Sustainable Copper

Investment in Sustainable Operations

ICA Members at the Core of Climate-Smart Mining

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Rio Tinto and Anglo American Join Groundbreaking World Bank Fund

Mining is one of the planet’s most resource-intensive industries, requiring vast amounts of water, energy and other natural raw materials. Yet copper is also critical to clean technology—from electric vehicles and batteries to wind turbines and solar panels—and elemental to a low-carbon future.

The race to mitigate climate change poses a major challenge for the copper industry. According to World Bank officials, by 2050, the rate of extraction and production of minerals must double to sustain current renewable energy requirements. Extracting minerals rapidly, while abating climate change and creating prosperity for host nations and populations, is more important than ever.

On 1 May 2019, International Copper Association (ICA) members Rio Tinto and Anglo American joined the government of the Federal Republic of Germany to become the founding donors of Climate-Smart Mining Facilityof the World Bank, the first fund to support an international expansion of sustainable mining. The mining sector represents 11 percent of global energy use and the Facility will support clean technology use at mines worldwide. Aligned with all UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Facility will assist developing nations hosting metal and mineral reserves that are critical to electricity and the renewable energy transition.

Foundations for Climate Smart Copper

The Climate-Smart Mining initiative follows the publication in 2017 of a World Bank report, The Growing Role of Minerals and Metals in a Low-Carbon Future, which analyzes the role mining plays in a low-carbon energy future. It finds that demand for metals and minerals—including copper, lithium, graphite and nickel—will soar by 2050. Meanwhile, updated 2018 World Bank forecasts indicate this pressure will continue to grow for countries committed to the COP 21 Paris Agreement to keep global carbon emissions beneath a 2° Celsius increase.

The World Bank invested $2 million to establish Climate-Smart Mining and in May 2019, Anglo and Rio committed $1 million each, becoming the first corporate donors of the fund.

The Facility seeks to raise $50 million from the private sector and will deploy its financing over five years to promote the sustainable extraction of minerals and processing of metals. It will work in collaboration with governments, operators and other stakeholders in frontier and emerging market nations. World Bank officials have said they hope automakers and governments—and other miners—will join the initiative.

The World Bank supports a low-carbon transition where mining is climate-smart and value chains are sustainable and green. Developing countries can play a leading role in this transition.”

 – Riccardo Puliti, Head of Energy and Extractives Practice, World Bank

The Facility will assist governments to create strong legal frameworks, policies and regulations to promote sustainable mining and economic growth. It will offer technical advisory support and address the needs of at-risk communities and ecosystems. Climate-Smart Mining will connect researchers from academic institutions with officials from government and private sector organizations to foster the dissemination of information about issues in sustainable mining. It will focus on methods to incorporate clean energy into mining projects, recycle metals and minerals, limit deforestation and utilize geological data.

With their extraction, processing and associated facilities worldwide, Anglo and Rio bring wide-ranging, technical expertise to the initiative.

Anglo’s Smart Energy Angle in Chile

In July, Anglo announced that all of its operations will be powered by renewable energy in approximately two years at its flagship Los Bronces mine as well as its El Soldado and Chagres projects in Chile. In March 2019, Anglo fitted a floating island of solar panels on a tailings pond at the Los Bronces mine to bolster efficiencies at the complex 65 miles (104 km) from Santiago.

With these changes, Anglo will be on track to reduce its total carbon emissions by an estimated 70 percent in Chile.

Mining cannot continue its long path of simply scaling up to supply what the world needs. We need to do things in dramatically different ways if we are to transform our footprint and be valued by all our stakeholders. Our first responsibility is to reduce our energy and water usage and our emissions.”

 – Mark Cutifani, Anglo American CEO

Rio Tinto Kennecott and Climate-Smart Copper

In May, Rio announced that its Kennecott project in Utah will shutter its last existing coal-fired power plant and transition to wind-based power. The change will make the project 100 percent-clean energy driven, slashing its footprint by one million tonnes of carbon dioxide. In all, this move puts the miner on track to meet its 2020 target to reduce carbon emissions intensity by at least 24 percent against a 2008 baseline.

Climate-Smart Mining will encourage developing nations to reuse metals and minerals in an environmentally holistic manner. When it comes to recycling copper, Rio Tinto is ideally poised to offer strategic advice given the output from its highly prolific Kennecott facilities.

