure, fuel and lubricant suppliers can provide preventative maintenanceservices as a means of extending both product and plant life at customer sites usingthermographic techniques and condition monitoring programs that involve lubri-cant analysis and diagnosis. Such programs help prevent plant breakdowns, while atthe same time delivering business and environmental benefits through lower oper-ating and capital costs, and reducing rates of waste oil generation (Pearson 2004;Mercer 2005; Garvey 2006; West 2006). For example, infrared thermography hasbeen found to be a valuable tool in the mining industry. It can survey equipment ata mine, including electrical distribution systems, pumping systems, piping systems,exchangers, process fired heaters, and many other types of equipment. Infrared ther-mography can assist in finding the underlying true cause of failure. It is seen as apredictive tool that supports other predictive technologies, such as vibration analysisand compression analysis. One primary advantage is that it is faster than many of theexisting techniques in identifying and detecting a problem. It has the ability to finddefects before a secondary catastrophic failure occurs. A technician can view manypieces of mechanical equipment very quickly to determine if a possible problemexists. Various petroleum hydrocarbon suppliers are providing preventative mainte-nance strategies, that often package the solutions together for clients (Messenger etal. 2004a, b).
3.3.2 Recommending the Use of Energy-Efficient Lubricants forHigh-Friction Applications
Energy-efficient lubricants have a niche role in enhancing plant performance. Byswitching to synthetic lubricants, the most common examples of energy-efficientlubricants, a mine can improve both efficiency of plant energy use, and environmen-tal performance. For example, synthetic lubricants have long been recognised fortheir benefits compared to conventional mineral oil-based lubricants for increasingoil service life, reducing wear, system deposits, and improved viscosity/temperaturebehaviour. They are not used widely and this is primarily because of their cost.
One benefit that has been largely overlooked is that of energy savings. Becausethe mining industry must focus on reducing CO2 emissions, there is great bene-fit to using products, that contribute to reduced energy consumption, even thoughthe drop in CO2 emissions may be minor compared with emissions generated by amine. One application is the lubrication of worm gears, which have unique require-ments relative to lubrication of standard helical or spur gears. In particular, the highdegree of sliding contact in worm gears generates considerable friction. These types
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 229
68
72
76
80
84
88
Shell Mineral Oil Shell Synthetic PAOOil
Shell Omala EPB 320
% Efficiency GainFig. 6 Energy efficiencygains over conventionalmineral oil from applicationof selected syntheticlubricants in high frictionenvironments
of gears have numerous applications across processing plants, and in particular, ingear boxes and stationary equipment. Efficiencies with worm gearboxes are oftenas low as 70% which is a result of the high loads and high friction in transferringenergy through such gear configurations. Highly polar polyalkylene glycol (PAG)-based worm gear lubricants, such as Shell Tivela S oils, are ideal for lubricationof steel-on-bronze worm gears, because they can lower the friction in boundarylubrication and thereby reduce inefficiency. Maximising efficiency also means thatless power is lost in friction and converted into heat. In the David Brown Radiconefficiency worm gear test, in which the input and output torque of the gearbox isused to determine the efficiency, the PAG-based Shell Tivela S demonstrated 15.8%improvement in energy efficiency relative to a mineral oil based product. Based onnew PAG-technology, the Shell Tivela S offers benefits of 9% energy savings rela-tive to older PAG-based worm gear lubricants. Relative to a polyalphaolefin (PAO)-based fluid, the energy saving is 11%. In terms of cost savings, for an operationrunning 50 gearboxes for 168 h/week (50 weeks per annum), with an average poweroutput of 7.4 kW and electricity at a cost of $AUD0.14/kW/h, the savings relativeto a mineral oil (with gearbox efficiency 74.1%), in using a PAG based lubricantamounts to $AUD82K per annum (Guerin et al. 2004). These savings will increaseas the price of electricity continues to rise at the current high rates (10% per annum,or more).
In the same worm gear test, the benefits of energy efficiency for a biodegradablegear oil, Shell Omala EPB, are shown (Fig. 6). For the gearbox running on ShellOmala EPB, a 12% efficiency gain over a mineral oil-based gear oil (of the sameviscosity grade) and 7% over a PAO-based gear oil were obtained. The switch toShell Omala EPB in such an application would also bring the additional environ-mental benefits of a biodegradable lubricant (Battersby et al. 2003; Guerin et al.2004) and could be considered for any environmentally-sensitive application suchas on a wharf, jetty, or ship loader.
3.3.3 Managing Lubricant Cleanliness to Maximise Lubricant and Plant Life
Another example of product use and servicing is managing lubricant contamina-tion. The impact on heavy vehicles from contaminated lubricants can be extremely
230 T.F. Guerin
costly due to lost productivity, increased maintenance, and spare parts costs. Thereare many risks associated with lubricant contamination, especially where dirt, roadgrime, and dust are abundant. As far as particulate matter is concerned, how muchis considered too much, and how will this contaminant impact on a machine’slife? The impact of lubricant contamination will depend on the hardness, volume,and size of the contaminating material. Harder materials such as silica, bauxite,and iron ore will cause accelerated abrasive wear, whereas softer materials suchas talc and coal can cause build-up in oil ways and tooth roots that can lead tofailure (Carlin et al. 2003). Any size and number of particles in a lubricant cancause problems; however, larger particles tend to fall to the base of the plant’sfluid reservoir. The smaller particles remain suspended and are pumped into bear-ings and other critical working components. To prevent this problem, rather thanrelying entirely on oil filters, it is critical that plant and product container breathersare kept clean (Fig. 7).
The most common lubricant and fluids (including brake, hydraulic, steering flu-ids) contamination sources and causes include:
• The mechanical seal on metal drums working loose during abnormal transporta-tion conditions, releasing metal particulates and causing drum varnish to flakeinto the oil.
• Bulky plastic product containers having breathers that allow the product tobreathe, but that leave it exposed to atmospheric contamination.
• Bulk lubricant transport systems, which are used to administer lubricant productsto equipment in the field and can contain residue from previous loads and/or dustparticles.
• On-site practices designed to make life “easier” for on-site personnel who handlelubricants. For example, such as leaving a grease hopper lid open so that truckdrivers can monitor grease levels also leaves the product open to the elements andincreases risk of product contamination from dust.
