De Beers said it is leading a ground-breaking research project that aims to deliver carbon-neutral mining at some of the company’s operations in as few as five years.

The company’s scientists are working in close collaboration with a team of internationally-renowned scientists to investigate the potential to store large volumes of carbon at its diamond mines through the mineralisation of kimberlite ‘tailings’, the material that remains after diamonds have been removed from the ore, a press statement said.

De Beers said it will investigate the storage potential across its diamond mines globally. It is the first time such extensive research has been undertaken to assess the carbonation potential of kimberlite, that has been found to offer ideal properties for storing carbon through mineral carbonation technologies.

The project aims to accelerate what is already a naturally occurring and safe process of extracting carbon from the atmosphere and storing it at a speed that could offset man-made carbon emissions, De Beers said. Scientists estimate that the carbon storage potential of kimberlite tailings produced by a diamond mine every year could offset up to 10 times the emissions of a typical mine, it added.

De Beers Group’s Project Lead for the initiative, Dr Evelyn Mervine, said, “The research is in its early stages and it may take some time before it is economically or practically achievable to tap into this full storage potential. However, even just tapping into a small amount could greatly reduce the net emissions at many of our mine sites in the near future, and possibly lead to carbon-neutral mining at some sites within the next five to ten years. As technology improves over time, more and more carbon could feasibly be stored in kimberlite tailings, meaning we could ultimately offset more emissions than we are producing.”

De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver said, “By replicating this technology at other mining operations around the world, this project could play a major role in changing the way not only the diamond industry, but also the broader mining industry, addresses the challenge of reducing its carbon footprint.”

Mineral carbonation potential assessment studies are currently underway for the Venetia Mine in South Africa and Gahcho Kué Mine in Canada. Further research and detailed studies will continue in 2017 and 2018 to assess the carbonation potential at these and other De Beers mines.

https://www.gemkonnect.com/news/de-beers-research-project-store-carbon-kimberlite-0