Beginning in 2012, Rio Tinto Kennecott started introducing recycled scrap metals, like old copper wiring, into its smelting processes. Now the mine satisfies 15 percent of U.S. copper demand through mined ore and recycling. In 2017, in particular, Kennecott processed 1270 metric tonnes (2.8 million pounds) of copper from recycled scrap, a volume that could yield electrical copper wiring sufficient to fill 6,400 newly constructed homes.

We want to be part of the solution on climate change and the best solutions will come from innovative partnerships across competitors, governments and institutions. We look forward to supporting the Climate-Smart Mining Facility by contributing not just funding but also expertise as a leader in sustainable mining.”

 – Jean-Sebastien Jacques, Rio Tinto CEO

Anglo’s “Forest Smart” Mining in Finland

Metals and minerals often exist in and near forests worldwide and Climate-Smart Mining will prioritize work to protect this valuable ecosystem. The initiative will endeavor to halt deforestation while encouraging sustainable land use and reclamation of abandoned mines.

Anglo has led important innovations in its approach to environmental protection at its Sakatti project, a large copper-nickel-platinum discovery located 150 km (93 miles) north of Finland’s Arctic Circle. All drilling at Sakatti takes place in environmentally sensitive areas. Anglo conducts the drilling during winter months—under close supervision by Finnish regulators—to limit impacts. Experts at Anglo contracted a local company to utilize a closed drilling system to minimize waste discharge and water use.

World Bank researchers cite Anglo as a leader in environmentally sound techniques for its work at Sakatti in the 2019 report, Making Mining Forest Smart. Anglo officials draw on consultations with a strong network of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders to minimize their effects on the local ecosystem. The World Bank report notes Anglo’s extensive partnership with top NGO Flora and Fauna International assists the company in strengthening its biodiversity management on and around the asset.

Rio Tinto’s Techniques for Mapping Copper

Climate-Smart Mining will support the use of geological data to locate minerals, and Rio has developed critical expertise in cutting-edge techniques. In July, Rio subsidiary Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc. began a high-tech airborne survey over northern Saskatchewan’s Wollaston Copperbelt, to identify copper deposits.

Working with a geophysical contractor, Rio used a helicopter-mounted magnet to survey for high-resolution information. This assessment helped to identify high-grade copper layers of sediment to guide drilling at Janice Lake, a copper deposit site in the region.

Society’s expectations of mining have increased and this has now extended into the investment community in an even greater way …. What we are experiencing now is qualitatively different.”

– Arnaud Soirat, Head of Copper and Diamonds, Rio Tinto

With pioneering sustainability practices at their copper mines, facilities and other assets—all pillars of the SDGs—Rio Tinto and Anglo American offer outstanding examples for Climate-Smart Mining. Their funding and leadership have helped set into motion the critical work of this initiative. These ICA members are blazing a trail for other miners to follow in tackling one of the most crucial challenges of our time.

About Anglo American

Anglo American Plc is a diversified multinational mining firm based in London and Johannesburg, South Africa, and is a major copper producer with four red metal mines in Chile. One of the world’s largest miners, it has 69,000 employees and was founded in 1917.

About Rio Tinto

Since its founding in 1873, Rio Tinto Plc has become one of the world’s leading diversified mining multinationals. With headquarters in Melbourne and London, it has 50,000 employees and red metal operations across Australia, Mongolia, Chile, the U.S. and Indonesia.

About the World Bank

The World Bank, part of the World Bank Group, is a global international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., which gives loans to nations pursuing capital projects. In addition to climate mitigation, the Bank’s other focuses include energy access, food security, poverty reduction and other shared prosperity. As of last year, the largest recipients of World Bank loans, spanning a portfolio of 1,200 projects, included India and China.

About Los Bronces

Over 50 percent Anglo American-owned, the Los Bronces copper mine is 20 percent owned by Mitsubishi, and also controlled by Chile’s state-owned Codelco and joint venture (JV) partner Mitsui. Both hold the remaining 29.5 percent stake for the asset, which lies 3,500 meters (2.2 miles) over sea level.

About Rio Tinto Kennecott

Rio Tinto Kennecott is a fully integrated mining operation just outside Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., and a fully owned unit of Rio Tinto. For more than 110 years, Kennecott has been mining and processing minerals from the rich ore body of the Bingham Canyon Mine. In addition to Bingham Canyon, the subsidiary possesses other facilities at South Jordan in the Salt Lake Valley.

About The Copper Alliance®

The Copper Alliance is a network of regional copper centers and their industry-leading members. It is responsible for guiding policy and strategy and for funding international initiatives and promotional activities. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the organization has offices in three primary regions: Europe, Asia and North America. The Copper Alliance has partnerships and programs in more than 100 countries.