Several studies have dealt with this issue in greater detail (e.g., Huth 1975; Pavlat1984; Rakic 2004).
3.3.4 Developing Lubricant Laundering as an Option to Extend the UsefulLife of Lubricants
A final example is a technology called lubricant laundering, which brings the benefitof reduced costs in purchase of new lubricants (Messenger et al. 2004a, b). Lubricantlaundering is the refurbishing or cleaning of a lubricant so it can be reused as alubricant. This process can also result in fewer oil changes which means less usedoil to manage. Applications of this technology in the Oceania region are limitedat the current time because of the relatively high capital cost for the equipment,and the labour required to handle and manage the laundering operation. Lubricantlaundering offers the potential for a mine to reduce its lubricant purchase costs;however, it should be viewed as only one of a number of strategies to help extend
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 231
Fig
.7U
ncov
ered
(top
left
),co
ntam
inat
ed(t
opri
ght)
,ope
n(b
otto
mle
ft)
brea
ther
s,an
dsl
oppy
disp
ensi
ngac
tiviti
esca
nle
adto
lubr
ican
tcon
tam
inat
ion
232 T.F. Guerin
the life of the supplied petroleum hydrocarbon at a mine (Neadle 1994; Messengeret al. 2004a, b)
3.4 End-of-Life Management
The final stage of the petroleum hydrocarbon life-cycle is managing the suppliedproduct at the end of its useful life. Although various technologies and strategiescan extend the life of supplied product, lubricants eventually become ineffective andneed to be managed as either wastes or a feedstock for energy recovery purposes.Suppliers can help mining companies achieve their goals for sustainability duringthe end-of-life management stage of the life-cycle, including the following:
• Product packaging and stewardship;• Used oil collection and management;• Management of maintenance wastes;• Fuel and lubricant infrastructure management; and• Fuel and lubricant disaster and spill management.
3.4.1 Product Packaging and Stewardship
Providing an outlet for off-site removal of used oil and oil containers is an ongoingchallenge for both mining operations and packed product fluid suppliers. Consoli-dation of supplied pack sizes into a single size, e.g., 18 L (where packed product isrequired at a mine) and switching to bulk lubricants (where possible), are ways inwhich suppliers can assist a mining operation. In Australia, an environmental andeconomic review of lubricant pack size consolidation in the 10–20 L pack size rangewas conducted by the author in 2003 (unpublished). The results demonstrated thatthe plastics recycling industry in Australia, while technically able to reprocess thevolume of containers produced as a result of the mining industry’s consumption, isat the stage of maturity such that the costs for reprocessing of used oil containerplastic is too high to provide a cost-effective and an equitable take-back service forall mining and/or industry customers. In Australia, the introduction of a NationalPackaging Covenant may help provide an incentive for the lubricant and specialistchemical supply industry to provide the most environmentally-preferred and costeffective packaging solutions for their industry to supply the mining industry. TheNational Packaging Covenant puts the onus on suppliers of products with containersand packaging to demonstrate how they will reduce the environmental burden of theproduct packaging they supply, and particularly so as this covenant is now legislatedat the state-level across Australia.
There is no consistent enforcement of pollution laws in the Australian miningindustry to drive the prevention of disposal of used oil containers at mining oper-ations. Hence, pollution continues to occur at mining operations from empty fluidcontainers and from other operational wastes.
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 233
3.4.2 Used Oil Collection and Management
The used oil management industry benefits greatly from the mining industry becauseof the large used oil volumes generated by mining and mineral processing. Forexample, the volume of used oil collected in Australia is approximately 500 MLannually. Of this volume, approximately 50 ML is generated by the mining industry.Used oil handlers provide a network of collection services reaching most locationsin Australia, including remote mining areas. These suppliers often work with eachother; as sub-contractors to other used oil handlers, depending on the region. Thereare however, a wide range of quality standards to which these suppliers work to,and this has meant there are varying levels of service quality provided to the miningindustry. There are no specific legislated standards to which these suppliers haveto work, with the exception of AS 1940:2004; this standard regulates the storageand handling of dangerous goods and has been enforced in many Australia jurisdic-tions by state governments. The author recently reviewed and audited all major usedoil handling facilities in Australia (unpublished report). Some facilities are certifiedto ISO 14001, but many of the facilities have poor housekeeping practises. Over-all, these facilities are improving due to the increased levels of competition, largelydue to the Australian federal government’s initiative to implement legislation thatmaximises the value of the used oil resource. Used oils are reprocessed back intobase oils at various reprocessing facilities across Australia, including most capitalcities.
3.4.3 Management of Maintenance Wastes
A further example is the management of maintenance wastes (Table 6).Such waste, which includes used petroleum hydrocarbons, poses a significant
challenge to the mining industry (Guerin 2002). If maintenance activities are notconducted effectively so as to minimise losses of petroleum hydrocarbon wastesto the environment, they can lead to significant long-term environmental liabilitiesfrom soil and ground water contamination. Typically, many older mining operations(i.e., those established for >20 years) do not manage their maintenance wastes effec-tively, based on a survey previously published by the author (Guerin 2002). Goodhousekeeping in maintenance areas is critical to prevent soil and groundwater con-tamination; such house keeping includes for example proper waste segregation andstorage of drums and wastes (Fig. 8).
Petroleum hydrocarbon suppliers often have the capability or the supply chaininfluence to provide wide-ranging services that improve management of mainte-nance activities at a mine. Petroleum hydrocarbon suppliers can assist by:
• Auditing maintenance waste streams;• Advising on process improvements to reduce volumes and types of maintenance
wastes; and• Advising on life-cycle management of maintenance wastes from prevention
through to treatment.
