Aurubis, the world’s leading supplier of non-ferrous metals and one of the largest copper recyclers in the world, and Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, have signed a letter of intent. In support of the Chilean-German Raw Materials Partnership, which both governments signed in La Moneda, the agreement includes cooperation and the exchange of ideas with the aim of contributing to building an industry and a value chain based on sustainable and responsible copper production.
In this context, it identifies potential areas of collaboration regarding smelting operations and circular economy projects in Chile. The document also contains an agreement for a concerted effort to promote the Copper Mark, the gold standard for sustainability and supply chain integrity in the copper industry. Copper Mark’s responsible production criteria are comprehensive and rigorous, derived from 32 leading internationally recognised sustainability standards.
Roland Harings, CEO of Aurubis commented: “The world needs metals like copper to meet climate goals and transform the industry. For the foreseeable future, raw materials will be needed to meet the ever-increasing global demand for copper. That’s why it’s very important that stakeholders across the entire value chain work together and adhere to certain standards. This is the only way we can ensure that metals are produced in a truly responsible way. Aurubis ambitiously and resolutely promotes the Copper Mark. We follow the continuous improvement approach with our business partners and therefore I am deeply convinced that our future cooperation with Codelco has the potential to make an immense contribution to advancing supply chain sustainability.”
Máximo Pacheco, Chairman of the Board of Codelco, said: “A key challenge we have is to increase copper production in an environmentally responsible manner to achieve a friendly coexistence with our communities and enable the transition towards renewable energies, electrification and electromobility. Our commitment is not only with the development of Chile, but also with the entire world, so the realisation of initiatives like this one contributes in a virtuous way with our objectives.”
For his part, the Executive President of Codelco, André Sougarret, stated that “responsible copper production is one of Codelco’s strategic pillars and that is why we have taken this challenge very seriously. We defined a series of commitments to reduce the footprint of carbon and the consumption of continental water, in addition to recycling industrial waste, among others.The only place that Codelco can occupy in our country is to be a leader in development with environmental protection.”
The parties expressed their firm support for the Chilean-German Alliance Raw Materials Partnership that was reestablished in Santiago de Chile in the presence of Gabriel Boric, President of Chile and Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. This alliance aims to intensify cooperation in the fields of mining, development, trade in raw materials and the circular economy.