Peak Performance – Boliden’s Aitik Mine Teams with Metso to Boost Production

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With aging projects a fast-growing problem for top copper miners, enhancing productivity and increasing efficiency are real challenges. International Copper Association (ICA) members are pioneering strategies to extract this prized ore the world over.

Boliden Group’s Aitik copper mine in Sweden, founded in 1968 and located approximately 100 km north of the Arctic Circle near the town of Gällivare, has long maintained a distinctive record in the industry. This low-grade asset, at 450 meters deep, is one of the planet’s lowest cost and most productive mines. Aitik is also one of the largest, open-pit copper mines in Europe. In 2016, it yielded 36 million tonnes of ore.

The company already operates some of the largest machines in the world’s mining sector. The site hosts rock dumpers, which have wheels four meters wide, excavators with a bucket capacity of 45 cubic meters of rock and a weight of 570 tonnes when fully loaded.

Still, strict balance sheets of mandated change, production and sustainability are set to grow.

A Transformation Begins

Technicians with Boliden undertook a multifaceted review of the asset’s operations to devise a strategy to increase output by 25 percent, from 36 million tonnes of ore to 45 million by 2020. From 2016 to 2019, the company worked with Metso to build a new crushing plant which—in conjunction with its two in-pit crushers—has the capacity to reach the production target.

Yet achieving peak performance required intense study of every aspect of the complex by engineers, managers and miners. They noted that their tailings system of pipes and pumps had capacity limits and proved a major roadblock to production. They recommended the configuration of a new, low-cost tailings system that would allow the asset to increase the speed at which it discharges waste. To meet production goals for next year, Boliden needed a new system—one that would prove quick to install and easy to maintain.

Pumps and Pipes for an Extreme Environment

Boliden contracted supplier Metso to configure and install a new system. Metso proposed a system of heavy-duty slurry pumps, with rubber-lined steel pipes, to discharge tailings. They designed the equipment to significantly extend the mine’s existing system of pumps and pipes.

The naturally rubber-coated pipes were a game-changer. This material lasts five times longer than polyethelene (PE) traditionally used in pipes. The switch increases the lifespan of the tailings system to 20 years. In addition, these pipes offer more operational stability in extreme environments. They are also sturdy enough to absorb temperatures ranging from -40°F to 86°F (-40°C to +30°C).

The system includes bends and hoses with long, thick-wear rubber. The equipment is flexible, with extremely smooth surfaces, to accommodate a larger volume of tailings.

Tested and Time-Sensitive

In all, Metso installed a full 16 km of the steel-covered pipes to add to the existing tailings system. The company configured the new solution to handle a major increase in the asset’s volume of tailings. The delivery of the new system quickly put Boliden on track for its 2020 production goals.

We listened carefully to what Boliden Aitik needed to solve their capacity limitations. We knew that by focusing on the details that matter we could help the mine reach their goals.”

– Patrik Nilsson, Project Manager, Metso

With its vast equipment and ore, Aitik is one of the world’s most prolific mines. This latest chapter is a major achievement in scaling sustainability for one of the most important mines in the Arctic.

About Boliden AB

Boliden has mined and processed base metals and precious metals, principally copper, zinc, lead, nickel, gold and silver, for over 90 years. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Boliden is also a leading global operator in the recycling of electronics and lead from batteries. With more than 5,500 employees, Boliden has mines, smelters and other facilities in Sweden, Norway and Ireland. From ore deposits to recycling, Boliden is an industry leader in sustainable metal production.

About Metso

With 13,000 employees across 50 countries Metso Oyj is a Finnish machinery firm which specializes in technology and services for mining, oil and gas, aggregates, recycling, pulp and paper and other industries. Metso products include crushers, screens, grinding mills, recycling equipment and other mining solutions. Metso is headquartered in Helsinki.

About Aitik

Just south of Gällivare, 100 km north of Sweden’s outer Arctic Circle, Aitik became Europe’s greatest open pit copper mine after its discovery in the early 1930s. With continuously mined ore from chalcopyrite that includes copper, with lesser amounts of gold and silver, Aitik boasts some of the world’s largest rock dumpers and excavators. With almost as many women as men, Aitik is also one of the most gender-neutral mines anywhere.