234 T.F. Guerin
Tabl
e6
Sour
ces
ofw
aste
sfr
omm
aint
enan
ceop
erat
ions
inth
em
iner
als
indu
stry
a
Stag
eof
min
ing
proc
ess
Prac
tice
orsp
ecifi
csi
telo
catio
nTy
pean
dso
urce
ofw
aste
Exp
lora
tion
Dri
llm
aint
enan
cear
eas
Spill
ages
and
leak
ages
ofoi
ls,g
reas
e,an
dde
grea
sers
duri
ngm
aint
enan
ceto
drill
ing
rigs
Dri
llm
astm
aint
enan
cear
eas
Gre
ase
and
oils
and
blas
ted
from
mas
tfra
me
befo
reov
erha
ulm
aint
enan
cean
dre
-pai
ntin
gis
carr
ied
out
Dri
lling
oper
atio
nsD
rilli
ngm
uds
with
ores
cont
aini
nghy
droc
arbo
nsM
ine
Shov
els,
exca
vato
rs,s
crap
ers,
back
hoes
,whe
ello
ader
s,an
dbu
cket
load
ers
Was
teoi
lfro
moi
lcha
nges
tom
ine
equi
pmen
t,sp
illag
esfr
ombr
eakd
own
mai
nten
ance
,blo
wn
hydr
aulic
hose
s,sp
illag
esfr
omre
fuel
ling,
mai
ntai
ning
oila
ndgr
ease
leve
lson
field
equi
pmen
t;em
pty
drum
san
dus
edpr
otec
tive
clot
hing
Mai
nten
ance
Was
hdo
wn
area
sW
ash
dow
nof
mob
ileeq
uipm
ent,
efflu
entc
onta
inin
goi
ls,d
iese
l,gr
ease
,det
erge
nts
and
soil
Hea
vyve
hicl
eeq
uipm
ent
serv
icin
gO
ilan
dfil
ter
chan
ges
onm
obile
equi
pmen
t,w
aste
grea
seco
ntai
ners
,blo
wn
hydr
aulic
hose
s,us
edpr
otec
tive
clot
hing
and
lead
acid
batte
ries
;was
tety
res;
wor
nbr
ake
pads
;sol
vent
for
engi
nepa
rts
clea
ner;
plas
ticdr
ums;
was
teco
olan
t,br
ake
and
tran
smis
sion
fluid
Lig
htve
hicl
ese
rvic
ing
Oil
and
filte
rch
ange
son
mob
ileeq
uipm
ent,
was
tegr
ease
cont
aine
rsan
dle
adac
idba
tteri
es;t
yre
bay
was
tes;
gene
ralw
aste
arou
ndca
rra
mps
;wor
nbr
ake
pads
;sol
vent
brak
ecl
eane
r;so
lven
tfo
ren
gine
part
scl
eane
r;pl
astic
drum
s;w
aste
cool
ant,
brak
eflu
idan
dtr
ansm
issi
onflu
idSe
rvic
ing
pits
Spill
age
duri
ngve
hicl
ese
rvic
ing,
regu
lar
grea
sing
and
clea
ning
outo
fsl
udge
pits
;use
dpr
otec
tive
clot
hing
Wor
ksho
pflo
ors
Spill
age
onto
wor
ksho
pflo
ordu
ring
mai
nten
ance
and
repa
irs,
and
leak
age
and
spill
age
from
oil
stor
age
area
and
from
was
hdo
wn
prac
tices
Oily
was
tew
ater
sepa
rato
rsIn
corr
ectly
desi
gned
orpo
orly
mai
ntai
ned
equi
pmen
tO
ilfil
ter
drai
ning
Spill
ages
arou
ndco
llect
ion
vess
el
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 235
Tabl
e6
(con
tinue
d)
Stag
eof
min
ing
proc
ess
Prac
tice
orsp
ecifi
csi
telo
catio
nTy
pean
dso
urce
ofw
aste
Was
teoi
lsto
rage
Spill
ages
duri
ngst
orag
ean
dtr
ansf
ers
Wor
ksho
pdr
ain
clea
ning
Slud
ge(f
rom
build
-up)
Com
pres
sor
shed
sO
ilch
ange
s,le
akag
es,c
ompr
esso
rcl
ean
dow
n,w
ater
/oil
drai
nage
from
filte
rsan
dai
rre
ceiv
er,
was
hdo
wn
ofco
ncre
teflo
orD
rum
stor
age
area
sL
eaks
/spi
llsfr
omdr
ums,
was
hdo
wn
ofco
ncre
teflo
ors
and
drum
clea
ning
Fuel
supp
lyde
pots
and
infr
astr
uctu
reL
eaks
ofdi
esel
and
gaso
line
(on-
orof
f-si
te),
som
etim
esfr
omun
derg
roun
dsu
pply
pipe
wor
k;re
fuel
ling
leak
s,(o
verfl
ows
and
brok
ense
als)
;sur
face
wat
erru
n-of
fO
ilsu
pply
bays
Spill
sdu
ring
fillin
gof
stor
age
tank
s,fil
ling
ofve
hicl
esan
dm
obile
tank
ers
Equ
ipm
entr
efue
lling
Spill
age
(ove
rfilli
ng)
duri
ngre
fuel
ling
ofeq
uipm
enta
ndse
rvic
ing
truc
ks,l
eaki
ngpu
mps
and
blow
nho
ses
Ups
trea
m(o
rpr
imar
y)pr
oces
sing
Proc
essi
ngpl
ants
Oil
chan
ges
onsc
rubb
ers,
scre
ens
and
conv
eyor
belts
;gre
ase
Cru
sher
area
sD
usts
uppr
essi
onfo
am;g
reas
ean
doi
lsO
resh
ip-
men
t/tra
nspo
rtSt
acke
rs,r
ecla
imer
s,co
nvey
ors,
trai
nlo
adou
tare
asG
reas
ean
dle
aked
oil,
part
icul
arly
hydr
aulic
fluid
Dow
nstr
eam
proc
essi
ngM
illin
g,sm
eltin
g,re
finin
g,pr
epar
atio
nfo
rsa
leM
etal
san
dm
iner
als;
petr
oleu
mhy
droc
arbo
nssp
ills,
soil
and
grou
ndw
ater
cont
amin
atio
nin
part
icul
arfr
omlu
bric
ants
,cut
ting
fluid
s,an
dhy
drau
licflu
ids
a Thi
sis
aco
mpr
ehen
sive
listin
gof
pote
ntia
lsou
rces
and
type
sof
was
tes
obse
rved
atm
inin
gop
erat
ions
duri
ngsi
tevi
sits
byth
eau
thor
.
