Technology Gaps in Global Gold Production: A Mine-Level Carbon Dioxide Emissions Adjusted Efficiency Analysis

29 Pages Posted: 22 Apr 2022

See all articles by Shabbir Ahmad

Shabbir Ahmad

University of Queensland

John Steen

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Rick Valenta

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Saleem Ali

University of Delaware; University of Queensland, School of Politics and Sustainable Minerals Institute; Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment

Abstract

This paper analyses the gold sector's environmentally-adjusted (carbon dioxide – CO 2 emissions) efficiency using cross-sectional global mine-level data from 2019. We use a meta-frontier approach to compute mine level efficiency under different technologies and environments (e.g., open pit vs. underground). The results show significant disparities in performance both at the mine level and across countries. We note a considerable variation in mines efficiency ranking when CO 2 emissions are accounted for in the production activities. Further, we adopt meta frontier methods to compute technology gaps in mining under different mining production environments. The technology gap appears to be higher for mines operating underground than mines operating under open-pit methods. We also notice that countries having renewable energy usage in mining operations exhibit an improved environmental efficiency. The findings suggest that enhanced technology and effective management of mine-level operating systems could help mitigate carbon emissions and increase mining productivity.

Keywords: gold mining, DEA, CO2 efficiency, meta frontier, technology gap

Suggested Citation

Ahmad, Shabbir and Steen, John and Valenta, Rick and Ali, Saleem, Technology Gaps in Global Gold Production: A Mine-Level Carbon Dioxide Emissions Adjusted Efficiency Analysis. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4090750 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4090750

Shabbir Ahmad (Contact Author)

University of Queensland ( email )

St Lucia
Brisbane, Queensland 4072
Australia
61 7 33468083 (Phone)
61 7 33468166 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://researchers.uq.edu.au/researcher/10045

John Steen

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Rick Valenta

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Saleem Ali

University of Delaware ( email )

Newark, DE 19711
United States
8023380440 (Phone)
8023380440 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.saleemali.net

University of Queensland, School of Politics and Sustainable Minerals Institute ( email )

St Lucia
Brisbane, Queensland 4072
Australia
+61478876032 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saleem_Ali_%28academic%29

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment ( email )

3022 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
United States

HOME PAGE: http://ccsi.columbia.edu/about-us/fellows-interns/

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