The Coalition for Energy Efficient Comminution (CEEC) has announced new sponsorship from base and precious metals mining company, Hudbay Minerals Inc.

Hudbay, a diversified mining company producing copper, zinc, gold and silver, owns three polymetallic mines, four ore concentrators and a zinc production facility in Canada and Peru (Constancia, pictured), as well as copper projects in the US. Its vision is to be a responsible, top-tier operator of long-life, low-cost mines in the Americas, CEEC says.

CEEC CEO, Alison Keogh, said that with growing global demand for minerals such as copper to support the shift towards low-carbon technologies, the need for lower footprint mineral processing was becoming even more critical.

“Rock crushing and grinding can typically account for more than half of a mine’s energy consumption,” she said. “By working together as an industry to understand and optimise comminution challenges, we have the opportunity to improve efficiency and environmental outcomes.

“We’re delighted that Hudbay has joined our list of visionary sponsors, each committed to collaborating with CEEC’s global network of miners, suppliers and researchers to advance efficient, cost-effective, lower footprint mining.”

Peter Amelunxen, Hudbay Vice President of Technical Services, said increasing performance and delivering sustainable value involves a combination of operational know-how and technical sophistication.

“We recognise that collaboration with CEEC is a positive step in our commitment to continuous improvement.”

Amelunxen said Hudbay was particularly interested in “adding a metric to our success” by contributing to the CEEC Energy Curves database. This free tool allows users to benchmark the energy efficiency of sites and visually assess potential energy and cost benefits through various operational scenarios.

“We’ve always approached what we do in terms of improving cost and energy efficiencies,” he said. “However, we’re most excited about using the Energy Curves to quantify, pound for pound, the energy reduction piece.

“This will help inform our decisions around targeted enhancements to existing sites and plan best practice operations in future mines. The bottom line is that this tool will enable us to demonstrate how we are improving environmental management while also improving returns for shareholders.”

David Clarry, Hudbay Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility, said data sharing through the CEEC Energy Curves, and broader initiatives such as participation in the CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project), were important for the industry.

“By being transparent and sharing knowledge, we can learn from each other and find novel approaches for achieving environmental benefits in a cost-effective way,” Clarry said. “Tapping into all the resources that CEEC offers gives us cutting-edge learnings so we can continue to pursue economically viable opportunities to improve energy efficiencies, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and better manage climate-related risks.”

Keogh said with the COVID-19 pandemic affecting many businesses around the world, Hudbay’s sponsorship during this time was commendable.

“As a lean, virtual not-for-profit, we thank all our sponsors for their continued support during this period of uncertainty,” she said. “This ongoing commitment will help CEEC and the industry to weather the storm and come out stronger and more sustainable on the other side.”