236 T.F. Guerin
Fig
.8Pe
trol
eum
hydr
ocar
bon
was
tes
incl
udin
gus
edfil
ters
(top
left
)sho
uld
bese
greg
ated
from
othe
rtyp
esof
was
tes.
Unb
unde
dst
orag
eor
inef
fect
ualb
undi
ng(t
opri
ght)
shou
ldbe
rect
ified
tom
eet
appr
opri
ate
indu
stry
stan
dard
s.Sp
illab
sorb
ent
isap
plie
dto
aw
orks
hop
oil
loss
(bot
tom
left
)an
dim
prop
erst
orag
eof
used
oilc
onta
iner
sat
alu
beba
y(b
otto
mri
ght)
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 237
These areas have been dealt with extensively elsewhere and are not discussedfurther in this chapter (Guerin et al. 1994; Guerin 2002).
3.4.4 Fuel and Lubricant Infrastructure Management
A further example of end-of-life management of petroleum hydrocarbons is man-aging aging fuel and lubricant infrastructure and assets. This stage of the life-cycleposes the single biggest financial risk to mining companies from petroleum hydro-carbons. Therefore, the procurement of cost effective and technically proficient envi-ronmental consultants and civil contractors to adequately delineate and remediatecontaminated soil and groundwater, is critical. Furthermore, to minimise the amountof remediation needed, asset integrity testing should also be carried out. Petroleumhydrocarbon suppliers in Australia and the wider Asia Pacific (Oceania) regionhave developed testing specifications that consultants and contractors are requiredto use for soil and groundwater assessment and remediation. Such an approachspecifies the expected outcome or objective of each phase of the assessment is forthe mining operation, enables standardised consultant and contractor performance,produces consistent results across operations and countries, and minimises wastedefforts in ineffective environmental assessments. Petroleum hydrocarbon suppliers,specifically their environmental and remediation teams, therefore have expertisethat may help mining companies ensure that any work done by external partiesto delineate contamination for improved environmental management and closureplanning is effective, and properly estimated and executed. These resources can bedrawn upon by the mine procurement staff as part of the fuel and lubricant supplyagreements.
3.4.5 Fuel and Lubricant Spill Management
Fuel and lubricant suppliers usually have specialised expertise and dedicatedresources for the management of petroleum hydrocarbon spills. Mining operationscan harness this expertise by having their suppliers review on-site spill or disastermanagement plans, purchasing spill kits or related products, and engaging them forco-ordinated disaster management training. These services can be included in sup-ply agreements or procured out of scope of the supply agreement. Suppliers canalso assist audits, develop schedules for testing disaster management programs, andidentify resources that are needed to ensure effective planning.
3.5 An Example of Engagement Between a Fuel and LubricantSupplier and an Australian Mining Company
3.5.1 Background and Rationale
Incorporating environmental considerations into the minerals supply chain, such asthose opportunities described in the preceding sections, requires a willingness for
238 T.F. Guerin
deliberate engagement between the supplier and the mine through focused planningsessions. These planning sessions need to be a collaborative effort by both parties;otherwise, if driven by the supplier only, they could be perceived as simply a moveby the supplier to elicit the provision of more product purchases or services into themine. This section reports an example of how the life-cycle approach was success-fully used by a coal mining company to engage with their fuel and lubricant supplierand improve the environmental performance of its operations.
The mine produces approximately 10 Mt of coal annually and is located in thecentral coastal region of eastern Australia. It has approximately 10 satellite mineswithin approximately 200 km from the mine’s head offices, and is of strategicimportance to the electricity generation industry on the east coast of Australia. Themine’s diesel fuel consumption is approximately 50 ML per year. Lubricant usage isestimated at approximately 2 ML per year.
3.5.2 Engagement Process
Both the supplier and mining operations agreed that there could be value in run-ning an engagement session to systematically identify ways to improve the valueeach party would obtain from the relationship. The existing contract did notpreclude such an engagement process. A half day engagement session was co-ordinated by the supplier on the mine’s site. Participants in the engagement sessionwere the:
• Procurement Manager from mine• Two Operations Personnel from mine• Environmental Officer from mine• Key Account Manager from supplier• Environmental Adviser from supplier• Alternative Fuels Manager from supplier• National Mining Marketing Co-ordinator from supplier
Approximately half an hour was dedicated to brainstorming each of the 4 stagesof the supplied lubricant and fuel product life-cycle (Fig. 5). The remaining 2 h wereused to review and clarify each of the ideas raised and prioritise these as actions.Actions were ranked according to whether they were high, medium or low prior-ity (as agreed by both parties), and accountabilities for the high priority actionswere set.
3.5.3 Engagement Outcomes
Table 7 lists the outcomes from the engagement session.For each of the stages of the life-cycle, the most important issues were captured
and key actions to address these issues were identified. For the supply stages of thelife-cycle, alternative fuels and guaranteed supply of existing fuels were of mostconcern. For storage and distribution, checking compliance to relevant standards
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 239
Tabl
e7
Out
com
esfr
oman
enga
gem
ents
essi
onbe
twee
na
petr
oleu
mhy
droc
arbo
nsu
pplie
ran
da
min
ing
cust
omer
inA
ustr
alia
Stag
eof
hydr
ocar
bon
life-
cycl
eIs
sue
Des
crip
tion
ofid
eas
and
issu
esra
ised
inen
gage
men
tse
ssio
nPr
iori
ty(L
/M/H
)So
lutio
nop
tion/
actio
ns:(
C)=
Cus
tom
eran
d(S
)=
Supp
lier
toac
tion
1.Su
pply
and
proc
urem
ent
Alte
rnat
ive
fuel
The
reis
ane
edto
iden
tify
bio-
dies
elso
urce
sav
aila
ble
toth
em
ine
and
whe
ther
itis
feas
ible
for
the
min
e.T
hefo
llow
ing
issu
esw
ere
rais
ed:
•Im
pact
onpo
wer
,odo
ur,i
mpa
cton
emis
sion
s(l
evel
san
dqu
ality
),co
mpl
ianc
eto
evol
ving
law
s/re
gula
tions
.•
Impa
cton
emis
sion
sis
criti
cali
ssue
.•
Part
icul
ates
wer
eid
entifi
edas
criti
cali
ssue
s.•
Whe
ther
orno
talte
rnat
ive
fuel
sw
ould
low
eren
gine
life.
