Australia’s miners are under increasing pressure to cut onsite diesel emissions but many still lack the basic data needed to prove progress, according to a presentation at International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC)’s Decarbonisation Theatre on October 22.
Michael Grosser, executive director of Fluid Management Technology (FMT), said operators face a mandated 4.9% annual reduction in carbon intensity per tonne of output and are targeting diesel, which typically makes up 20–50% of a mine’s onsite CO₂ emissions. While electrified fleets are advancing, a full transition remains distant due to cost and scale, leaving diesel as “the lifeblood” of mine sites for the foreseeable future. Any decarbonisation effort, he argued, “is only as strong as the evidence behind it.”
FMT’s benchmarking across more than 200 Australian mines found only 13% can reconcile billions of litres of fuel purchased and consumed to within a <2% variance — the “gold standard.” A further 69% can track fuel use and tank levels but record large variances that point to incomplete sensor suites and poorly configured systems; about half use fuel systems primarily as access control to prevent theft, without tank gauging or data-quality oversight.
Failure points
Grosser identified three common failure points: a lack of flow-measurement sensors, incomplete fuel-management setup, and limited active oversight once systems are installed. He outlined four practical steps to lift data quality and enable credible emissions reporting: (1) measure every supplier delivery, (2) track transfers between bulk and mobile tanks, (3) record consumption at the asset level to know who drew fuel, when and for what, and (4) generate accurate reports to reconcile inventory, support tax claims, and calculate Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Active management is crucial. FMT’s review suggests almost half of systems are not actively managed: vehicle IDs are shared, records fall out of date and fuel is misallocated — small errors that compound quickly on sites consuming millions of litres each year. Better oversight can expose waste, theft, misuse and operational inefficiencies, delivering both cost and emissions gains.
Improved measurement also underpins technology trials. Some FMT customers are testing lower-carbon fuels such as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and biodiesel blends, while others are validating additive claims. FMT says its Smartfill system already supports evaluating hybrid diesel-electric equipment and is set to integrate OCPP-compliant EV chargers so electricity use and carbon savings can be captured with the same rigour as diesel.
Grosser concluded that the sector has “left a lot of room for improvement,” but that disciplined fuel measurement and management can provide the substantiated proof now demanded by shareholders, regulators and government programs — and a practical pathway to real emissions reduction.