BHP Group Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, is investing in technology that uses surges of electricity to shatter rocks in a bid to cut energy usage and carbon emissions at mines.
(Bloomberg) — BHP Group Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, is investing in technology that uses surges of electricity to shatter rocks in a bid to cut energy usage and carbon emissions at mines.
The Melbourne-based firm has taken a stake in I-ROX, a pulsed-power venture owned by Robert Friedland’s I-Pulse Inc.
and a European fund tied to Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the companies said Monday without disclosing the size of the investment.
BHP will work with I-ROX to speed development of a technology that uses short, high-intensity bursts of power to streamline crushing and grinding, processes that make up the most energy-intensive and expensive part of mining.
A similar arrangement was struck with I-Pulse to identify new applications, such as in mineral exploration, drilling, tunnel boring and blasting.
The deal is big mining’s latest investment in applications that could help decarbonize steps of the mineral extraction process.
Cleaning up mines is key for gaining social acceptance for expansions needed to feed metals like copper to power grids and car fleets around the world in the move away from fossil fuels.
–With assistance from Thomas Biesheuvel.
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