It is expected that the copper industry in 2040 will be twice the size as what it is today, with producers faced with a range of challenges linked to the need to meet growing copper demand while providing all the guarantees of responsible and sustainable production that society has come to expect from our sector.
This complexity highlights the importance of new projects such as Anglo American’s Quellaveco Mine, due to commence production later this year and expected to deliver around 300,000 tonnes per annum of copper equivalent production on average in the first 10 years of operation. Located in Moquegua, Peru’s most established copper producing region, the project is one of the largest undeveloped copper deposits in the world and has a current projected reserve life of 30 years – and potentially beyond.
Anglo American’s approach to sustainability goes beyond compliance with mining law or regulatory requirements, comprising mutually reinforcing elements that transform the way our stakeholders experience our business. We look not only to the physical product or the prices or volumes we supply, but also the more intangible qualities, such as the carbon footprint and the guarantees of responsible sourcing and production.
In our quest to build a sustainable business for the future, we are guided by our purpose of Re-imagining mining to improve people’s lives, responding to the many demands facing society today and putting our stakeholders firmly at the centre of our strategy.
Our Sustainable Mining Plan, introduced in 2018 to drive business efficiencies, resilience and agility, is designed to tackle many of today’s most pressing challenges, both environmental and social, in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. It is built around three major pillars: Healthy Environment, Thriving Communities and Trusted Corporate Leader.
The ‘Healthy Environment’ pillar, importantly, includes a number of ambitious decarbonisation targets, culminating in reaching carbon neutrality across all our operations by 2040. Switching to greener energy supplies is a key part of this journey. That’s why, as an example, we have closed deals with key energy providers to put us on track to ensure that 100% of our total energy demand in South America – including all our copper operations – is met by renewable energy sources starting this year.
We also see technology and digitalisation working hand in hand with sustainability. Our FutureSmartMiningTM programme puts innovation in service of underpinning a new way of mining, with a reduced environmental footprint and a comprehensive framework to create truly sustainable and thriving communities, thanks to our collaborative approach to regional economic development and our ambitious global stretch goals.
Shaping a sustainable future for our industry, however, requires us to look also at how the metals we mine reach our customers and how they are used further downstream in the value chain.
This includes a responsibility to do things in a way that is different from the past, forging the right conversations with customers and partners, centred on today’s demands as well as on their expected needs for the future. It means looking at how the industries our customers operate in can serve society and the end-consumers in a sustainable and cost-effective way.
We aim to establish a flexible and responsive model that connects customers with the materials they need as well as providing further tailored material solutions that are specifically designed around their evolving needs. To do this, in partnership with our customers – and their own customers – we are shaping an offering that channels the world’s increasing demand for essential metals and minerals into a requirement for transparent, ethical and sustainable value chains.
One of the objectives of our Sustainable Mining Plan is to gain independent assurance by 2025 for the sustainability credentials of our managed operations through independent and globally recognised standards, such as the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA). IRMA, of which Anglo American is a founding board member, provides third-party certification for social and environmental performance at mine sites globally. Seven Anglo American managed operations have either completed IRMA assessments or are currently in the process of being assured.
In March 2022, Anglo American’s managed copper operations in Chile – the Los Bronces and El Soldado mining operations and the Chagres smelter – have been awarded the Copper Mark, the assurance standard for responsible copper, developed to demonstrate the copper industry’s commitment to both the green energy transition and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
These efforts translate into a portfolio that supports our customers in meeting their own sustainability commitments and aspirations, while at the same time helping us redefine industry standards and respond to evolving consumer and societal expectations for responsibly sourced products.