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Andrade mine. Credit:ArcelorMittalAndrade mine. Credit:ArcelorMittalAudits

ArcelorMittal’s Andrade Iron Ore Mine Completes IRMA Audit

7 Jul 2026By

Brazilian Mine achieves IRMA Transparency when audited against the world’s only equally governed mining standard

7 July 2026 – Today the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) released the audit report of ArcelorMittal’s Andrade iron ore mine against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining. The mine operation is located in Brazil’s state of Minas Gerais. Independent audit firm SCS Global Services assessed the Andrade Mine at IRMA Transparency when measuring its performance against the Standard’s best practice social and environmental criteria.

IRMA Transparency means that the operation has been independently audited against all relevant requirements in IRMA’s Standard and has publicly shared its audit scores and the basis for auditors’ findings. By sharing such extensive information, a mine provides diverse stakeholders with the information needed to understand the mine’s operations and encourage improvement as needed. The full audit report (in English and Portuguese) is available on the Andrade Mine audit page on the IRMA website.

The information stakeholders need to decide what’s going well — and what may require more attention.

“This report demonstrates that mines can point to transparent, independent evaluations of their environmental and social performance,” said Aimee Boulanger, Executive Director of IRMA. “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.”

The IRMA Standard is recognized and adopted around the globe, where audits like Andrade’s are important steps in a deepening dialogue between mining companies and those affected by their operations. Because the IRMA process is always improving from the experience of the most recent audit, audit results should be reviewed and interpreted accordingly.

“An increasing number of community members and workers are engaging in IRMA audits, and they’re using the audit reports to communicate directly with the mining company about their priorities for improvement,” Ms. Boulanger said. “If readers find results inconsistent with their experience, we encourage them to share their perspectives with IRMA and the company so that we can improve the audit review process and support continuing improvement at the site—as community members and NGOs have already done in this case.”

Clínice Santos, Analyst of Integrated Management Systems, at ArcelorMittal, said: “Transparent disclosure of the audit results, conducted as soon as reasonably possible, reinforces our commitment to accountability and engagement with our stakeholders. By sharing this information, we seek to keep our audiences informed about the performance of our operations and to strengthen ongoing dialogue aimed at the continuous improvement of our practices.”

Including the Andrade Mine, 28 industrial-scale mines worldwide are within the IRMA independent assessment system. After an initial self-assessment, a participating mine engages a third-party audit firm — trained and approved by IRMA — to conduct a detailed independent evaluation, including on-site visits to the mine and nearby communities. Following the release of the initial audit, a shorter surveillance audit checks on the mine’s performance. Three years after the initial audit, the operation is fully audited again. (Note: The first mines audited in the IRMA system have had extensions to this timeline due to Covid delays and launch-phase learning; updated full reviews will be required to maintain or increase achievement scores.)

The independent IRMA system is the only global mining standard that provides equal power to the public sector (communities and Indigenous rights holders, mine workers, and environmental and human rights advocates) alongside the private sector (mining companies, mined materials purchasers and investors).

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