AIM 6

Innovations for greener business model

We believe that the metals & mining sector has a significant role to play in the transition to a low-carbon future and the emergence of a green economy. Constant innovation and adoption of technologies that improve our operational and energy efficiency and reduce our carbon footprint together with the embedding of circularity in our processes are helping us deliver on our commitment.

Key material issues

Solid waste management

Tailings management

Air quality and emissions management

Biodiversity

SDGs impacted

Sub-goals 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse

15.1: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements

15.2: By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally

15.9: By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts

GOVERNANCE

The Waste Community of Practice drives the agenda to minimise and responsibly handle our waste.

To ensure sustainable resource and energy use across our operations, waste management becomes a core priority for us. The bulk of the hazardous waste we generate comes from used/spent oil, waste refractories, spent pot lining and residual sludge from smelters. Non-hazardous wastes include fly-ash (from captive and merchant power plants), red mud (aluminium refinery waste), jarofix (from zinc smelting), slag, lime grit (process residues from smelters and aluminium refineries) and phosphogypsum (phosphoric acid plant). These non-hazardous wastes are termed HighVolume-Low-Toxicity (HVLT) wastes.

Management of our waste streams is governed by the Waste Management Standards and Guidance Notes, which have been developed in line with ICMM and IFC Performance Standard guidelines.

Minimising Waste

We have taken stringent measures to manage our waste streams. As part of our refreshed ESG vision, we want to ensure that we become a “Zero Waste” organisation. To drive performance on this ambition, we have taken the following goals:

SUSTAIN FLY ASH UTILIZATION

100%

Zero legacy waste

BY 2035

100%

HVLT GENERATED WASTE TO BE UTILISED BY 2025

To achieve these goals, we are deploying technologies to minimise waste/increase metal recovery, forming long-term collaborations with potential users of our HVLT wastes, and are partnering with academic & research institutes to find alternative uses for these wastes. Key programmes that were undertaken in FY2022 include:

  • Forming long-term MoUs with the cement industry to sustainably handle fly-ash and red-mud
  • Commencement of programmes to back-filling of mining areas with HVLT wastes
  • Development of technology interventions such as Runaya to increase metal recovery from aluminium dross and fumer to treat Jarofix thereby eliminating complete waste streams

We are also very careful about managing hazardous wastes produced in our operations. 85% of these wastes are recycled while the rest are sent to secure land-fills.

Hazardous Waste

97.84%

HIGH-VOLUME-LOW-TOXICITY WASTES RECYCLED

115%

FLY ASH UTILISED

Non-Hazardous High-Volume-Low-Toxicity Waste

CASE STUDY

An innovative project increases the storage capacity of the bauxite residue disposal area

To improve the strength of the existing red mud slurry, an innovative ground improvement plan developed in collaboration with M/s Golder has been implemented. By accelerating the dissipation of excess pore water in the existing red mud slurry, the plan is to reduce instability risks so that dry red mud can be stacked safely.

Beginning with a pilot project on a 25,000 m2 area in the East Cell, the programme has been expanded to cover an additional 70,000 m2 in the East Cell and an area of 150,000 m2 in the West Cell.

An essential component in the project is the installation of a pre-fabricated, geo-synthetic wick drain, which is prepared after analysing the permeability and pore water pressure of area being modified. Analytics helped determine the degree of consolidation by radial drainage. The base layer was prepared using fresh red mud that had a moisture concentration of 23%. This was done without affecting the dyke integrity.

The project saw the use of advanced technology for ground improvement. With caustic recovery from the red mud, we have eliminated the potential for environmental incidents. Accelerated drainage has led to an increased rate of consolidation. The project has led to an increased the storage capacity of the bauxite residual disposal areas by 20%.

