lithium

Audits

IRMA Announcement: Salar Plant, Salar de Atacama (Albemarle) Assessment Stage 1

2 September 2021By
The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) announces the commencement of a third-party independent assessment of Albemarle’s Salar de Atacama “Salar Plant” brine extraction site against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining. The site produces a lithium-rich brine, potash, bischofite, halite, and sylvinite. The Salar Plant is located inside Albemarle’s mining concession area in the Salar de Atacama sector, in the commune of San Pedro de Atacama, El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region, Chile. ERM Certification and Verification Services (ERM-CVS), an IRMA-approved certification body, will be carrying out the assessment, which includes a desk review (stage 1) followed by an on-site audit (stage 2). Scope of the Assessment During the assessment the impacts and issues associated with the site will be reviewed, and each operation and facility will be visited. The assessment will include brine extraction, concentration, and waste disposal areas at the Salar de Atacama Salar Plant site. For more on assessment scope, see the Salar Plant assessment page on the IRMA website. Stakeholder Engagement in the Assessment Stakeholders are invited to submit comments to ERM-CVS on the social and environmental performance of the Salar Plant operations (in particular, how the site measures against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining). Salar Plant stakeholders may also contact ERM-CVS if they are interested in being interviewed as part of the assessment process. Stakeholder comments and expressions of interest in being interviewed as part of the audit process should be submitted by email or mail to:
ERM Certification and Verification Services Email: post@ermcvs.com Mail: Exchequer Court, 33 St Mary Axe, London, EC3A 8A
Interested stakeholders and members of the public can visit the Salar Plant assessment page of IRMA’s website to view up-to-date information on the Salar Plant assessment (e.g., the timing of the stage 2 on-site visit, link to pubic summary of audit results). Please forward this announcement, and feel free to contact ERM-CVS directly to provide names and contact information for other stakeholders who may be interested in knowing about and participating in the Salar Plant assessment process. For More Information
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Purchasers

The EV revolution will take batteries, but are they ethical?

21 January 2020By

Up-and-coming IRMA positions itself as the most rigorous third-party mining standard to emerge. . . Microsoft, Tiffany and Anglo American are already IRMA members; BMW is the first carmaker to sign up.

Adria Vasil, Corporate Knights

 

“. . .The EV revolution has been racking up a whole supply chain of trouble around the globe (including a recent lawsuit) related to an onslaught of often-contentious new mines opening to meet surging battery-metal demand, not to mention the coming tide of e-waste from old batteries.

If we want to fix this before e-cars take over the roads (30% of car sales should be electric across the EU and North America by 2030, analysts forecast), the time to ensure it’s done right is now. A handful of companies are trying to get out ahead of looming environmental and social risks. . .”

 

Read the full Corporate Knights article >

Photo credit: Lithium mines in Chile, Open Commons.

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Mining

China, e-silk roads and a plea for change

22 August 2019By

The EV revolution is in its infancy, but it is gaining traction, and its minerals, whatever they are, will have to be mined responsibly.  

Author, John Harker

 

What if China, the EU, and North America co-operated to undertake a major survey of Responsible Mining and Rare-Earths? A survey in which major mining houses such as BHP, Glencore, and Anglo-American would have much to offer, especially as they are increasing or refining their own focus on “battery” minerals.

In fact, their involvement is key. They know the ups and downs in mining as the EV revolution unfolds. A year ago, Ivan Glasenberg, the CEO of Glencore, stressed that his company has “a key role to play in enabling the transition to a low-carbon economy”. This is true, but the company has seen its profits drop due in large part to its “battery minerals” business.

Anglo-American is the world’s largest supplier of platinum and palladium, which are essential to the smooth running of cars fueled by Petrol/Gas, and the company is now intent on developing a lithium battery which will use the platinum-group metals instead of cobalt and nickel.

The great mining houses are among the companies which created the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, a body which would also be a source of strength for any such survey.

Read the full article on Mining.com >

Photo credit: Electric taxi in Shenzhen, China. (Image: Brücke-Osteuropa | Wikimedia Commons.)

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Purchasers

Are There Potential Downsides of Going to 100 Percent Renewable Energy?

8 July 2019By

A new study looks at the danger to biodiversity that could come from increased mining of minerals used to create batteries for renewable energy technologies . . . EV and battery industry are urged to source from IRMA-certified mines.

Until recycled materials become a feasible alternative to mining, the researchers say, the industry will continue to mine new materials to meet the growing needs of the energy sector, and renewable energy companies will be on the hook for ensuring that their emissions-free technologies aren’t causing potentially irreversible environmental degradation.

“[The] best practice is to source metals through verified high-bar standards/certification schemes (such as the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance) [rather than through] industry self-monitoring,” said report co-author Dominish.

According to the report summary, the EV and battery industries urgently need to take action to ensure sustainability in their supply chains, particularly for the sourcing of lithium, cobalt, and rare earth metals.

Access the full article in the Pacific Standard.

 

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Purchasers

Renewables promising for miners, but edge may go to most responsible operators

1 May 2019By

The rise of renewable energy to meet global climate goals could be a boon for global mining companies but new customers may also bring higher levels of scrutiny to corporate responsibility practices in the sector.

Increased production of renewable energy resources to meet the goals set out by the Paris Agreement on climate change is expected to drastically boost demand for valuable materials including lithium, cadmium, silver, rare earth metals, aluminum and copper. As demand rises, a growing number of stakeholders are calling for close attention to the environmental, social and governance practices of mining companies crucial to the renewable energy supply chain.

 

Read the full article on Market Insider —>>

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