A ‘first-of-its-kind’ trial for Rio Tinto

A recent trial has seen renewable diesel successfully operate a network of ports, railways and iron ore mines owned by Rio Tinto in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

The trial, which took place over a four-week period in January and February, was conducted by Rio Tinto in partnership with Neste, a sustainable fuel producer, and Viva Energy, an Australian fuel supplier.

The trial saw Neste provide 10 million litres of renewable diesel from used cooking oil, which was shipped from Singapore to Rio Tinto’s Parker Point fuel terminal in Dampier, WA by Viva.

The liquid was blended with fossil diesel to create a mix of about 20 per cent of renewable diesel. It was then distributed across Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore operations for use in rail, marine, blasting, haul trucks, surface mining equipment and light vehicles. 

Using the renewable diesel reduced Rio Tinto’s Scope 1 emissions by about 27,000 tonnes of direct greenhouse gas emissions. The trial was described as “the first of its kind” for the company.

“Diesel makes up about 70 per cent of the total carbon emissions from our Pilbara iron ore operations,” Rio Tinto managing director rail, port and core services Richard Cohen said.

“While electrification is the ultimate longer-term solution for repowering the majority of our fleet, we’re also exploring biofuels as a complementary and nearer-term solution.

“Through this trial with Neste and Viva Energy, we’ve gained valuable insights into how renewable diesel can help bridge the gap to widespread electrification as well as for circumstances where electrification may not be suitable.”

The successful trial follows Rio Tinto successfully transitioning its Kennecott copper mine in Utah to renewable diesel, positioning it among the lowest-carbon copper producers in the US. The transition has seen 11 per cent of Kennecott’s total global fossil diesel consumption replaced with renewable diesel.

The major miner is also developing seed farms in Queensland to evaluate the potential of Pongamia seed oil as a feedstock for renewable diesel.

Subscribe to Australian Mining and receive the latest news on product announcements, industry developments, commodities and more.