CASE STUDY

Prevention of waste generation by reprocessing in the system

Slop Oil, by definition, is considered crude oil, which is emulsified with water and solids rendering it into a waste stream. Slop Oil is found in evaporation ponds, sludge pits and storage tanks. In upstream Oil and Gas Industries, wastewater containing traces of oil is generated during routine operations, well intervention activities, pipeline pigging, hydro testing of vessels and cleaning. The wastewater generated at oil well-pads, and processing terminal is temporarily stored at open ponds/pits and further transported to ETP for a suitable treatment for reuse/recycling.

Gradually, layers of floating oil are accumulated over the surface of water stored in the open pits. Due to the potential toxicity of slop oil, it has been classified as hazardous waste and is required to be safely disposed. Slop oil can be disposed of in different ways, including sending to off-site registered recyclers, burning as a fuel in industrial furnaces among other. Recycling and reusing slop oil are preferred over disposal as they provide recovery of valuable energy sources and great environmental benefits. Recycled slop oil can be rerefined into new oil, processed into fuel oils, and used as raw materials for the petroleum industry.

The crude oil of RJON, Barmer is waxy and congeals quickly leading to a thickened layer of floating oil over the surface of the wastewater. Previously, these layers of oil were removed mechanically only on high ambient temperature days or else by adding hot water which resulted in a further increase in wastewater inventory at well-pads. The skimmed oil was finally disposed of off-site through registered recyclers.

In line with our commitment to the reduction of waste generation and gainful utilisation of waste to reduce the environmental footprint of our operations, we have developed an inhouse facility for collection, storage (for sediment removal), heating, and pumping of skimmed oil back into the process through the off-spec tank at Mangala Processing Terminal. Parallelly, we have initiated collecting slop oil in the form of cake during low ambient temperature days along with mechanized skimming as favored by ambient temperature.

Recycling/reprocessing slop oil makes it a part of crude oil, turning it into an energy resource. The regular skimming, treatment and recycling of floating oil reduced the waste generation and improved solar evaporation of wastewater, reducing wastewater inventory at well-pads and also preventing foul smell caused due to anaerobic conditions created by oily layer in open ponds/pits. The process has also prevented GHG emissions related to offsite transportation of skimmed oil to offsite recyclers.

With continuous efforts, 19,303 barrels of slop oil have been recovered in the last 18 months bringing us closer to our vision of zero waste to landfill.

TAILINGS MANAGEMENT

We aim to be fully compliant with the Global Industry Standards on Tailings Management (GISTM) by FY2025.

We are aware of the risks posed by tailings to the environment, the safety of communities, the workforce and our business at large. Managing tailings storage facilities safely and responsibly is integral to our mining activities. Our management ensures high standards of design, construction operation and closure stages across our mining operations.

Our tailing facility performance gets reviewed every month by the Executive Committee and twice a year by the ESG Board sub-committee. To implement global practices, we have appointed experts such as Golder and ATC Williams to provide their expertise in designing, constructing, and operating and monitoring our tailings facilities.

All our BUs have a Tailings Management Committee with defined roles and responsibilities. These committees help in the development, operation, monitoring and management of the tailings management facilities according to an agreed management plan. Each of our tailing facilities conducts periodic risk assessments and develops mitigation strategies to minimise public health, safety, social, environmental, and economic issues. They also have emergency response plans which get periodically updated and reviewed. All the tailing dams undergo audits as per the performance standard set under VSF.

16

ACTIVE TAILINGS FACILITIES MANAGED

8

IN-ACTIVE TAILINGS FACILITIES MANAGED

1

CLOSED TAILINGS FACILITIES

Surveillance of Tailing Management System

We consistently survey our tailing management system, which includes inspections and monitoring of operations in order to maintain the structural integrity and safety of the tailing facilities. This also helps us get the quantitative and qualitative comparison of actual to expected behaviour. Regular review of the surveillance information also gives us an early indication of performance trends.

