Anglo American and Jiangxi Copper Company, one of China’s largest copper producers, 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 agreement was signed during a visit to Jiangxi Copper’s headquarters in Nanchang, China, and is part of Anglo American’s work with customers to create sustainable value chains beyond its own mining operations, recognising consumers’ increasing expectations for sustainably sourced and supplied raw materials.
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.”
He adds: “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.”
China is the world’s largest copper consuming nation, representing more than half of global demand for refined copper, fuelled by traditional applications in construction, appliances and machinery as well as the fast-growing renewable energy and electric vehicle sectors, with copper expected to play a pivotal role in enabling the country’s own decarbonisation progress.
“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,” said Chen Yunian, Deputy General Manager of Jiangxi Copper.
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.
Jiangxi Copper, whose operations include the huge Dexing mine, is no stranger to innovation – as an example in 2020 it began using China’s first larger tonnage unmanned hydraulic excavator for mining applications – XCMG’s 93 t class Intelligent Hydraulic Excavator XE950DA. It utilises a 5G+MEC commercial networking solution & remote online construction operations technology to achieve remote operation in a 4G/5G environment. Dexing has also deployed autonomous trucks using TAGE Idriver technology across both Komatsu and Chinese branded trucks.
Anglo American brings massive experience in decarbonisation in mining – from FCEV trucks via the First Mode nuGenTM Zero Emission Haulage Solution; to bulk ore sorting to help minimise comminution energy consumption; to the use of renewable power including solar and wind; to state of the art coarse particle flotation, again reducing the energy required in grinding.