About The Copper Alliance®

The Copper Alliance is a network of regional copper centers and their industry-leading members. It is responsible for guiding policy and strategy and for funding international initiatives and reputation-building activities. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the organization has offices in three primary regions: Europe, Asia, and North America. Copper Alliance programs and partnerships are executed in more than 100 countries through its regional offices and country-level copper promotion centers.

Top Miners at the Forefront of Engagement

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Freeport and Teck Collaborate with Communities in Chile and Canada

Copper mining is one of the world’s most intricate undertakings, with complex processes at all stages, from locating and extracting mineral-laden ore in the ground to separation and transportation to smelting. The effects are profound and long-lasting: mining projects are huge enterprises that can last for generations and require vast equipment and hundreds—sometimes thousands—of personnel. Responsible mining means that—from exploration to development and production—collaborating with local communities to ensure their well-being is a must.

Chile, atop the planet’s most vast copper reserves, is host to Minera El Abra, a subsidiary of Freeport McMoRan, one of the world’s largest copper miners. It is also home to Fundación Acrux, a special nonprofit which Minera El Abra  financially supports in the Antofogasta Region, high in the Andes Mountains where its operations are located.

Foundations of Good Health 

Fundación Acrux is a unique undertaking comprised of volunteer medical professionals who offer medical services to patients hailing from some of the most remote places in Chile’s  mountainous, desert regions. Minera El Abra funds its work to provide enhanced healthcare for communities throughout the region. The nonprofit collaborates closely with Freeport, Chilean government officials and the Chilean Navy (Armada de Chile) to ensure coordination and knowledge sharing across its vast programs.

Acrux’s 43 volunteer specialists, working with officials from the Ministry of Health and Chile’s Navy, have performed over 1,734 consultations and surgeries. In Mejillones, staff conducted 1,045 medical services, including 562 consultations, 17 procedures and 466 exams. In Tocopilla, meanwhile, patients benefited from 689 visits with Acrux, of which 396 were consultations, 80 procedures, 172 exams and 41 were surgeries. The organization provided specialists in cardiology, urology, ophthalmology, gynecology, nutrition, radiology, geriatrics and psychology. Sonographers and vascular surgeons also conducted consultations and procedures.

The health of the people who live around our mining operation are a priority for the company. It is a privilege for us to support this initiative.”

– Rubén Funes, Manager, Minera El Abra

A team of specialists with Acrux provided families with programs on obesity and child as well as senior health and wellness in Tocopilla. The Chilean Navy, meanwhile, transported both patients and ultrasound and other heavy equipment in a naval helicopter and patrol ship. Meanwhile, officials from the Ministry of Health coordinated the programming of healthcare, logged appointments, stored medical records and tracked expenses.

In 2018, the Acrux Foundation conducted operations in eight localities across Chile, with 16,000 medical consultations by patients with 262 professionals. Altogether, 590 volunteer professionals participated, representing 24 different medical specialties and the fields of counseling, social services and nutrition.

Partners with Local Communities

Worldwide, the advancement of the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8 “sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work” for all advanced significantly in 2018. To this end, Teck Resources has engaged Indigenous communities near its Highland Valley Copper (HVC) project in the traditional territory of the Nlaka’pamux Nation, 9,500 km (5,900 miles) to the north of Chile in British Columbia, Canada.

More broadly, 95 percent of its 1,260 employees—and 26 percent of its senior management—aare local hires at HVC, one of the world’s largest mines. Moreover, Teck partners closely with local communities, agencies and Indigenous groups to mitigate flooding and wildfire impacts in the region and to support relief efforts.

Comprehensive Commitments 

Since 2017, Teck entered into four agreements with local organizations representing 16 communities near HVC to undertake joint decisions on regulatory matters based on consensus. These created communications protocols and a community working group to guide consultations about land use and operations by the mine. The group also conducted a survey to elicit feedback by members of the community on the mining site tour and reclamation.

To support agreements with the community group, HVC established performance indicators on all areas of implementation for review by senior project managers each quarter. This review process has, in turn, generated enhanced awareness by company personnel and members of the community about issues critical to the operations and standards at the mine.

Procuring for Progress

Core to Teck’s agreements with Indigenous Peoples is procurement. In the past two years, HVC’s percentage of purchases with local suppliers increased to 37 percent, a 10 percent increase over 2014. This change follows new guidelines that HVC developed in 2016 to better incorporate commitments into the procurement process and to increase contracts awarded to Indigenous enterprises while ensuring safety.

Meanwhile, since 2017, Teck has enjoyed robust community feedback related to procurement. As part of the ongoing process, Teck officials now regularly engage community members to submit feedback on the bidding; they listen to concerns and implement corrective actions as required.