H•
Con
duct
tria
lson
biof
uels
(C).
•R
egul
ator
ych
ange
sto
bem
onito
red
(C).
•A
nyne
wal
tern
ativ
efu
els
toha
vete
stin
gpr
ior
tosu
pply
toas
sess
the
impa
cton
emis
sion
s(S
)as
wel
las
perf
orm
ance
impa
ctas
sess
ed(S
).
Gua
rant
eeof
supp
lySe
curi
tyof
supp
ly/a
vaila
bilit
yof
prod
uct:
The
follo
win
gis
sues
wer
era
ised
:•
Con
solid
atin
gth
epu
rcha
sing
ofot
her
chem
ical
sw
ithpe
trol
eum
hydr
ocar
bons
.•
Iden
tified
the
impo
rtan
ceof
unde
rsta
ndin
gw
hatb
ack-
uppl
ans
are
ther
eto
ensu
rese
curi
tyof
fuel
and
lubr
ican
tsup
ply
toth
ecu
stom
erin
futu
re.
HPr
iori
tyof
this
issu
eno
ted
Del
iver
yT
hefo
llow
ing
issu
esw
ere
rais
ed:
•Id
entif
yif
road
tran
spor
tis
the
best
/onl
yw
ayof
supp
lyin
gpr
oduc
tto
the
site
s•
Asc
erta
inth
esu
pply
foot
prin
t(i.e
.,to
tal
envi
ronm
enta
lcos
tof
supp
lyin
gof
prod
uct)
.•
Ack
now
ledg
edth
atda
mag
eddr
ums
wer
ele
adin
gto
envi
ronm
enta
lris
ksac
ross
the
site
s.•
Iden
tified
need
toas
cert
ain
iffu
elun
load
ing
isA
S19
40:2
004
com
plia
nt.
MN
oted
.Can
dS
agre
edth
atth
ese
wou
ldre
quir
eat
tent
ion
inth
eco
ntra
ct
240 T.F. Guerin
Tabl
e7
(con
tinue
d)
Stag
eof
hydr
ocar
bon
life-
cycl
eIs
sue
Des
crip
tion
ofid
eas
and
issu
esra
ised
inen
gage
men
tse
ssio
nPr
iori
ty(L
/M/H
)So
lutio
nop
tion/
actio
ns:(
C)=
Cus
tom
eran
d(S
)=
Supp
lier
toac
tion
Proc
urem
ent
proc
ess
Min
eac
know
ledg
edth
ene
edto
influ
ence
supp
liers
(usi
ngne
wsa
fety
,env
iron
men
talr
egul
atio
nsan
dco
ntro
ls).
The
follo
win
gis
sues
wer
era
ised
:•
Min
imis
epa
per
(req
uire
dto
have
fuel
san
dlu
bes
deliv
ered
).•
Com
plex
ityof
proc
urem
entp
roce
ss(e
lect
roni
cda
tain
terf
ace—
Qua
drem
).
MIn
vest
igat
ein
trod
uctio
nof
Qua
drem
—an
elec
tron
ictr
adin
gm
ediu
m(C
&S)
2.St
orag
ean
din
tern
aldi
stri
butio
nC
ompl
ianc
eT
hem
ine
iden
tified
the
need
toas
cert
ain
if:
•th
ere
was
scop
ew
ithin
the
fuel
supp
lyco
ntra
ctfo
rco
nduc
ting
inte
grity
test
ing
ofta
nker
and
chec
king
com
plia
nce
AS
1940
:200
4.•
the
supp
lier
was
audi
ting
the
fuel
faci
litie
sat
the
min
e(w
asno
tkno
wn
byth
em
ine
ifth
isw
asth
eca
se).
H•
Supp
lier
has
anad
viso
ryro
le(S
).•
Ext
erna
laud
itsre
quir
edev
ery
3ye
ars
acco
rdin
gto
the
min
e’s
own
audi
ting
requ
irem
ents
(C).
•In
tern
alen
viro
nmen
talc
ompl
ianc
e,in
clud
ing
late
stve
rsio
nof
AS
1940
:200
4(C
).
Prod
uct
hand
ling
Safe
tyan
dE
nvir
onm
enta
lris
kof
mov
ing
prod
uct:
Aso
lutio
nco
uld
bein
pipi
ngpr
oduc
t•
Min
imal
hand
ling
ofpr
oduc
tssh
ould
bea
goal
atth
em
ine.
•H
SEco
mpl
ianc
ew
ithre
gard
sto
mov
ing
prod
uct(
e.g.
,haz
ardo
us).
•T
here
isa
need
topr
ovid
etr
aini
ngfo
rke
ype
rson
nela
tmin
esi
tes
onda
nger
ous
good
sm
anag
emen
t.•
Pipi
nglo
ngw
allfl
uid
toth
eun
derg
roun
dm
ine
(i.e
.,ge
tting
prod
uctt
om
ine
face
)co
uld
redu
cem
anua
lhan
dlin
gof
20L
cont
aine
rs.
H•
20L
oilc
onta
iner
sto
betr
ansp
orte
din
self
-bun
ded
palle
ts(C
&S)
.•
Mov
eto
bulk
(to
deve
lop
pay
back
scen
ario
,nee
dto
unde
rtak
ea
bene
fitco
stan
alys
is(C
&S)
.•
Inve
stig
ate
trai
ning
optio
nsfo
rm
achi
neop
erat
ors
(C&
S).
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 241
Tabl
e7
(con
tinue
d)
Stag
eof
hydr
ocar
bon
life-
cycl
eIs
sue
Des
crip
tion
ofid
eas
and
issu
esra
ised
inen
gage
men
tse
ssio
nPr
iori
ty(L
/M/H
)So
lutio
nop
tion/
actio
ns:(
C)=
Cus
tom
eran
d(S
)=
Supp
lier
toac
tion
Stor
age
faci
litie
sM
ine
requ
este
din
form
atio
non
best
met
hods
for
stor
age
incl
udin
gbu
lkta
nks,
effic
ienc
yof
prod
uct
use
onsi
te,u
nder
grou
ndst
orag
efo
rbu
lklu
bric
ants
,por
tabl
eun
derg
roun
ddi
esel
tank
s,an
din
crea
sed
avai
labi
lity
offle
et
MN
oted
.Sup
plie
rto
prov
ide
best
prac
tise
info
rmat
ion
(S)
3.U
sean
dse
rvic
ing
Env
iron
men
tal
cont
ami-
natio
n
Con
tam
inat
ion
ofth
een
viro
nmen
tfro
mpe
trol
eum
hydr
ocar
bons
•M
inim
isin
gsp
ills
and
was
tage
.•
Spill
ages
from
use
and
hand
ling
onsi
te.
