Anglo American-managed copper operations in Chile — the Los Bronces and El Soldado mining operations and the Chagres smelter — have been awarded the Copper Mark in recognition of responsible copper production practices. The Copper Mark was developed to demonstrate the copper industry’s commitment to both the green energy transition and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, using the Risk Readiness Assessment (RRA) of the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) as the basis for evaluating participants’ performance.
“Consumers around the world are understandably expecting the products they buy to be made from metals and minerals that are responsibly sourced, meeting the highest ethical and sustainability standards,” Peter Whitcutt, CEO of Anglo American’s marketing business, said. “As an established sustainability leader, Anglo American’s alignment with the Copper Mark framework is part of our Sustainable Mining Plan commitment to assure all our operations against a recognized responsible mining standard by 2025.”
Aaron Puna, CEO of Anglo American in Chile, said the Copper Mark process allowed them to measure their performance against international best practice on a wide range of environmental and societal factors.
The process of assessing Los Bronces, El Soldado and Chagres against the Copper Mark’s Assurance Process began in late 2021. The sites were assessed against 32 different criteria, including environmental risk management, energy consumption, waste and tailings management, mine closure and reclamation, occupational health and safety, business integrity, community and stakeholder engagement, human rights and cultural heritage.
The Copper Mark framework was initiated by the International Copper Association (ICA) and operates as an independent body. The Copper Mark was developed following a consultation process with more than 100 different individuals and organizations, including mining companies, customers and the ultimate downstream users of mined products as well as nongovernmental organizations. The Copper Mark aims to increase transparency in copper supply chains, allowing customers to be confident that their copper was produced responsibly and enabling them to track a copper product throughout the supply chain.