BINGHAM CANYON MINE, Utah — Aaron Clement drives one of the massive trucks at the world's largest open pit copper mine.
"It's like moving a house," he jokes.
Clement, who works at Rio Tinto Kennecott's Bingham Canyon Mine truck shop, participated in a pilot project with a new type of fuel for the giant mining equipment. They switched from a traditional fossil fuel to a "renewable diesel" made up of soybean and food waste. The company has even installed a special pipeline for it at the mine.
"As far as performance? It’s pretty identical," Clement told FOX 13 News of the difference between fuels. "I don’t notice a whole lot. Maybe a little less smoking. Other than that, nothing really changes."
On Tuesday, Rio Tinto Kennecott announced that it has converted its entire fleet of mining vehicles to the renewable diesel, which it believes will contribute less emissions to Utah's airshed.
"If you make that equivalent to passenger cars, it’s over 100,000 cars we’ve taken off the road," said Nate Foster, the managing director of Rio Tinto Kennecott. "About 40%."
A massive operation like the Bingham Canyon Mine, which supplies about 12% of America's copper (an increasingly in-demand mineral in our electrified world), could yield positive benefits for the Wasatch Front's air quality. The company previously shuttered a coal fired plant in favor of a solar farm that it has plans to expand.
"As we head into the time of year when we have air quality issues when the inversion moves in, this will definitely be helpful," Governor Spencer Cox told reporters at Tuesday's announcement.
Northern Utah has consistently struggled with air quality. The topography of the Wasatch Front contributes to an inversion that traps pollution in the Ogden, Salt Lake and Utah valleys. But state leaders insist air quality has improved in recent years as Utahns adopt cleaner burning fossil fuels or switch to electric vehicles.
"Even though we’re growing as a state, it’s not just our emissions per capita but our overall net emissions have been dropping significantly," Gov. Cox said. "We still have a long ways to go and we continue to work on that, but we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished."
Rio Tinto Kennecott's voluntary decision to switch to a renewable has earned some praise from environmentalists.
"I’m not in the business of congratulating Rio Tinto Kenecott very often. That will be an improvement for local air quality," said Dr. Brian Moench, the executive director of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment.
However, Dr. Moench said he had concerns about the sourcing of the ingredients for the renewable diesel and whether that would have negative impacts on the global climate when you take agricultural land and convert it to fuel production.
Rio Tinto Kennecott said it is also experimenting with electrified vehicles. Considering the massive size of the equipment used in the Bingham Canyon Mine, it would require significant battery size and strength for operations.
"It just really comes down to where the technology in the industry is today," said Foster. "We are doing that in our underground mine with smaller equipment."
