A major area of focus in our Sustainable Mining Plan is to be recognised as a leader in biodiversity in the mining sector. We aim to achieve this through being responsible and transparent biodiversity custodians so that our presence has a net positive impact (NPI) on biodiversity. We appreciate only too well that failing to do so will create risks for us from an operational perspective, and from loss of reputation, trust and social acceptability.
Our Minas-Rio iron ore mine is located in one of Brazil’s priority conservation areas (the Buffer and Transition Zone of the Espinhaço Range Biosphere Reserve). This is a transition area between the Atlantic Rainforest and Cerrado (Brazilian Savanna) biomes and is characterised by the presence of many caves.
The Atlantic Rainforest originally covered around 60 million hectares and extended over several, very different, environmental zones. Today, the forest cover is now around 12% of its original extent. This includes places where the rainforest is being regenerated, as well as degraded forest land, and comprises mainly small areas of under 100 hectares.
We are investing in biodiversity offsets at several sites in the region of the Minas-Rio operation by way of combating ongoing deforestation. These offset sites cover more than 15,000 hectares, of which around 12,000 hectares are legally constituted forest and are managed directly by Anglo American. The remaining hectares will be donated to the Minas Gerais state government in order to help conserve protected land by creating a ‘green ribbon’ that connects these areas.
Between 2014 and 2020, Anglo American made a number of major biodiversity investments, including $3.5 million dedicated to conservation of the 12,000 hectares of legally constituted forest in the Minas-Rio region, while $6.4 million was invested in the restoration of a further 1,300 hectares. In addition to these amounts, we also invested $2.4 million on the monitoring of fauna in the region, while $2.8 million was donated to the production of seedlings of native trees for reforestation of degraded areas. We are implementing several additional conservation initiatives in Brazil, including partnerships with NGOs for the restoration of wetlands, and with universities for scientific research, environmental education, and assessment of livelihood alternatives – which, together, will make a positive contribution to the region’s biodiversity conservation and its overall sustainable development. Such initiatives are essential to reduce the human pressure on remaining habitats and to tip the balance away from deforestation towards encouraging the restoration of forest land and to ensure we deliver positive conservation outcomes.