•D
uedi
ligen
cean
dco
ntam
inat
edgr
ound
wat
er/s
oil.
•L
iabi
lity
aris
ing
from
cont
amin
atio
n.•
Em
ulsi
on:W
here
does
itgo
?C
ould
goto
grou
ndw
ater
and
soil.
•H
owm
uch
soil
and
grou
ndw
ater
cont
amin
atio
nis
atth
ecu
stom
ersi
tes?
M-H
Not
ed
242 T.F. Guerin
Tabl
e7
(con
tinue
d)
Stag
eof
hydr
ocar
bon
life-
cycl
eIs
sue
Des
crip
tion
ofid
eas
and
issu
esra
ised
inen
gage
men
tse
ssio
nPr
iori
ty(L
/M/H
)So
lutio
nop
tion/
actio
ns:(
C)=
Cus
tom
eran
d(S
)=
Supp
lier
toac
tion
Prod
uctc
on-
tam
inat
ion
On
site
cont
amin
atio
nof
lubr
ican
tsan
dot
her
fluid
s•
Wro
ngpr
oduc
tgoi
ngin
toa
mac
hine
.•
Coa
lcon
tam
inat
ion
inlu
bric
ants
.•
Prod
uctc
lean
lines
sis
ahi
ghpr
iori
tyin
cons
tric
ted
unde
rgro
und
envi
ronm
ent.
•H
ave
lubr
ican
tcle
anlin
ess
asse
ssm
entb
een
cond
ucte
d?•
Bre
athe
rson
bulk
and
1,00
0L
stor
age—
have
they
been
asse
ssed
?
M-H
•U
pgra
dew
orks
hops
tobu
lk(C
).•
Tra
inin
gfo
rm
ine
staf
fin
min
imis
ing
lubr
ican
tcon
tam
inat
ion
(C&
S).
•M
inim
ise
the
num
ber
oflu
bric
ant
grad
es(C
&S)
.•
Red
uce
lubr
icat
ion
cont
amin
atio
npo
ints
(e.g
.,br
eath
ers)
.•
Stor
age
faci
litie
sup
grad
e(u
sebe
stpr
actis
e)(C
).•
Dru
ms
colo
urs
shou
ldbe
such
that
itis
mor
edi
fficu
ltfo
rop
erat
ors
tous
ein
corr
ectfl
uids
(C&
S).
•M
ine
wan
ted
tokn
owif
lubr
ican
tsco
uld
bela
unde
red
(S).
•H
owca
nw
ater
bepr
even
ted
from
ente
ring
into
oili
nm
achi
nes
(S)?
Prod
uct
ratio
nali-
satio
n
Red
ucin
gnu
mbe
rof
prod
ucts
onsi
te•
Lub
rica
ntsu
rvey
tode
term
ine
best
fitof
prod
ucts
topl
ant.
•C
annu
mbe
rof
prod
ucts
used
best
ream
lined
?•
Prod
ucti
dent
ifica
tion:
wid
era
nge
ofoi
lsan
dlu
bric
ants
onsi
te—
need
mat
eria
lsan
dM
SDS
regi
ster
upda
tes
•D
oes
cust
omer
have
ast
rate
gic
mai
nten
ance
prog
ram
and
does
itin
clud
elu
bric
antt
ypes
,lub
elo
ngev
ityst
udie
s,an
doi
lch
ange
outf
requ
ency
asse
ssm
ent?
MSu
pplie
rlu
bric
ante
ngin
eer
toup
date
and/
orco
mpl
ete
site
lube
surv
eys
and
iden
tify
oppo
rtun
ities
tora
tiona
lise
grad
es(S
)
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 243Ta
ble
7(c
ontin
ued)
Stag
eof
hydr
ocar
bon
life-
cycl
eIs
sue
Des
crip
tion
ofid
eas
and
issu
esra
ised
inen
gage
men
tse
ssio
nPr
iori
ty(L
/M/H
)So
lutio
nop
tion/
actio
ns:(
C)=
Cus
tom
eran
d(S
)=
Supp
lier
toac
tion
4.E
ndof
life
man
agem
ent
Use
doi
l•
The
min
edo
esno
thav
ean
yre
conc
iliat
ion
proc
ess
for
dete
rmin
ing
the
mas
sba
lanc
eof
lubr
ican
tsac
ross
the
min
e.•
Asi
ngle
was
tem
anag
emen
tcon
trac
tor
for
colle
ctio
nan
ddi
spos
alof
was
teoi
ls,d
rum
s,sp
illed
fuel
,filte
rs,o
ilra
gs,h
ydro
carb
onw
aste
,an
dgr
ease
shou
ldbe
cons
ider
ed.
HT
his
link
sto
was
tere
mov
alan
dst
orag
e(b
elow
)
Dru
man
dco
ntai
ner
disp
osal
(was
tere
mov
al)
Rem
oval
and
man
agem
ento
fco
ntai
ners
:seg
rega
tion
ofhy
droc
arbo
nw
aste
and
gene
ralw
aste
•D
ispo
salo
fus
edfil
ters
.•
Sepa
ratio
n/so
rtin
gof
was
tepr
oduc
tsis
anis
sue
for
the
min
e.•
Dru
mdi
spos
alis
anis
sue
(con
solid
atio
nto
bulk
pods
coul
dre
duce
this
prob
lem
).•
Dru
mcr
ushe
rha
spo
tent
ialf
orsa
fety
issu
esat
the
min
e.•
20L
drum
and
filte
rdr
aini
ngin
wor
ksho
pca
usin
gco
ntam
inat
ion
ofoi
l.
M•
Mas
sba
lanc
eas
sess
men
tand
repo
rtin
gne
eded
atm
ine
(C&
S).
