ALBEMARLE’S ATACAMA “SALAR PLANT” TO BE IRMA-AUDITED
Albemarle renews their IRMA participation at the Salar Plant in Chile for another 3 years
Albemarle has signed agreements with the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), and IRMA-approved independent audit firm KPMG PRI to continue to independently assess its Atacama Salar Plant against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining. The lithium operation is located in Chile’s Atacama desert.
Renewal Audits in the IRMA Assessment Cycle
In the IRMA assessment cycle, a mining operation first undergoes a comprehensive Initial Audit and the audit firm awards an IRMA Achievement level, valid for 3 years. Approximately 18 months after Initial Audit publication, the operation completes an abbreviated Surveillance Audit to ensure site performance still supports its IRMA Achievement and to monitor progress on the site’s Corrective Action Plan. Before the expiration of its IRMA Achievement level, the operation completes a comprehensive Renewal Audit.
The audit firm will conduct the Renewal Audit, which includes a desk review followed by an onsite audit. In advance, the onsite audit will be announced to alert interested parties of the opportunity to participate. When the audit is complete, IRMA will publish a Renewal Audit report that summarizes the audit process and explains how and why the site scored against each of the 400+ requirements of the IRMA Standard, and refreshes the site’s IRMA Achievement level.
Stakeholder Engagement in the Assessment
Interested stakeholders and rightsholders can find information about the Renewal Audit including the scope of the audit, a timeline of activities, announcements regarding the onsite audit, and a link to the public audit report on the IRMA web page. Previous site audit reports are also available.
Members of the community, public officials, representatives of the workforce, or other organizations are invited to submit comments regarding how the mine site is managing their impacts to the environment including air, water, waste, greenhouse gases, and ecosystems; how the mine supports their workforce; and how the mine interacts with the surrounding community; and how it impacts the community, positively or negatively.
Interested parties may contact the independent audit firm, KPMG PRI to share comments or to ask to be interviewed as part of the audit process. The audit firm can be reached via:
On the web: https://casurveys.efmfeedback.com/se/50D28DB25EEC6A3F
Email: irma@kpmg.ca
WhatsApp: +1 236 558 4483
For more information
- For information regarding the Salar Plant’s renewal audit or to view its past audits: https://responsiblemining.net/audits/salar-de-atacama-salar-plant/
- IRMA’s mission, Standard, assessment process, or other mine audits: responsiblemining.net
- Providing feedback or filing a complaint about the audit process: responsiblemining.net/feedback-complaints
