Air emissions

Our industrial operations produce various types of air emissions such as sulphur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and dust, which we manage in accordance with our environmental regulatory approvals and permit discharge limits. 

We require our industrial operations to comply with regulatory air quality limits and approvals, which we assess through routine monitoring and trend analysis. By working to manage these emissions, we aim to minimise their impact on local communities and the environment.

We monitor all material air emissions from our industrial activities and look for ways to reduce emissions. These include ‘stack’ emissions, and fugitive emissions.

We operate according to relevant regulatory limits for air emissions. Where these are less stringent than our own internal standards, we apply our higher standards.

Our metallurgical smelters emit sulphur dioxide (SO2), dust and nitrogen oxide (NOx) as both stack and fugitive emissions, under permit conditions developed through the regulatory approvals process. 

Methane is a focus area for GHG emissions performance due to its global warming potential. It is also an important element in safety management at underground coal operations. Our coal industrial assets utilise various strategies to measure and mitigate their methane emissions. We recognise the importance of accurate measurement of, and strategies to mitigate, methane emissions. Our coal assets utilise the most accurate regulated measurement methods available in their jurisdictions. Our emissions reduction targets include fugitive methane. 

During 2024, we transitioned three of our open-cut mines (Hail Creek, Clermont and Collinsville) to the most accurate regulated method available in Australia for open-cut fugitive emissions measurement, Method 2 under the Australian National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting legislation, as amended (Method 2). Our transition to Method 2 concluded a three-year programme of extensive site-specific technical studies required to comply with Australia’s principles of transparency, comparability, accuracy, and completeness. This completes the transition of all of our Australian coal industrial assets to Method 2. 

We continue to monitor and review the development of emerging technologies for methane detection and measurement including satellite, aerial and remote sensing methods. We observe that such emerging technologies would currently find it challenging to comply with the principles of regulated methods. We believe more research is required, to assess what potential role ‘top-down’ monitoring may have in informing emissions inventory. We remain aligned with the Australian government and its Climate Change Authority, who consider further work is required before such methods can be applied to estimate emissions inventory with transparency and credibility. We are engaging with relevant stakeholders and partnering with other companies in research, and monitoring other ’top-down’ measurement by credible stakeholders, including the Australian government. 

Managing gas is a major safety requirement for underground coal mining, with the added benefit of emissions reduction. Our Australian coal business drains gas from coal seams impacted by mining; the captured methane is either mitigated via flaring or directed to power generation, in turn reducing the mine’s emissions. 

Abating fugitive methane emissions at open cut mines is technically and operationally challenging and there is currently not a proven and effective abatement option. Typically, open-cut mines are shallower than underground mines, have lower gas contents, and mining activities target multiple coal seams of varying thickness, all of which are barriers to effective gas drainage. In addition, there is a need to manage safe interaction between active mining processes and gas drainage activities, while allowing adequate time for gas capture prior to mining. 

We continue to investigate and assess opportunities to abate fugitive emissions feasibly and practicably at our open cut mines. We are also working collaboratively with our peers in the Australian Coal Industry Research Program to address these challenges.