•Su
pplie
rto
cons
ider
cert
ifyi
ngus
edoi
lhan
dlin
gco
ntra
ctor
s(S
).•
Oil
wat
erse
para
tor
atm
ine:
inve
stig
ate
upgr
adin
g(C
).•
Hav
ea
sing
lew
aste
rem
oval
cont
ract
or(C
)•
Dru
ms:
Segr
egat
eus
eddr
ums
from
gene
ralw
aste
,rem
ove
drum
crus
her,
redu
cedr
ums
bygo
ing
tobu
lk(C
)•
Dru
ms:
Supp
lier
tosu
pply
cont
act
deta
ilsfo
rre
cycl
ers:
Sim
sM
etal
(S).
•U
sed
oilfi
lters
requ
ires
disp
osal
(C&
S).
•H
ascu
stom
erdo
nea
was
tem
anag
emen
taud
it(C
)?W
aste
stor
age
Ded
icat
edus
edoi
lsto
rage
•M
ixin
gof
oilc
onta
min
ated
was
tew
ithot
her
was
tes.
•U
sed
hydr
ocar
bon
tank
sth
atca
nbe
used
toco
llect
was
teoi
lspi
llson
site
usin
gcu
stom
erpe
rson
nel.
MN
oted
244 T.F. Guerin
and laws and product handling were the most important issues. For the use andservicing stage of the life-cycle, contamination of the environment and of product(i.e., of lubricants) was the most important issue, and for the end-of-life managementstage, waste oil was the most important issue. There were several issues that wereraised by the mine that related to the operation of the fuel and lubricants contract.These included: the mine inquiring as to which party was responsible for auditingthe fuel and lubricant facilities; discussion regarding improving manual handling of20 L drums at the mine; and the need for training of operators particularly in relationto product handing and cleanliness. In summary, the outcomes were identification ofa range of actions, by both the supplier and the mine, to address the highest priorityissues. Actions were followed through as part of normal engagement between themine and supplier.
4 Barriers to Optimising the Contribution of Suppliers
The chapter highlights opportunities where petroleum hydrocarbon suppliers canwork with mining companies to help them work towards a sustainable developmentagenda, including the provision of specific products and services that add significantenvironmental value (Table 8).
However, there are barriers to getting such initiatives embedded at mining oper-ations as has been identified earlier in the chapter. There are technical barriers toimplementing supplier-driven environmental improvements in the mining supplychain. However, the most difficult barriers, are those relating to changing culturein both the supplier and mining customer businesses. Mining companies need toappreciate and value suppliers, products, and/or services that will or can contributematerially to the achievement of their goals for long-term, sustainable operationof their mines. Such an appreciation is reflected in collaboration between suppli-ers and contractors that includes the engagement planning sessions described pre-viously. While collaboration can be considered the driving force behind effectivesupply chain management, there is still limited evidence that companies have trulycapitalised on its potential. This is a challenge for the mining industry, which inthis regard is considerably behind other industries such as the food, automotive, andelectronics industries.
There are other barriers that will limit the implementation of examples describedin the preceding sections of this chapter. The lack of an understanding by suppliersthat their long term commitment to a mining operation is critical. Such commitmentwill require ongoing relationship management and a 2-way commitment to improvethe value provided back to the supplier and through to the mining operation. Thechallenge is for the supplier to remain engaged and not lose interest or margin. Alsothe perceived benefits of stakeholder engagement along the supplied product life-cycle can be intangible, with only limited direct evidence of impact on financialperformance. The challenge for suppliers is to demonstrate the financial value in allthe offerings provided to the mining company, in addition to the benefits that helpthe mining company become more sustainable.
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 245
Tabl
e8
Spec
ific
oppo
rtun
ities
toen
hanc
een
d-of
-lif
em
anag
emen
tof
petr
oleu
mhy
droc
arbo
nw
aste
sat
min
esi
tesa
Stra
tegy
Exa
mpl
esof
tech
nolo
gies
,inn
ovat
ions
orpr
actis
e(s)
whi
chca
nbe
prov
ided
bysu
pplie
rs
Prev
entio
nSt
rate
gies
toim
prov
em
aint
enan
cepl
anni
ngan
dsc
hedu
ling
(e.g
.,pr
even
tativ
em
aint
enan
ceto
enha
nce
oill
ife
inpl
anta
ndre
duce
wea
r)Se
greg
atio
nof
was
tes
ascl
ose
toth
epo
into
for
igin
aspo
ssib
le(e
.g.,
keep
ing
cont
amin
ated
was
teoi
lsse
para
tean
dco
ntam
inat
edgr
ease
from
unco
ntam
inat
edgr
ease
)Q
uick
rele
ase
coup
lings
onst
orag
eve
ssel
sfo
rfa
cilit
atin
glo
adin
gan
dun
load
ing
Use
ofva
cuum
pum
psto
evac
uate
engi
nes,
gear
boxe
s,di
ffer
entia
ls,a
ndfix
edpl
antt
hrou
ghac
cess
(dra
in)
poin
tsSp
illco
ntai
nmen
tpal
lets
that
hold
2×
205
Lor
4×
205
Ldr
ums
for
tem
pora
ryst
orag
eH
andl
ing
equi
pmen
tfor
empt
yan
dfu
ll20
5L
drum
sfo
rim
prov
eder
gono
mic
s/ef
ficie
ncy
Use
prod
uctt
anks
that
have
inte
gral
seco
ndar
yco
ntai
nmen
t,va
cuum
gene
rato
rpu
mp
syst
em,v
acuu
mga
uges
(for
tran
sfer
sto
colle
ctio
nve
ssel
),bu
ndin
g(i
.e.,
toca
ptur
ele
aks
orsp
illag
es),
and
colo
urco
ding
tom
inim
ise
mix
ing
prod
ucts
Kee
ping
prod
ucts
tora
gear
eas
away
from
wat
erru
noff
Effi
cien
t(m
anua
l)re
fillin
gof
engi
nes
with
oilt
om
inim
ise
was
tage
from
spill
ages
Red
uctio
nan
dA
utom
atic
disp
ensi
ngof
grea
seto
spec
ified
lubr
icat
ion
poin
tson
plan
tto
min
imis
elo
sses
and
incr
ease
effic
ienc
yof
use
min
imis
atio
nU
seof
bulk
cont
aine
rsfo
rpu
rcha
seof
chem
ical
san
dpe
trol
eum
hydr
ocar
bons
Mob
ileoi
ldra
inin
gsy
stem
s(i
.e.,
tank
son
whe
els)
for
wor
ksho
ps20
5L
drum
funn
els
for
impr
ovin
gha
ndlin
gof
was
teoi
lsto
min
imis
esp
lash
ing
incl
udin
glo
ckab
lefu
nnel
sfo
rim
prov
edse
curi
tyfo
ren
suri
ngse
greg
atio
nO
iltr
ansf
ers
usin
gpu
mps
e.g.