With growing demands for copper from emerging markets, global miners must mine responsibly and sustainably. As they tackle this challenge, initiatives led by Freeport, Teck and other members of the International Copper Association serve as guideposts for copper producers and others operating in this technology-laden industry.

About Freeport-McMoRan Inc.

Based in Phoenix, Arizona, Freeport-McMoRan operates large, long-lived, geographically diverse assets of copper, gold and molybdenum and is the world’s largest publicly traded copper producer. Its mines include the Grasberg district in Indonesia, one of the world’s largest copper-gold deposits, and major operations in North and South America, encompassing the large-scale Morenci minerals district in Arizona, the Cerro Verde operation in Peru and El Abra in Chile.

About Teck Resources Ltd.

Headquartered in Vancouver, Teck is Canada’s largest diversified resource firm. Dedicated to responsible mining and mineral development across jurisdictions, it has a major focus on copper, in addition to steelmaking coal, zinc and energy. Teck has four operating copper mines in Canada, Chile and Peru, and copper development projects in North and South America.

About Minera El Abra

Nearly 50 miles north of Calama, in Chile’s El Loa province, Region II, El Abra is an open-pit complex. The asset is 51 percent Freeport-owned and 49 percent controlled by Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (CODELCO). El Abra includes a capacity of 500 million pounds of copper cathode per year, a 125,000 metric ton-per-day.

About Highland Valley Copper

The Highland Valley Copper (HVC) project lies 17 km west of Logan Lake and approximately 50 km southwest of Kamloops in British Columbia. Teck has a 100% stake in HVC a large, low-grade copper and molybdenum deposit.

About The Copper Alliance®

The Copper Alliance is a network of regional copper centers and their industry-leading members. It is responsible for guiding policy and strategy and for funding international initiatives and promotional activities. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the organization has offices in four primary regions: Europe and Africa, Asia, Latin America and North America. Copper Alliance programs and initiatives are executed in more than 60 countries through its regional offices and country-level copper promotion centers.

KGHM Polska Miedź Foundation Brings Sustainability to the Home Front

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As one of Europe’s leading miners, KGHM is remarkable in many ways. For example, its core sustainability strategy is fully aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), a priority for all members of the International Copper Association.

As such, KGHM established its own Foundation to benefit the Polish communities living near some of the Europe’s greatest red metal reserves in the nation’s Copper Belt. Despite its copper riches and status as one of the most dynamic economies in Europe, many of Poland’s people face significant quality of life challenges stemming from poverty, and KGHM Polska Miedź Foundation is one of their staunchest advocates.

Since its beginnings in 2003, the Foundation has used a strategic, multi-faceted approach to funding health, safety, sports and recreation, science and education as well as cultural restoration. In all, it has enabled over 3,000 projects for other businesses and institutions and spent over $36.6 million. In 2017 and 2018 alone, KGHM financed 432 projects totaling $3.8 million.

When Every Second Counts

According to a recent European Commission study, Polish citizens are 60 percent more likely to die from circulatory diseases than the average EU resident. Mindful of such statistics, the Foundation sponsored 400 first aid trainings for local school gymnasts in 2018. A team of medical emergency workers from KGHM’s Mining and Smelting Rescue Unit, along with nurses and psychologists, contributed to the curriculum. The program prepared and distributed training manuals and focused on handling rescue equipment. Students were trained in performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation and addressing epileptic seizures, choking and fractures.

On Their Feet

The Foundation’s initiatives with students extend to the soccer/football fields—unquestionably the most popular sport in Poland. To this end, the Foundation ensures access to classes for children from low-income households ages 5 to 10 under the guidance of professional coaches and players.

“KGHM has been the animator of a healthy and active lifestyle for years. We support the development of professional players but also its supporters among children and young people.”

– Jakub Bednarek, KGHM Polska Miedź SA Foundation Management Board President.

The program encompasses rural areas and ensures as many children as possible can participate vis-à-vis training, matches and mentoring. In all, the Foundation granted $658,000 for sport and recreation in 2018.

Of Mathematics and Methodology

KGHM Polska Miedź Foundation’s influence reaches into classrooms, too, and includes a “Copper Mathematical School” to enhance knowledge among primary, middle and high school students. This program is advanced via the development of a universal mathematical textbook, with the organization of an annual math competition.