TMS survey includes

Visual monitoring and inspection Weekly/monthly/annual monitoring of the impoundment, dam safety instrumentation monitoring, and environmental monitoring by TSF Committee
Gio-tech monitoring
  • Pillar-prism-total station data for measurement of slope displacement
  • Piezometer for measuring pore water pressure
  • Inclinometer for measuring sub-surface deformation
  • Cameras placed for monitoring

Digitalisation of Tailing Dams

We have commenced real-time monitoring of our tailing dams in Lanjigarh. Our monitoring system comprises of distributed acquisition systems with a cabling network, server for data processing & control system, data acquisition devices, consoles, workstations, portable computer data link modems, drivers and the hardware required for the real-time slope stability monitoring System.

The hardware-field devices are suitable to be operational in harsh conditions. They also have an inbuilt power supply that can function for more than five years of operations without requiring external AC/DC charging mechanisms.

The field devices are self-operatable and wireless in all aspects. They also have functionalities for remote configurations, remote troubleshooting, and remote firmware upgrades with minimum or no field manual interventions.

Remote monitoring systems including Survey monuments, Piezometers, Inclinometers were set up with an aim to reduce risks attached with sudden breach in tailings or displacement:

  1. Piezometer and Inclinometer based data acquisition for pore pressure and displacement
  2. Software to monitor deviation in real time
  3. Implementation of analytical and predictive tools to take proactive actions or measures
  4. Measuring the Factor of Safety of the tailing dams

Benefits

  • Automation of geotechnical instruments
  • Wireless monitoring system
  • Online real-time data representation
  • Establishing stability through analytical study of BRDA
  • Early warning system in place
  • Reduced manual intervention via collecting piezometer and inclinometer data wirelessly and using it to perform various analytical operations
  • Predictive Analytics
  • Remote Solution Support available 24x7
  • Validating data through National Institutes

BIODIVERSITY

The Biodiversity Community of Practice drives the implementation of our biodiversity programme.

Targets

By 2025:

  • IMPLEMENT MANAGEMENT MEASURES AND DESIGN OFFSETS TO REPLENISH FOR BIODIVERSITY DAMAGE CONTROL
  • DEVELOP ROADMAP TO ACHIEVE NO-NET-LOSS FOR OPERATIONS WITH HIGH BIODIVERSITY RISKS

We are committed to respecting the biodiversity of the places where operate. We are cognisant of the fact that our processes impact biodiversity and we strive to take steps to minimise or eliminate this impact.

Our Biodiversity Policy and management standards ensure that we minimise and mitigate biodiversity risks throughout our operations and strive to avoid adverse impacts on the natural habitat. In critical habitats, we manage land use in a manner that allows for biodiversity conservation to be integrated throughout our projects’ life cycle, including decommissioning, closure and rehabilitation.

We are members of the India Business & Biodiversity Initiative. Additionally, HZL is part of IUCN’s Leaders for Nature programme. Zinc International has worked extensively with IUCN to ensure that we meet our No Net Loss principles at Gamsberg, which is located in the Karoo Biosphere Reserve.

In FY2022, we began the process to refresh our biodiversity risk assessments by undertaking an IBAT based desktop review. These reviews will help determine if our businesses need to update their Biodiversity Management Plans in alignment with our ambition to achieve No-Net-Loss.

CASE STUDY

Developing a green belt for ESL

We have developed a green belt for ESL in a 1.25-acre area that saw us use the Miyawaki forest development model. Altogether 35,000 saplings were planted in FY2022, which also saw us prepare a wildlife conservation plan for Schedule 1 species in the 10km area surrounding the plant.

A technique introduced by Akira Miyawaki, a Japanese botanist, to build self-sustaining dense mini-forests comprising only native tree species, the Miyawaki method has revolutionised the concept of urban afforestation. The approach ensures 10x increase in growth rate and 30x increase in density than the standard model of plantation.

The Miyawaki model involves planting 2-4 trees per sqm, creating a dense grid that helps lower the temperature in concrete heat islands. After just three years of maintenance, including watering, de-weeding, and mulching, the forest becomes self-sustaining. The model has been proven to increase biodiversity, selfsufficiency within a defined time, and reduce air and noise pollution.

