Tag Archives: Antofagasta Minerals

Antofagasta Minerals’ Centinela, Zaldívar operations receive ‘world first’ Copper Mark recertification

Two of Antofagasta’s operations, Centinela (pictured) and Zaldívar, have become the first mines in the world to receive the Copper Mark “recertification”, the copper miner says.

This expanded certification, which includes 33 criteria covering environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, and defines due diligence requirements and responsible production, reaffirms the company’s commitment to responsible and sustainable production, and alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, it says.

“This recertification demonstrates that we produce copper, a metal critical for the energy transition, in line with the highest sustainability standards,” Alejandra Vial, Vice President of Sustainability at Antofagasta. “In turn, it helps us fulfil our purpose of developing mining for a better future.”

The Copper Mark recertification involved close collaboration between each operating company and Antofagasta’s corporate team, to achieve compliance with each of the criteria in a documented manner, through policies, standards and records of the implementation of practices., it says.

Carlos Espinoza, General Manager at Centinela, said: “Centinela and Zaldivar are the first operations globally to recertify with the new criteria and this is an important milestone in our sustainability journey. This clearly shows that our processes comply with the highest environmental, social and governance standards.”

Leonardo González, Zaldívar General Manager, adds: “The team at Zaldívar are very proud to receive the Copper Mark, as it demonstrates the high standards of our processes while highlighting opportunities for improvement.”

Last September, independent reviewers authorised by the Copper Mark visited both operations, as well as the surrounding areas of impact to corroborate the company’s sustainable practices and management in the field. This was done through a combination of site visits and interviews with employees, contractors, executive management teams and members of local communities.

Currently, Antofagasta’s four mining operations hold the Copper Mark, which must be renewed every three years. Recertification using the new criteria of our Los Pelambres and Antucoya operations is scheduled to take place in 2025.

BHP, Anglo American, Antofagasta, Codelco, Collahuasi team up to tackle cybersecurity

BHP, together with the mining companies Anglo American, Antofagasta Minerals, Codelco and Collahuasi, have launched the Mining Cybersecurity Corporation in an effort to tackle rising cybersecurity risks in Chile.

More than 4 billion cyber-attacks took place in Chile during the first half of 2023, positioning it as the fifth country in Latin America with the most incidents, according to BHP. The unprecedented technological progress in recent years brings important benefits, but also involves several cybersecurity risks.

Studies indicates that, by 2025, cyber attacks will cost companies approximately $10.5 billion.

Aware of the risks to the industry, these companies have come together in what BHP says is an unprecedented initiative led by Corporación Alta Ley and supported by the Chilean Ministry of Mining. The aim of the partnership is to generate and share cyber-intelligence information for early warning and response, and to promote a culture of cybersecurity in mining operations.

Ezequiel Fagetti, Cybersecurity Manager BHP Minerals Americas, said: “As BHP we are enthusiastic about this initiative and, therefore, we want to contribute with our experience in the protection of assets and systems. Cybersecurity is vital for the proper functioning of the different production systems and, ultimately, for us to continue contributing to the country. If we strengthen this aspect, we strengthen the mining industry as a whole, its value chain, and safeguard the benefits for everyone.”

Resourcing Tomorrow

Major miners join Resourcing Tomorrow lineup

Representatives from the world’s largest mining companies Anglo American, BHP, Glencore, Rio Tinto and Vale have confirmed their attendance for this year’s Resourcing Tomorrow event, in London, event organisers say.

These attendees will join other leading mining companies including AngloGold Ashanti, Antofagasta Minerals, Barrick, B2 Gold, Eldorado Gold, Endeavour Mining, Freeport-McMoRan, Newmont, Sibanye-Stillwater and Teck Resources.

As Europe’s largest mining event, Resourcing Tomorrow: Accelerating the Energy Transition takes place in London on November 28-30 and is poised to be yet another agenda-setting edition for the industry, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange among professionals in the field, event organisers say.

Resourcing Tomorrow unites all stakeholders in the mining industry, including global mining and energy companies, investors, government delegations, researchers, educators, regulators, suppliers and operators. The conference program will provide 100-plus sessions in which all of the aforementioned miners will participate, giving attendees the opportunity to engage and network with leaders and industry specialists from around the world.

The event will draw participants from more than 100 countries, including Australia, USA, UK, Canada, India, Brazil, South Africa, Ghana, Chile, Nigeria, Peru and Germany, demonstrating its international appeal and the global significance of the mining industry, organisers say.

With the increasing pace of change and emerging technologies in the mining industry, Resourcing Tomorrow will focus on the future of our industry and presents a unique opportunity for international representatives of the world’s leading resource economies to meet, find new partners, discuss current challenges, and share the latest research, technology and best practice.

International Mining is a media sponsor of Resourcing Tomorrow.

Charge On Innovation Challenge sparks more miner interest

The organisers of the Charge On Innovation Challenge have reported an overwhelming response to the preliminary phase, which closed on July 31, with 21 mining companies joining as patrons, over 350 companies from across 19 industries registering their interest as vendors, and more than 80 organisations submitting expressions of interest (EOI).

