Tag Archives: IRMA

Greenbushes hard-rock lithium mine to undergo Australia-first IRMA scrutiny

Energy minerals, Environmental, Mine operation news, Mining industry recognition, Sustainable mining, , , , ,

Talison Lithium Pty Ltd has announced that its Greenbushes lithium operation will be the first mine in Australia to undergo a third-party independent assessment against the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) Standard for Responsible Mining.

The decision to volunteer Greenbushes for IRMA audit reflects Talison’s commitment to responsible mining practices and transparency, the company says.

Located 250 km south of Perth in Western Australia, the Greenbushes lithium operation has been a leader in the Australian hard-rock lithium sector for over 40 years. Renowned globally for its high-quality ore reserves, it is a key supplier of lithium.

The IRMA assessment will be conducted by SCS Global Services, an IRMA-approved independent audit firm, and will include a comprehensive two-stage process: a desktop review (Stage 1) followed by an on-site audit (Stage 2).

Ian McGuire, Interim Managing Director, Talison, said: “We care about a better future – and we know our stakeholders do as well. Whether it be employees, the community, or customers, we want them to know we are committed to responsible mining and production practices.

“To achieve this, we need to provide those affected by our mine with the information they need to engage in meaningful dialogue about where Talison is achieving best practice, and where there is more work to be done. That’s why we’re conducting an IRMA audit.”

IRMA Executive Director, Aimee Boulanger, added: “By volunteering Greenbushes for independent audit against the world’s most rigorous global mining standard, Talison is providing unprecedented transparency into the operations of an Australian mine. They are effectively putting themselves under a microscope and welcoming affected stakeholders to examine their mine and help them make their mine more responsible”.

IRMA is (1) a voluntary mining standard describing best practices to protect people and the environment; (2) an assurance process to measure mines against that standard; and (3) an organisation equally governed by representatives of six affected stakeholder sectors – communities, organised labour, NGOs, finance, purchasers and mining companies – that controls the standard and the assurance process.

Talison, a wholly owned subsidiary of Windfield Holdings Pty Ltd – privately held by Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia, a joint venture between Tianqi Lithium Corporation and IGO Limited (holding 51%, and Albemarle Corporation holding 49% – operates the Greenbushes lithium operation.

Albemarle maps out project plan for Kings Mountain hard-rock lithium mine

Energy minerals, Mineral project development, Sustainable mining, , , , ,

Albemarle Corporation has introduced its project plan for the Kings Mountain Mine, one of the few known hard-rock lithium deposits in the US.

The plan includes the proposed site footprint, primary physical features and details of the mining processes. Pending permitting approval and a final investment decision, the mine is anticipated to produce approximately 420,000 tons (381,018 t) of lithium-bearing spodumene concentrate annually.

After permit approvals are secured, Albemarle expects to use open-pit mining to deepen and expand the current mine pit to the southwest. The existing rock and soil will be drilled, blasted and loaded into trucks and hauled to various destinations at the mine site. Rock that does not contain lithium-bearing spodumene ore will be separated and stored at on-site rock storage facilities or repurposed for other uses. A portion of the rock that can be used for construction aggregate production is expected to be transported to the adjacent Martin Marietta quarry.

Ore will be hauled by truck to the run-of-mine (ROM) pad used to feed the on-site mineral processing facility at an average rate of circa-3.1 million tons per year (circa-8,900 tons per day). Albemarle intends to subsequently transport the spodumene concentrate by truck and/or rail to an off-site conversion plant at the rate of approximately 420,000 tons per year.

“The Kings Mountain Mine is a world-class resource that can provide an essential element to power our future,” Albemarle Energy Storage President, Eric Norris, said. “We are pleased to share our plan with the community as we continue to seek their engagement to redevelop this rich, domestic resource in a safe and responsible manner.”

The proposed project plan, shared this week at a community open house and available online, includes several environmentally and socially responsible mining features and practices:

  • Reduced land disturbance: The plan includes the use of the former Kings Mountain Mine to support mining operations and the use of a former mica mine for tailings storage—both designed to minimize the amount of land disturbance necessary.;
  • Sustainable materials management: Non-ore-bearing material from mining operations is planned to be transferred to the adjacent Martin Marietta Kings Mountain Quarry for processing and sale as construction aggregate. The arrangement is intended to contribute to a more sustainable management of resources and a portion of the sales are planned to be used to support Kings Mountain and the surrounding communities. In addition, Albemarle is currently testing secondary markets for processed ore tailings, which may have applications in ceramics or construction materials industries;
  • High standards and accountability: Planning for environmental protection measures and community engagement has been conducted to align with the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance’s (IRMA) Standard for Responsible Mining, a comprehensive set of requirements designed to reduce adverse environmental and social impacts and create benefits for local communities. Once operational, the mine would undergo a full third-party verification assessment conducted by an IRMA-approved certification body; and
  • Sustainable water management: The mine is designed to operate with collected precipitation to support its operations, relying on external sources only for drinking water, fire protection and sanitary purposes.

In September 2023, Albemarle Corporation signed agreements with Caterpillar Inc to collaborate on solutions to support the full circular battery value chain and sustainable mining operations. This aimed to support Albemarle’s efforts to establish Kings Mountain, North Carolina as the first-ever zero-emissions lithium mine site in North America, with the efforts including use of next-generation, battery-powered mining equipment.