The final competition involves lectures by math majors from the Wrocław University of Technology. Every student, 400 in all, conducts their own mini-lecture related to the workshops and receives a diploma and small puzzles as gifts for participating in 720 lessons. The program emphasizes practical understanding of math as well as logical and theoretical thinking skills.

A Scientific Equation

On a similar note, KGHM Polska Miedź Foundation has brought scholastic science to the fore through a “Laboratories of the 21st Century” competition for chemistry and physics among Poland’s youth. In 2018 the Foundation provided grants of nearly $26,300 for cutting-edge lab equipment for seven schools in municipalities across the Copper Belt.

“Thanks to the ’21st Century Laboratories’ competition, five schools will be enriched with professional equipment of physics and chemical laboratories.”

– Jarosław Twardowski, President of the KGHM Polska Miedź Foundation Management Board.

Good Measures for Medicine

The KGHM Polska Miedź Foundation has served as a leading financial backer for the purchase of medical equipment for hospitals, rehabilitation centers and other health facilities, mainly in the Copper Belt and Lower Silesia. For example, this support led to the creation of a Copper Health Center that, last year, received funding for equipment purchases enabling an endoscopic center to perform over 6,000 exams. It also provided an ultrasound machine for a cardiac clinic and is helping to fund new colonoscopic laboratories in Lubin, Legnica and Głogów.

Mindful of Mining History

The Foundation also supports the commemoration of anniversaries of the discovery of Poland’s massive copper deposits. It funds mining conferences documenting the nation’s rich mining history, which dates back to 3,500 B.C., and the region’s original Neolithic tool makers. Along with iron ore, silver and gold, the era witnessed the emergence of copper quarries in Silesia and Malopolska, where KGHM operates today.

The breadth and scale of KGHM Polska Miedź Foundation programs reflect the achievements of KGHM, one of Europe’s most responsible mining firms. Meanwhile, the success of the top miner’s enterprising employees also reflects their origins. The Foundation is a natural, symbiotic extension of KGHM’s vast operations spanning Poland’s Copper Belt.

About KGHM Polska Miedź

With nearly 34,000 employees worldwide, KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. is a top multinational copper and silver producer. With a 50-year history, the Lublin-based miner operates 9 open-pit and underground mines in Poland, Canada, the U.S. and Chile. In addition, KGHM is a leading producer of copper sulphate, gold, nickel, molybdenum, lead and platinum group metals.

About the KGHM Polska Miedź Foundation

The KGHM Polska Miedź Foundation was established in 2003 for the needs of KGHM’s local communities, the regions and the nation of Poland. Since its creation, the Foundation has enabled over 3,000 projects of other businesses and institutions and spent in full on its statutory operations over $36.6 million.

About The Copper Alliance®

The Copper Alliance is a network of regional copper centers and their industry-leading members. It is responsible for guiding policy and strategy and for funding international initiatives and promotional activities. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the organization has offices in four primary regions: Europe and Africa, Asia, Latin America and North America. Copper Alliance programs and initiatives are executed in more than 60 countries through its regional offices and country-level copper promotion centers.

A Commitment to Conservation

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Freeport McMoRan Enhances Environmental Sustainability Across the Globe 

As one of the world’s largest copper producers, Freeport McMoRan’s mines span the globe. Freeport is also a pioneer in sustainability in North America, the Atacama Desert in Peru and Chile, and West Papua, Indonesia, forging strong relations with many communities along the way.

Environmental conservation, a key to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is instrumental to this engagement. Mines are intricately linked to the diverse ecosystems and people that surround them. Freeport uses dynamic, stakeholder collaborations with governments, universities and scientific organizations to create cutting-edge initiatives. It sponsors a wide range of programs in schools and museums promoting the preservation of some of the world’s most endangered creatures and plants and the ecosystems where they live.

Freeport McMoRan demonstrates a strong commitment to stringent standards for conservation at its operations, joining the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) in 2006. Since that time, 15 of Freeport’s environmental initiatives have achieved recognition by the WHC’s certification program, Conservation Certification. Freeport has built on this success by introducing wildlife protection plans in 2017 on location at each of its North American mines.

Special Species in Arizona

Mine activities, such as blasting, can have serious consequences for animal life. In Arizona, U.S. Sierrita operations staff have counteracted this challenge by cooperating with state and federal wildlife officials to establish a new population of threatened, Chiricahua leopard frogs, relocating over 500 from the mine to a national forest in Colorado. Elsewhere in Arizona, Bagdad personnel have helped state government officials to protect endangered native fish by capturing and relocating 200 roundtail chub, 42 Sonora suckers and 161 desert suckers from the project to a creek near the mine site.

