Foran Mining has announced its McIlvenna Bay development has become the world’s first carbon-neutral copper project.
The Vancouver-based company’s project is located in east-central Saskatchewan, Canada, about 65km west of the mining town of Flin Flon.
Foran said its latest milestone at the site has been achieved following the completion of carbon offset purchases to offset emissions from exploration activities undertaken at the deposit over the past 10 years.
“Mining is critical to the advancement of the global economy and our collective ambitions of decarbonisation,” said Dan Myerson, Foran’s executive chair. “It is for this reason that we need to ensure that we are doing everything we can to produce the essential materials we need for a low-carbon future, such as copper and zinc in our case, in the most responsible way possible.
“Our actions taken to date – in offsetting the carbon emitted in the exploration phase, to ensure that the entire impact of the project from day one of development, through to operations, to eventual closure is carbon neutral – evidence our commitment to zero harm, not only because it is the right thing to do for the environment and people alike but also because there is a wealth of research that clearly demonstrates that sustainable, responsible businesses have greater corporate longevity and create superior returns for shareholders, stakeholders and society in the long term.”
Foran’s McIlvenna Bay project will provide revenue for two offset developments
Foran’s goal is to build the first mine in Canada designed to be carbon neutral from day one of production, with its McIlvenna Bay project currently in the feasibility stage of development.
Its copper-zinc-gold-silver rich volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit is intended to be the centre of a new mining camp in a district that has been producing for 100 years.
The deposit, which is estimated to hold 22.95 million tonnes of indicated resources, starts 25m below the surface extending downward to about 2km. It contains five zones with structurally modified, stratiform, volcanogenic, polymetallic massive sulphide mineralisation and associated stringer style mineralisation.
Foran said the total emissions for 2011-2020, including land-use changes, fuel use for exploration and travel-related emissions, was 5,745 tonnes of CO2. The emissions measurement was conducted in alignment with the ISO 14064-1 standard and GHG Protocol Corporate Standard.
The carbon purchases transaction will provide revenue for two offset projects – the Kariba Forest Protection project in Zimbabwe and the NL Climate and Ecosystems Conservancy Project in Canada.
