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Unki concentrator. Credit: Valterra PlatinumAudits

Valterra Platinum’s Unki Mine Completes First-Ever IRMA Renewal Audit

3 Sep 2026By

Zimbabwean Platinum Mine achieves IRMA 75 in the first renewal audit against the world’s only equally governed mining standard.

Today, the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) released the first renewal audit report in its history, assessing Valterra Platinum’s Unki mine against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining. The platinum group metals operation is located in Shurugwi, Zimbabwe.

Improving Performance

Unki’s IRMA 75 Achievement Level means that SCS Global Services evaluated its performance against the IRMA Standard’s 428 requirements and determined it substantially or completely met all 40 critical requirements and scored at least 75% in each of the Standard’s four principle areas. Since its initial audit, Unki’s performance improved in three of the four principles: business integrity, planning for positive legacies, and environmental responsibility. Social responsibility held steady since the initial audit.

“Unki’s improved performance reported in this first renewal audit demonstrates the IRMA system at work, facilitating an operation’s improvement journey towards best practice by providing  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.”   

Sites begin the IRMA assessment cycle with a comprehensive Initial Audit, earning an IRMA Achievement level valid for three years. At 18 months, an abbreviated Surveillance Audit verifies ongoing performance and Corrective Action Plan progress. A comprehensive Renewal Audit occurs before the initial achievement expires. Because Unki was the first operation independently audited against the IRMA standard, its cycle extended beyond three years to accommodate learnings and process improvements.

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). Including Unki, 29 industrial-scale mines worldwide have undergone IRMA audit. All audit reports, including Unki’s initial, surveillance, and renewal audits are available at responsiblemining.net/audits.

 

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