The challenge, a global competition, is expected to drive technology innovators across all industries to develop new concepts and solutions for large-scale haul truck electrification systems aimed at significantly cutting emissions from surface mining. It also aims to demonstrate an emerging market for charging solutions in mining, accelerate commercialisation of solutions and integrate innovations from other industries into the mining sector.

BHP, Rio Tinto, and Vale, facilitated by Austmine, launched the Charge On Innovation Challenge in May of this year, initiating the EOI process on May 18. Since the initial launch, Roy Hill, Teck, Boliden, Thiess, Antofagasta Minerals, Codelco, Freeport McMoRan, Gold Fields and Yancoal came forward as patrons by early July.

The latest release has highlighted another nine miners to join as patrons. This includes Barrick Gold, CITIC Pacific Mining, Evolution Mining, Harmony Gold, Mineral Resources Ltd, Newcrest Mining, OZ Minerals, South32 and Syncrude.

The patrons, supported by Austmine, will assess the proposals over the next month and select a shortlist of vendors who will then formally pitch their challenge solutions.

At least one of these proposals has come from ABB, which confirmed earlier this month that it had submitted its ideas for the challenge using its mine electrification, traction and battery system eand charging infrastructure expertise.

At the end of the pitch phase, the challenge patrons will look to select the most desirable charging concepts identified as having broad industry appeal and application, as well as providing a standard geometry that enables chargers to service trucks from different manufacturers. The first concepts could be ready for site trials in the next few years, according to the organisers.

BHP’s Charge On Innovation Challenge Project Lead, Scott Davis, said: “The Charge On Innovation Challenge is a great example of the current collaborative work being done by the mining industry in seeking solutions to decarbonise mining fleets. The challenge received interest from companies based in over 20 countries, showing the truly global reach of the opportunity to help reduce haul truck emissions.”

John Mulcahy, Rio Tinto’s lead for the Charge On Innovation Challenge, said: “Twenty-one mining companies, all focused on lowering carbon emissions, have joined as patrons. Together we’re encouraging technology innovators to help us introduce large-scale haul truck electrification solutions. The sooner we bring these technologies to market, the sooner we can introduce them to our fleet, and reduce emissions.”

Vale’s Charge On Innovation Challenge Project lead, Mauricio Duarte, said: “We are very happy with the results of the first phase of the project. It´s still early to talk about the success of the challenge, but it is clear that the industry has reached a new level: we worked together on a common sustainability agenda and we will work collectively to reach our goals, gaining safety and speed on our way to low carbon mining.”

WEF’s MMBI makes progress on emissions traceability with blockchain proof of concept

The World Economic Forum’s Mining and Metals Blockchain Initiative (MMBI) has released a proof of concept that uses distributed ledger technology to track embedded greenhouse gas emissions.

A collaboration between seven leading industry players and the World Economic Forum, the initiative has hit an important stage of development following its launch in October 2019, the WEF said.

The successful completion of the proof of concept, named the COT, which is a Carbon Tracing Platform, will be critical in helping to ensure traceability of emissions from mine to the final product. With a focus on end-to-end traceability, the COT platform uses distributed ledger technology to track CO2 emissions.

The founding members of the MMBI – Anglo American, Antofagasta Minerals, Eurasian Resources Group, Glencore, Klöckner & Co, Minsur, and Tata Steel – joined forces in October 2019 to design and explore blockchain solutions to accelerate responsible sourcing in the industry. By pooling resources and costs, the mining and metals companies aim to accelerate future adoption of a solution for supply chain visibility and environmental, social and governance requirements.

Developed in collaboration with industry experts, supported by the Dutch blockchain champion Kryha and Consortium Advisor Susan Joseph, it not only tests the technological feasibility of the solution, but also explores the complexities of the supply chain dynamics and sets requirements for future data use, the WEF said. In doing so, the proof of concept responds to demands from stakeholders to create ‘mine to market’ visibility and accountability.

Jörgen Sandström, Head of Mining and Metals Industry, World Economic Forum, said: “There is an increasing demand for metals and minerals, and an increasing demand for sustainable and responsible and traceable supply chains. There is a potential to create a full value chain view with downstream visibility, and, in partnering with regulators and aligning our work with robust ESG standards, sustainability certification schemes and assurance frameworks.”

This work lays the foundation for the next phase of the development and reinforces comprehensive feedback sessions with stakeholders. It also supports the MMBI vision to enable emissions traceability throughout complex supply chains and to create ‘mine to market’ visibility and accountability, it said.

Nadia Hewett, Blockchain Project Lead, World Economic Forum, added: “The distributed nature of blockchain technology enables cross-enterprise collaboration and makes it the ultimate networked technology. This opens exciting new possibilities that organisations otherwise would not have the capability to deliver on their own.”

Peter Whitcutt, Marketing CEO of Anglo American, said: “By leveraging cross-industry collaboration and the increasingly important role played by technology innovation, MMBI’s Proof of Concept can help to unlock the potential of blockchain to support a greater level of reporting transparency and drive responsible sourcing.”