,vac
uum
pum
pson
truc
ksto
avoi
dm
anua
lhan
dlin
g
246 T.F. Guerin
Tabl
e8
(con
tinue
d)
Stra
tegy
Exa
mpl
esof
tech
nolo
gies
,inn
ovat
ions
orpr
actis
e(s)
whi
chca
nbe
prov
ided
bysu
pplie
rs
Reu
se,r
ecyc
ling
and
reco
very
On-
site
oilfi
lteri
ngan
doi
llau
nder
ing
Reu
seof
was
teoi
lin
expl
osiv
espr
oduc
tion
(e.g
.,am
mon
ium
nitr
ate
fuel
oilo
rA
NFO
)R
euse
ofw
aste
gear
oili
nlo
wer
valu
eap
plic
atio
nssu
chas
chai
noi
lB
lend
ing
used
oili
nto
fuel
(e.g
.,us
ing
was
teoi
las
adi
esel
exte
nder
for
use
inbu
rner
sor
indi
esel
engi
nes
and
indu
stri
alan
dsp
ace
heat
ers,
whe
reap
prop
riat
e/al
low
able
)R
epro
cess
ing
(off
-site
)of
used
oilt
opr
oduc
eba
seoi
l(hy
drau
lican
dge
aroi
ls)
Tre
atm
enta
nddi
spos
alSe
para
tion
and
reco
very
ofoi
lfro
moi
lyw
aste
wat
erT
reat
men
tof
oily
was
tew
ater
usin
gbi
otre
ator
sU
seof
com
post
ing
for
trea
tmen
tof
biod
egra
dabl
eso
lidan
dse
mi-
solid
was
tes
cont
aini
ngpe
trol
eum
hydr
ocar
bons
(suc
has
slud
ges)
Use
ofbi
odeg
rada
ble
cellu
lose
fibre
for
abso
rbin
gsp
ills
aT
hese
tech
nolo
gies
are
now
avai
labl
eco
mm
erci
ally
and
are
com
mon
lyus
edin
Aus
tral
iaan
dot
her
deve
lope
dco
untr
ies.
Environmental Performance in the Minerals Supply Chain 247
Integrating life-cycle considerations into the purchasing process at a minerequires a commercial decision by the supplier to provide the necessary resourcesand linkages with its mining customer to ensure the value of both products andservices is delivered. This should involve sharing of information between environ-mental managers or their equivalent between each organisation.
Corporate and or mine procurement groups and other critical decision mak-ers within mining companies may not recognise their role in implementing theenvironmental and sustainable development goals of their company in a commer-cial context. Procurement staff require training and awareness of these issues. Keyperformance indicators need to be set by senior mine management to emphasisethe importance of environmental or sustainable development concerns or values inpurchasing decisions.
It is this last point that presents a challenge to the conventional negotiation pro-cess, and is currently the major hurdle to mining companies obtaining potentialvalue from petroleum hydrocarbon suppliers. It is also this point where there areconsiderable opportunities for improvement. Much work is yet to be done to edu-cate supply and procurement staff to the business value of close engagement withsuppliers. Both suppliers and mine staff need to take time to broaden the relation-ship between their organisations so that opportunities to improve the environmentalperformance of the supply chain can be explored more comprehensively for theirparticular mining operation.
5 Conclusions and Recommendations
In relation to sustainable development in the mining industry, suppliers have a piv-otal, though often unrecognised role in enabling mining industries to achieve theirgoals. Suppliers can enhance sustainable mining practises by helping operationsbecome more efficient in their use of supplied products and input resources; thisleads to improved business as well as environmental performance. In particular,petroleum hydrocarbon suppliers can help drive mining company performance toreduce fuel and lubricant use and therefore costs, to optimise the value gained fromthe supplied products, and to extend the life of products, and to ensure used productsare recycled or reprocessed efficiently. Suppliers have specialised knowledge, andthere are numerous examples of how they can assist mining customers throughoutthe life of the supplied petroleum hydrocarbons. A survey we conducted under-scores the important perceived role of suppliers to the mining industry in relation tosustainable development and corporate responsibility objectives.
Opportunities for improving petroleum hydrocarbon management at each stageof the life-cycle will require close interaction between the supplier and the respon-sible mining operations and corporate personnel. To ascertain the potential benefitsfrom any or all of the above stages of the petroleum hydrocarbon life-cycle at a mine,focused assessment across a mine is the first step. While there are numerous oppor-tunities for a mining operation to enhance its own move towards sustainable devel-opment in relation to petroleum hydrocarbons, there are real barriers entrenched in
248 T.F. Guerin
the way in which suppliers are currently engaged. These barriers will need to beovercome before the benefits of closer engagement with suppliers, to sustainabledevelopment will be realised.
The author’s recommendations for overcoming these barriers are:
• Increase the time planned for and dedicated to engagement between suppliersand mining companies. This should be linked with a focused engagement sessionbetween each major supplier and mining company to identify opportunities.
• Establish key performance indicators for supply and procurement personnel toensure they are systematically exploring opportunities to incorporate environ-mental improvements into purchasing decisions.
• Proactive engagement needs to be undertaken by suppliers to ensure that miningcompanies are aware of the opportunities for improving environmental perfor-mance of their supply chain.
A relatively small investment in time and resources to engage with suppliersthrough engagement and planning sessions can provide a useful platform for identi-fying, discussing, and developing joint actions to address issues that directly affecta mining operation’s objectives for sustainable development and corporate respon-sibility.
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