ESL intends to adopt this plantation technique for the whole of Bokaro and lead the journey towards a ‘Behtar Jharkhand’. Green belt development will enhance our ability to meet Net Zero target and help India become a carbon neutral country by 2070.

CASE STUDY

Enriching Biodiversity Value with the flourishing water mammals Smoothcoated Otter (Lutrogale Perspicllata) population inside Ravva Mangroves

By far the most effective way to protect wildlife is to protect the habitats on which they depend. The mangroves at Ravva have become a perfect haven for a variety of fauna and flora. It supports various forms of wildlife such as fishes, turtles, snakes, cats, otters, birds, butterflies, insects and more.

Our attempt towards supporting sustainable conservation efforts began early in 2004 bringing our green belt concept into action. This was followed by a mangrove establishment project that took shape in the year 2009.

The man-made mangrove forest and green belt within the plant support 150 species of birds, 52 species of butterflies, 15+ types of reptiles, 100s of species of insects including bees, bugs, beetles, spiders, and many others that are supported through this complex interdependent ecosystem. Notable bird species include the migratory ducks Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Garganey (Spatula querquedula), waders such as Lesser and Greater Sand Plovers (Charadrius mongolus & Charadrius leschenaultii), Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata), Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Redshank (Tringa totanus), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia). It is also home to the breeding population of the ‘Near Threatened’ Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala), Oriental Darter (Anhinga melanogaster) and other colonially nesting water birds such as Cormorants, Ibises, Openbills and Jacanas.

A family of smooth-coated otters were discovered in the man-made mangroves of Ravva onshore terminal located in Surasaniyanam, East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. Listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List, this species is affected by pollution, encroachment and reclamation of water bodies and wetlands for developmental activities and agriculture, construction of dams.

The mangroves as well as the smaller water bodies within the area have provided a safe habitat for this family of otters. Minimal or no disturbances from human activities, especially no threat in the form of poaching or hunting help them thrive in this landscape. The mangrove forest is surrounded by aquaculture farms, which provide a secondary source of food for these predatory mammals. The presence of this predator in the mangrove ecosystem is a strong indicator of its blooming health. They play a significant role in maintaining the balance between the land and water continuum.

We are putting consistent efforts in terms of management to make sure that their presence here is permanent and their population sustains and increases over the year.

AIR QUALITY AND EMISSIONS

Air pollution continues to be a primary health concern, affecting millions of lives every year. Processes along the mining supply chain such as drilling, processing and transporting can impact air quality. We consistently monitor the impacts of our operations on air quality and their effects on our communities, workforce and the overall environment.

Suspended particulate matter (SPM), SOx and NOx are monitored as a part of our ambient air quality monitoring process. We also monitor lead emissions from our zinc operations, fluoride emissions from our copper and aluminum operations, and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) from our aluminum operations to keep them in line with our Environmental Management Standard. Moving beyond a compliance-based approach, we are committed to using technologies and processes to minimise our emissions. Thus, reducing our overall footprint on the environment.

Environmental incidents

We have had zero Category 4 and Category 5 environmental incidents in the last two years. We had 17 category 3 environmental incidents in FY2022. All the Category 3 incidents have been investigated, and corrective actions taken. We have an incident identification and investigation standard to guide sites on the process to be followed once an incident occurs. These standards are part of the VSF.

ASSET CLOSURES

Historically, mine closure has been a significant challenge in the mining sector. We recognise the potential environmental and social risks attached with the closure of our assets and are committed to and ensure proper management. Site closure plans are developed at the very beginning of the project to identify, minimise, mitigate and manage the forthcoming risks associated with the site closure. Our site closure technical standard guides us in developing systems and processes related to asset closure.

Historically, Vedanta has only closed one site – our operations in Lisheen, Ireland. We have reported about this closure in our past Sustainability Reports. Current updates on site conditions can be found at:
https://vedanta-zincinternational.com/what-we-do/ouroperations/lisheen-mine .

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