The sustainable energy transition is widely expected to rely heavily on essential metals like copper. We are working with several customers to help create ethical value chains for the products we sell.
Anglo American and Jiangxi Copper Company (“Jiangxi Copper”), one of China’s largest copper producers and our long-time customer, have signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to provide greater assurance on the way copper is mined, processed, and brought to market.
The collaboration was inked during a visit to Jiangxi Copper’s headquarters in Nanchang, China. China is the world’s largest copper consuming nation, representing more than half of global demand for refined copper1. This is fuelled by traditional applications in construction, appliances and machinery, as well as the fast-growing renewable energy and electric vehicle sectors. Copper is expected to play a pivotal role in enabling China’s decarbonisation progress.
Building on a relationship spanning more than a decade, the collaboration underscores our commitment to work with our customers and other stakeholders across our value chain, to understand their unique needs and offer the materials solutions that are essential to many of the technological innovations and applications required for the energy transition.
Peter Whitcutt, CEO of Anglo American’s Marketing business, said: “We are developing a series of partnerships to shape a more sustainable and customer-centric value chain – one that meets consumer-driven demand for copper with demonstrably strong provenance credentials. That value chain begins with our portfolio of high-quality and long-life assets, now also including our world-class Quellaveco mine in Peru, which began production in 2022.
“In line with our Sustainable Mining Plan goal to establish ethical value chains for our products, this collaboration aims to support Jiangxi Copper’s efforts to contribute to the Chinese industry’s long-term decarbonisation goals and transition to a greener economy, as we work to provide materials solutions that are responsibly produced, sourced and delivered.”
Chen Yunian, Deputy General Manager of Jiangxi Copper, said: “As one of the world's largest copper producers, Jiangxi Copper is committed to green, sustainable and high-quality development. Through this cooperation with Anglo American, we will focus on advanced technologies and innovative applications of mining, processing and smelting, and promote the development of a sustainable and responsible copper supply chain with a focus on renewable energy utilisation, energy conservation and emission reduction”.
Technology and digitalisation work hand-in-hand with sustainability and, through our collaboration with Jiangxi Copper, we will explore technology-driven traceability solutions designed to offer third parties greater assurance of the production cycle, and further support the promotion of responsible production.
Paul Ward, Executive Head of Marketing for Base Metals at Anglo American, said: “As global demand for copper continues to grow, and recognising consumers’ increasing expectations for sustainably sourced and supplied raw materials, we are committed to playing a role that stretches beyond our own activities and accelerates progress across the value chain.
“Our approach to sustainability goes beyond compliance with mining law or regulatory requirements and looks not only to the physical product, but also to the intangible qualities such as carbon footprint, and greater assurance of responsible sourcing and production as an integral part of our customer proposition. By playing a leading role in the industry to deliver to an assured standard, and driving greater transparency in the copper supply chain, we are building a sustainable business for the future and putting our stakeholders firmly at the centre of that strategy.”
Anglo American’s managed copper operations in Chile – the Los Bronces and El Soldado mining operations and the Chagres smelter – were awarded the Copper Mark, the assurance standard for responsible production practices, in 2022. To learn more about commitment to our customers, and to shaping the future together, click here.
1 https://www.statista.com/statistics/693466/distribution-of-global-refined-copper-consumption-by-region/#:~:text=Global%20refined%20copper%20consumption%20distribution%202022%2C%20by%20region&text=The%20world's%20largest%20consumer%20of,total%20global%20copper%20consumption%20volume