Two Anglo American mines have been assessed against the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance’s (IRMA) Standard of Responsible Mining for the first time.
The IRMA standard provides a framework for developing responsible processes throughout the mining life cycle.
The Mototolo and Amandelbult platinum group metal mines in South Africa received an IRMA 75 and IRMA 50 respectively.
The scores signify the percentage at which the mines meet a core set of critical requirements under the IRMA’s Standard of Responsible Mining.
“Aligned to our strategy to be a leader in ESG, and adding value to the products that we mine, we are helping our customers to meet increasing expectations for responsibly sourced mined materials in an efficient and credible way,” Anglo American Platinum chief executive officer Craig Miller said.
“The IRMA assurance process has provided us with a valuable opportunity to measure our performance at Amandelbult and Mototolo against international best sustainability practices and identify next steps for improvement.
“We are immensely proud of the work the teams have been doing across these operations to support responsible mining and we look forward to continuing to lead the way in the mining sector globally.”
Anglo American’s Unki plantium mine in Zimbabwe achieved an IRMA 75 in 2021, becoming the first in the world to publicly commit to an independent audit.
“Retaining IRMA 75 at Unki also provides assurance that we continue to implement the highest standards of responsible mining,” Miller said.
The Mototolo and Amandelbult mines are the first PGM mines in South Africa to complete an IRMA audit.
“Through detailed IRMA audit reports, mining companies, communities and companies that purchase mined materials can gain the information they need to decide what’s going well — and what may require more attention — at specific mines,” IRMA executive director Aimee Boulanger said.
“The Mototolo, Amandelbult and Unki reports demonstrate that these mines can point to transparent, independent evaluations of their environmental and social performance.”
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