Integrated Report 2021
Exxaro Resources limited
Environmental, social and governance report 2021
Air quality management is among our top priorities from an operational, social and regulatory perspective. Air quality impacts from opencast mining emanates from construction and vehicle activity on unpaved roads can impact air quality due to the release of pollutants, dust and other particulate matter, including PM10 and PM2.5. At our operations, this can impact visibility and pose safety, health and hygiene risks. We are responsible to our host communities to provide a dust-free environment. A fundamental responsibility of our licence to operate is managing air quality through complying with the National Environmental Management Air Quality Act, 2005 and other relevant regulations. Our pollution prevention plans also support Exxaro's goal to become carbon neutral, as they target a reduction in CO2 emissions linked to energy use.
We uphold our licence to operate through:
We aim to go beyond compliance to provide a pollution-free environment for our people and communities.
Managing air quality ranges from our operational approach of prevention and mitigation, to engaging with communities. These measures include:
Our air quality management system and systematic risk-based air quality management planning at our BUs ensure effective application of these measures, compliance with regulatory and stakeholder expectations, incorporation of future mine development changes and continuous reassessment. We conduct detailed reviews of our air quality impact assessments and air quality monitoring programmes at each BU.
We engage with our host communities to improve our stakeholders' air pollution awareness. This is presented through awareness and educational campaigns. In 2021, we embarked on improving stakeholder relations through increased engagements with interested and affected stakeholders at Matla and Leeuwpan to discuss air quality matters.
Exxaro has an AEL for the Grootegeluk reductants plant. As this plant is not operational, there is no performance reporting for disclosure. Furthermore, our renewable energy business's windfarm operations are not considered sources of atmospheric pollutants and therefore we currently do not monitor, measure or report air quality information for them.
The executive head: sustainability is responsible for setting our air quality policies, procedures and mechanisms. The mine manager is accountable for allocating capital, implementing projects and monitoring our impact.
| Objectives | Critical success factors | Method | Progress | ||||||
Progressively reduce our air quality emissions within our operating boundary |
Reduction in dust fallout and PM10 levels in all our operations |
Dust fallout levels and PM10 concentrations reduced by applying best practice mitigation measures such as wet and chemical suppression of dust with continuous research and development of new dust suppression and air pollution mitigation technologies |
A reduction in dust emissions in our operations with increased compliance with the residential and non-residential dust fallout limits |
We continued to implement our air quality initiatives, expanding our monitoring and improving our approach systematically. We maintain our target of monitoring 100% at all operations, while increasing our monitoring networks to cover as much area as possible, and to continuously increase the granularity of the data we collect. We installed multi-monitors at Grootegeluk to deepen our understanding of the mine's impact on the surrounding environment.
As per regulatory requirements, we actively measure dust and other particulates, given their materiality and impact on employees and communities. However, committed to going beyond compliance, we continuously evaluate our material air quality issues. We are currently investigating our capacity to monitor the broader spectrum of emissions, such as methane, sulphur oxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx), in real time. We determine and report methane as fugitive emissions using an empirical estimated method and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emission factor for coal mining and handling.
| Goal | Target | Progress | ||||
| Continuous dust fallout monitoring at all BUs |
100% of all operations |
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| Initiating and continuously monitoring PM10 at all BUs |
100% of all operations |
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| Meteorological monitoring to ensure availability of surface data for temperature, wind direction and wind speed (critical for dispersion modelling, baseline characterisation, ambient monitoring design, dust fallout monitoring and reporting, among others) |
100% of all operations |
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| Ensuring compliance with dust fallout limits and air quality standards |
Level below the regulated levels |
All BUs currently monitor dust fallout and PM10 and results are assessed for compliance with National Dust Control Regulations and National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM10 |
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| Air quality awareness and education campaigns for various stakeholders |
Quarterly |
Undertook engagements on air quality with relevant communities, and increased engagements with interested and affected stakeholders at Matla and Leeuwpan in 2021. COVID-19 affected the number of engagements that we normally hold in the year. |
Our opencast mining activities (drilling, blasting, crushing, screening, transportation, materials handling, and windswept storage piles and exposed areas) unavoidably generate dust. We consistently enhance our mitigation measures to reduce the significant impacts on the environment. For example, in 2021 we introduced new additives to the water to enhance the effectiveness of the wet suppression and decrease the frequency of water suppression required.