The Arizona Mining Association recognized Freeport with an award for its work to protect and monitor 1.5 million bats roosting in two sites near its Safford mine and its educational programs for local students and the wider community.

Scaling New Heights in South America

Freeport’s Cerro Verde project, situated slightly southwest of Peru’s second-largest city Arequipa, sits atop 63,200 hectares (154,000 acres) in the Atacama Desert, one of the most arid places on earth. The Arequipa region is home to diverse plants and animals adapted to the extreme conditions.

A range of site personnel monitor and manage nearly 29,300 hectares (59,000 acres)—40 percent project land—using biodiversity-specific data and techniques to ensure the species and their habitats remain unimpacted by mine activity. Their programs protect Weberbauer cacti, an important food source for many species, by inducing them to flower and relocating seeds for long-snouted bats that consume and pollinate them. This intervention facilitates fruit production for reptiles and guanacos, a species similar to llamas that also spread seeds.

Elsewhere in the Andes

Endangered species and ecosystems exist throughout the South America, and Chile is no exception. Yet Freeport’s conservation also hits a high note just over 640 km (400 miles) to the south at its El Abra copper facility in another expanse of the Atacama, which covers an area of 6,324 hectares (15,405 acres) in the country. There, teams manage on-site desert shrubs and high wetlands alongside some 37,600 hectares (93,000 acres) of habitat.

In a partnership with scientists from Chile, Freeport staff from Argentina and Peru have conducted studies of potentially endangered domestic flamingos. One evaluation covered 90 percent of the areas that flamingos inhabit in northern Chile, including Arica, Tarapacá and Antofagasta. The team has protected 7,000 cacti through rescue and relocation programs. Additionally, the group partnered with Chilean academics to examine endemic fish in one of the area’s salt flats and conservation of native seeds.

From the Ground up in Indonesia

As the world’s second-largest copper-gold mine, PT Freeport Indonesia’s (PTFI) Grasberg project spans 300,000 hectares (740,000 acres) in West Papua, one of Indonesia’s most remote provinces, from sea level to 4,200 meters (13,700 feet) high. Encompassing mangrove forests, freshwater swamp forests, lowland tropics as well as heath and montane forest, 90 percent of the area also represents pristine, natural ecosystems.

This flourishing ecosystem is no accident. To combat poachers and others in the illegal wildlife trade,  PTFI joined officials at Lorentz National Park to repatriate endemic wildlife confiscated from illegal traders. Within the past decade, PTFI relocated nearly 11,000 pig-nosed turtles along with another 11 endangered or protected species, including parrots, turtles and crocodiles to kangaroos, lizards and other creatures, back to their habitats.

PTFI also recolonizes native species within site ecosystems, including tropical, subalpine and mangrove habitats. To date, employees and local volunteers planted more than 200,000 mangrove seedlings on nearby islands and encourages visitors to commemorate their visit by planting their own trees.

PTFI sponsors educational activities, allowing visitors to explore the site’s jungle trail, herbarium, butterfly sanctuary and botanical gardens. Local students participate in internships onsite and conduct research into native plants, pest management, reclamation and biodiversity. The company sponsors educational programming for both teachers and students in over 75 schools. In addition, PTFI offers training in environmental stewardship programs for economically vulnerable community members.

Diversity in Biodiversity

Despite its intense richness, research into Papua’s biodiversity proves highly limited. As such, PTFI has offered much of the area where it operates as a virtual laboratory for analysis by scientists. This project has revealed new species of crabs, mammals and frogs. In all, PTFI has collected over 5,000 plant and animal specimens, many of which can be seen at museums in Indonesia and around the world.

Recovery of naturally-stressed ecosystems is important, too, and the estuaries of southern Papua, with their heavy rainfall, are no exception. To counteract this pressure, PTFI has supported the operation of mangrove colonization programs since 2002. Through 2017, approximately 130 hectares of newly formed land on Waii Island have been revegetated with mangroves, reaching a survival rate surpassing 90 percent.

At 4,000 meters (1,300 feet) above level, meanwhile, the open pit Grasberg asset lies in an area of grasses, replete with ferns, herbs and shrubs. PTFI accordingly implements research to survey re-vegetation in these subalpine and alpine ecosystems, while propagating native plants and composting to support reclamation.

In an era defined by climate change, industrialization and consumer-driven demands for minerals, environmental conservation proves a priority for mines, which can last decades, if not generations. Through its conservation initiatives, Freeport is a leader in showing how miners can ensure mineral extraction is compatible with helping all types of species and their ecosystems thrive the world over.

