At a glance
Key Challenge
Sierra Rutile sought to quantify and communicate the carbon footprint of its natural rutile production at its Area 1 operations. With increasing demand for transparent environmental data, the company needed a robust, ISO-aligned assessment to benchmark its performance against alternative production routes and support credible stakeholder reporting.
Solution
Minviro conducted an independent cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment aligned with ISO 14040, 14044 and 14067 standards. The study used primary operational data from 2024, combined with Ecoinvent background datasets, to model emissions across mining, processing and product handling. Economic allocation was applied to account for co-products, enabling accurate benchmarking against global rutile production pathways.
Results
The study found that Sierra Rutile's production has a carbon footprint of 1.34 kg CO₂ eq. per kg of rutile concentrate, or 1.41 kg CO₂ eq. per kg of TiO₂ contained, lower than both natural and synthetic rutile benchmarks. Emissions were primarily driven by onsite fuel use, with Scope 1 the dominant contributor. Scenario analysis showed that transitioning to renewable energy could reduce emissions by up to 42%, highlighting a clear pathway for decarbonisation.
Sierra Rutile's natural rutile route was found to be more climate-efficient than both synthetic and natural rutile benchmarks under the modelled conditions.
Scope 1 fuel combustion (onsite power and diesel) was the dominant emissions driver; Scope 2 was negligible due to onsite generation.
A fully solar-powered scenario could cut the footprint by up to 42%, and the model is now live in XYCLE for ongoing scenario testing.
Our collaboration
