- Bonnie Glaister & Dr Gavin Mudd, Monash University
Copper mining was Australia’s first major metal mining industry - a decade before the gold rush of the 1850’s. Since this time Australia has maintained an important role in copper mining, including technological innovation and more recently through discovery of major copper deposits (eg. Olympic Dam). Although the basic concepts involved in copper smelting and refining processes have evolved since the early 1800’s, the basic principles of energy consumption still remain the same. In order to understand the potential efficiency of future copper smelting technology, it is important to understand the historical changes in energy consumption to produce copper. It is possible to apply modern methods used to estimate energy inputs and emissions such as greenhouse gases to old copper projects.
In this study we compile and analyse a range of data for major Australian copper mines and smelters, including Burra, Mt Lyell, Mt Morgan and Mt Isa. The efficiency is estimated in terms of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of copper produced for specific process stages such as a smelter, refinery or mine. The results are then compared to modern copper projects and their respective energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Overall, backcasting the efficiency of technology is an important part of the solution in projecting the role and sustainability of future technologies, especially with regards to the potential to find methods to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.