About Freeport-McMoRan Inc.

Based in Phoenix, Arizona, Freeport-McMoRan operates large, long-term, geographically diverse assets of copper, gold and molybdenum and is the world’s largest publicly traded copper producer. Its mines include the Grasberg district in Indonesia, one of the world’s largest copper-gold deposits, and major operations in North and South America, encompassing the large-scale Morenci minerals district in Arizona, the Cerro Verde operation in Peru and El Abra in Chile.

About the Copper Alliance®

The Copper Alliance is a network of regional copper centers and their industry-leading members. It is responsible for guiding policy and strategy and for funding international initiatives and promotional activities. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the organization has offices in four primary regions: Europe and Africa, Asia, Latin America and North America. Copper Alliance programs and initiatives are executed in more than 60 countries through its regional offices and country-level copper promotion centers.

 

All-In for Clean Energy

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Chile’s Minera Zaldívar and Colbún S.A. Forge Mining History

Challenge

As copper demands increase and accessible ore wanes, reliable energy remains paramount for miners everywhere working overtime to meet their 24/7 power needs. Chile’s miners, by deploying clean technology to offset long truck routes and costly diesel, are setting an unprecedented shift across the sector—and the world beyond—just as global needs for environmentally sound mining have grown exponentially.

Given that the mining sector accounts for more than 38 percent of total industrial energy use—and 11 percent of total energy consumption —moreover, few other enterprises are better poised to foster the planetary shift necessary for a carbon-free future. Climate resilience and energy efficiency are also integral to the United Nations-led Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a key framework for the Copper Alliance® and all its member companies.

In the remotest reaches of the Atacama Desert, amid the planet’s most generous reserves, one very special project will spark a new beginning in 2020—when it becomes the world’s very first mine powered by 100 percent green energy.

Solution

With nearly two metric tonnes (3.8 billion pounds) of recoverable copper, Minera Zaldívar, co-owned by Barrick Gold Corp. and Antofagasta Minerals, operates in the barely vegetated expanses of the Atacama, 3,200 km above sea level and its closest deep-water shipping facility.

Since operations began in 1995, Zaldívar personnel have stoutly braved one of the earth’s coldest and driest places to ensure their products are successfully transported by rail and truck 196 km southeast to coastal Antofagasta.

In June 2018 officials announced an agreement to grant Colbún S.A., an independent power producer, a ten-year, 550-Gw (Gigawatt) contract to develop energy based on existing and planned wind, solar and hydroelectric-based installations. In all, the asset is forecast to abate 350,000 tons of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs)—equivalent to 87,000 vehicles—per year.

Result

The agreement establishes due diligence verification by an external auditor. Colbún has committed to undertaking studies to prepare for the construction of the 600-Mw (Megawatt) Horizonte wind asset that will be located near Taltal, close to the Argentine border. The agreement provides for a 4-year construction phase and 30-year concession, which will include royalties for the regional government.

“These diversified technologies will not only allow us to deliver 100 percent renewable energy but will also provide a reliable supply at competitive prices.”

– Juan Eduardo Vásquez, Manager of Business and Energy Management Division, Colbún S.A.

Chile, meanwhile, is already Latin America’s fastest-growing green economy. With over 260 alternative energy deployments and a majority of the region’s foreign investments in clean tech, it presents an ideal ecosystem. Encouraged by high-quality infrastructure and a progressive, investor friendly government, Chile’s miners use more clean energy than any other mining jurisdiction in the world.

About Minera Zaldívar – The Zaldívar mine is open pit, and a 50-50 Joint Venture (JV) between Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s top gold miner, and Chilean copper giant Antofagasta Minerals. In 2017, the asset produced 103,000 tonnes of per day (tpd) of cathodes. Its fleet has been progressively upgraded and expanded as the plant feed and truck fleet have 240,000 tpd volume capacity.

About Colbún S.A. – With a diversified renewable energy portfolio, Colbún S.A. is dedicated to energy generation and commercialization with 3,893 Mw of installed capacity in Chile and Peru.

About The Copper Alliance® – The Copper Alliance is a network of regional copper centers and their industry-leading members. It is responsible for guiding policy and strategy and for funding international initiatives and promotional activities. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the organization has offices in four primary regions: Europe and Africa, Asia, Latin America and North America. Copper Alliance programs and initiatives are executed in more than 60 countries through its regional offices and country-level copper promotion centers.