Our mitigation measures include:
Our mining operations monitor dust fallout rates and the results are assessed in terms of residential and non-residential limits outlined in the National Dust Control Regulations, where two non-residential exceedances are permitted per operation per year (not within sequential months). Although our operations must comply with non-residential limits, some activities are close to residential areas or sensitive receptors. Therefore, we aim to minimise the impact of our operations on nearby residents.
Due to our effective dust suppression measures, the dust fallout rate at most of our operations complied with the regulated residential and non-residential limits in 2021.
In 2021, no exceedances within sequential months of the residential limit and industrial limit were recorded in the measuring points located within the community or residential receptors.
During the year, there were six exceedances (not within sequential months), namely:
Dust fallout exceedances
* Non-sequential months (January, August, September)
# Mine in closure
| Highest recorded | ||||||
| Maximum allowance | Limits | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||
| Dust fallout rate | Coal: 300mg/m2/day | m2/day | 197 | 197 | 206 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-residential dust fallout exceedances | Two exceedances per BU per annum (within sequential months) | 600 | 0 | 9 (across 6 BUs) | 8 (across 4 BUs) | |
| Residential dust fallout exceedances | Two exceedances per BU per annum (within sequential months) | 300 | 0 | 0 | 3 (across 2 BUs) | |
Section 29 of the Air Quality Act requires pollution prevention plans from significant industrial sources in identified industries and sectors to manage GHG emissions. Grootegeluk completed its first five-year implementation plan (2016 to 2020) and submitted its progress report on the identified emission reduction projects. The operation achieved 27 607tCO2e in carbon savings in this first period.
Our newly submitted 2021 to 2025 pollution prevention plan includes five CO2 emission reduction projects. Two of these projects are ongoing from the previous plan, and three are new. These projects are energy-saving initiatives that result in the reduction of diesel consumption and carbon emissions.
| Anticipated emission reduction (tCO2e) | |||||||
| Project | Implementation | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Total |
| Grootegeluk in-pit crushing and conveying project | Ongoing | 6 053 | 6 503 | 6 250 | 6 104 | 6 050 | 30 960 |
| Road management and improvement | Ongoing | 3 563 | 3 827 | 3 678 | 3 592 | 3 561 | 18 222 |
| Pantograph utilisation optimisation | 2021 | 684 | 735 | 707 | 690 | 684 | 3 500 |
| Out of cycle time reduction | 2021 | 1 605 | 1 724 | 1 657 | 1 618 | 1 604 | 8 208 |
| Autonomous drilling | 2021 | 193 | 208 | 200 | 195 | 193 | 989 |
| Total | 12 098 | 12 997 | 12 491 | 12 199 | 12 093 | 61 879 | |
Assumption used to estimate anticipated GHG emission reduction: electrical and diesel conversion factors, and the project scope remain consistent throughout.
At all our other operations, we quantify and report our impact through our national atmospheric emissions inventory system.
In 2022, we aim to maintain our current air quality monitoring network at all BUs and mines in closure to ensure compliance and emissions reduction. Our monitoring performance will be linked to our new STIs. We will be reviewing our air quality management system at Leeuwpan based on changes in mining operations. At Belfast, we will investigate alternative dust control measures (wind breakers, other technology for stockpiles) to improve our dust fallout rate. Our strategy to go beyond compliance for air quality, will be to invest in advanced digital technologies to monitor and measure a broader spectrum of emissions such as Methane, SOx and NOx in real time.
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