In 2023, Albemarle was awarded a $90 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to help support the purchase of a fleet of mining equipment as part of the mine’s redevelopment. In 2022, Albemarle was also awarded a $150 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to expand domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles.

Along with the project plan, Albemarle also commenced the public participation portion of a voluntary Environmental and Social Impact Assessment. As a key element of IRMA’s Standard for Responsible Mining, the assessment seeks to better understand and manage potential impacts from the proposed mine with consideration to the surrounding environment, local economy and the community’s health and safety. Albemarle plans to use the outcomes of the assessment to develop environmental and social management plans to minimise adverse impacts and enhance benefits.

Kumba’s Sishen and Kolomela iron ore mines achieve IRMA 75 accreditation

Mine operation news, Steel and iron ore, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , ,

Kumba Iron Ore, majority owned by Anglo American, has announced that its Sishen and Kolomela mines in South Africa have been assessed against the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance’s (IRMA) comprehensive mining standard, achieving the IRMA 75 level of performance.

This reflects Anglo American’s integrated approach to sustainability and its commitment to transparency in striving for the highest levels of responsible iron ore production, the company said.

Mpumi Zikalala, Chief Executive of Kumba Iron Ore, said: “We are proud of our teams’ efforts and the outstanding progress made across both of our operations to promote responsible mining practices. As part of our commitment to leading in ESG practices, we are dedicated to delivering premium quality iron ore products that help to reduce carbon emissions in the steelmaking process, while helping our customers meet the growing demand for responsibly sourced materials in an efficient and independently verified way. Through the IRMA assurance process, we have been able to evaluate our sustainability performance at Sishen and Kolomela mines, identify areas for improvement and ensure that we strive to adhere to the highest standards of responsible mining.”

Themba Mkhwanazi, Anglo American’s Regional Director – Africa and Australia, said: “We are pleased that Kumba is the first iron ore producer in Africa to complete the IRMA audit, providing stakeholders with a way of accounting for sustainability practices that is transparent, verifiable and comparable. Launched last year, our digital traceability platform Valutrax™ is available to customers purchasing Anglo American mined products, helping them to trace metals and minerals through a tailored selection of key provenance and sustainability indicators, including third-party assurance such as IRMA. The IRMA results demonstrate further progress on our Sustainable Mining Plan commitment of having all our operations undergo third-party audits against responsible mine certification standards by 2025. IRMA improves our ability to build an understanding of areas where we can continue to improve our ESG performance.”

Aimee Boulanger, Executive Director of IRMA, said: “Through detailed IRMA audit reports, mining companies, communities and companies that purchase mined materials can gain the information they need to decide what’s going well — and what may require more attention — at specific mines. The Sishen and Kolomela reports demonstrate that these mines can point to transparent, independent evaluations of their environmental and social performance.”

The IRMA scoring system recognises four levels of performance: IRMA Transparency, in which a mine is third-party-assessed and publicly shares its scores; IRMA 50, 75 or 100, signifying that a mine meets a core set of critical requirements together with at least 50%, 75% or 100% of the requirements in each of the four sections of the Standard for Responsible Mining being met respectively.

IRMA’s Standard for Responsible Mining has been developed over a decade through a public consultation process with more than 100 different individuals and organisations, including mining companies, customers and the ultimate downstream users of mined products, NGOs, labour unions and communities and is considered to be one of the most rigorous certification processes, IRMA says.

Sishen and Kolomela join other Anglo American operations such as Minas Rio, Barro Alto, Mototolo and Unki in gaining IRMA 75 accreditation.

SQM to highlight ESG lithium credentials with IRMA audit

Energy minerals, Environmental, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , ,

Lithium leader, SQM has commenced a third-party audit against what it says is the world’s most rigorous standard of best practices in environmental and social responsibility at industrial scale mines: the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA)’s Standard for Responsible Mining.

According to a United Nations Environment Programme report published in 2020, IRMA “is the only mine-site focused multi-stakeholder standard for industrial-scale mining that offers independent external verification and certification, that requires corrective actions and continuous improvement”.

IRMA is also the only mine-site standard that requires community engagement in all steps of the process, an aspect of focus for SQM, the miner said. The IRMA standard has the most robust criteria related to fair labour and terms of work, occupational health and safety, and community health and safety, it added.

By commencing a publicly-noticed, independent third-party audit, the company can now participate as a Member in the IRMA scheme. This makes SQM the second lithium mining company and the first Chile-based mining company to initiate an independent IRMA audit and, through this, become a full IRMA Member.

An audit report will also be shared publicly upon completion, allowing reviewers to understand both strengths and challenges at the operation, and will guide improvements.

This membership is part of SQM’s established process of working to a high standard of transparency and public accountability in its corporate objectives on environmental matters, sustainable operations and social responsibility, it said.

At the end of 2021, SQM also announced it is participating in the UN’s Race To Zero program, and trialling Chile’s first high-tonnage electric truck to be used in low-emission mining operations.

SQM’s CEO, Ricardo Ramos, said: “This is a fantastic step forward for SQM in our ongoing efforts to continue to lead the industry in terms of sustainability commitments and public reportability of our ESG objectives. SQM’s IRMA membership represents the newest development in a slew of green initiatives, but we are not stopping here. Our aim is to achieve the IRMA Transparency Level by 2022 and IRMA 50 by 2025, and we are firmly optimistic that we can make the changes necessary to meet these carefully considered goals.

“This is an exciting time for SQM as we continue to explore innovative ways to make our lithium production more environmentally friendly, while listening and supporting our local communities.”