Carbon footprint of solid waste from iron ore mining: a Brazilian case study

Actions to mitigate climate change aimed at reducing CO2 emissions by the most prevalent sectors of the market are essential for the sustainable development of society. Iron ore mining is a protagonist of the Brazilian economy; however, the activity is associated with high CO2 emissions and Solid Waste (SW) generation, which represent major challenges for the sector. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate and discuss the SW management Carbon Footprint at "Mina do Andrade", an iron ore mining company located in the northeastern region of the Iron Quadrangle region (MG/BR), as an instrument for the development of low carbon policies. This assessment was carried out using the Composite Method of Current Accounts (MC3), which allows estimating the Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF) of organizations based on documents provided by the company itself. The total emissions (net CCF) for SW management in the company were 346.58 tCO2 in 2017, 343.15 tCO2 in 2018 and 343.44 tCO2 in 2019. The total Industrial Solid Waste (ISW) CCF was zero throughout the period, as the forest areas contained within the boundaries of the company supplied the demand for carbon sequestration generated in the waste management. The reduction in ISW generation and the adoption of cleaner production strategies were the main drivers for the reduction of gross carbon emissions by the company in the three-year period under evaluation. The use of land for the disposal of waste rock in piles generated the highest SW CCF of the company in the entire evaluation period. So, this study is pioneer in the evaluation of the SW CCF of iron ore mining, and fills part of the existing gap due to the scarce number of peer-reviewed studies regarding the sector's Carbon Footprint.