Aurubis AG: Collaboration with Anglo American plc for sustainably sourced and supplied copper

Aurubis AG (Aurubis) and Anglo American plc (Anglo American), a British listed multinational mining company headquartered in London, England, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding during the World Copper Conference Asia 2022 in Singapore. Both companies want to develop copper products that respond to the increasing expectations for future-enabling metals that are sustainably sourced and supplied. Anglo American is one of the world's largest producers of platinum, diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore and steelmaking coal. 

The objective of the collaboration is to provide assurances for the way copper is mined, processed, transported and brought to market. Applying their combined expertise, Aurubis and Anglo American will also explore the opportunities of technology-driven traceability solutions to bring greater transparency to the entire production cycle, as well as areas of common interest in technology development. 

Roland Harings, CEO of Aurubis: “Sustainability is a core pillar of our strategy. We are constantly investing in solutions for responsibly handling the resources entrusted to us as the most efficient smelter network in the world. This collaboration with Anglo American is yet another example of how we intend to develop and enhance the transparency of the entire supply chain. Anglo American’s Sustainable Mining Plan aligns with the pillars of the Aurubis sustainability label Tomorrow Metals, launched in 2021. This is a promise to our business partners that they will stay best in class in all the sustainability challenges of today and the future by using our metals.” 

Peter Whitcutt, CEO of Anglo American’s marketing business: “Copper plays such a pivotal role in addressing the challenges of climate change and raising living standards for the world's growing population. Rightly, it needs to be produced sustainably and as part of a customer-centric supply chain. Together with Aurubis, and in line with our Sustainable Mining Plan goal to establish ethical value chains, we are engaging with industry participants to optimize the value that responsible supply can provide. The value chain starts from our portfolio of high-quality and long-life resource assets, now including our new world-class Quellaveco mine in Peru, and we are now working to establish a more comprehensive and integrated approach along the entirety of what is a fragmented mine-to-customer journey.”

Both companies participate in the Copper Mark, the quality seal for sustainability in the copper sector. Since 2020, mines and smelters have been able to have their sustainability performance audited and verified by third parties. Aurubis has already obtained the Copper Mark for the sites in Pirdop (Bulgaria), Hamburg and Lünen (both in Germany). The Copper Mark has also developed a due diligence standard that serves to fulfill the responsible metal sourcing standards of the London Metal Exchange (LME), one of the world’s most important metal exchanges.