Aurubis, Codelco cooperate to improve sustainability of copper value chain

Aurubis says it views long-term relationships with mining industry partners as an important strategy to meet rising global demand for responsibly produced metals.

two men with gray hair sit at a table with papers in front of them
From left: Aurubis CEO Roland Harings and Codelco CEO Rubén Alvarado
Photo courtesy of Aurubis

After signing a memorandum of understanding as part of the wider German-Chilean Raw Materials Partnership that aims to build a more sustainable and responsible copper industry and value chain in January 2023, copper recycler Aurubis and mining company Codelco signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement this February. Through the agreement, the companies say they aim to further improve copper production while also balancing the needs of the environment and people along the supply chain.

The companies’ cooperation agreement comprises six core working areas: technical projects for more environmentally friendly production in Chile; an employee exchange program to promote awareness of a sustainable supply chain; expanded commercial activities to secure more metals for the European energy transition; the exchange of information on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) development with a particular focus on The Copper Mark sustainability quality seal; innovation and new decarbonizing processes; and expanding the circular economy and recycling in Chile.

Hamburg, Germany-based Aurubis says it views long-term relationships with business partners such as Codelco that share its values as an important strategy in meeting steeply rising global demand for responsibly produced metals. Although recycling is playing an increasingly central role, the company says primary raw materials also will be needed to meet growing demand for metals necessary for the green transformation. This strategy is how both firms are strengthening the European and global economy, making it more independent and robust in the face of supply chain disruptions, Aurubis adds.

The new cooperation agreement will have short-, medium- and long-term impacts, according to a news release issued by Aurubis. Adhering to a structured process based on the legal framework for such cooperation agreements, the companies will assess their successes regularly, creating the foundation for further cooperation.

More than 15 projects designed to safeguard health and environmental protection are planned in the short term. These include further lowering emissions from the central steps in copper production, comprising diffuse emissions and Codelco’s Scope 1 emissions, which will in turn further decrease Aurubis’ Scope 3 emissions. The cooperation agreement defines different responsibilities for the partners: Aurubis will contribute its comprehensive technological expertise in protecting the air and water, such as state-of-the-art fine particle filters and analysis and testing methods, while Codelco will assume responsibility for project implementation.

“We are working with our raw material partners worldwide to set new standards in sustainable copper production,” Aurubis CEO Roland Harings says. “Our cooperation with Codelco is an indication of our successful approach: We help strengthen our partners’ sustainability performance along the supply chain by collaborating and exchanging information. The signatures of both parties signal their willingness to intensify this process and leverage potential for creating more ecological and socially responsible supply chains. This partnership is unique in the copper industry and an open invitation to all supply chain stakeholders to take part. The global copper industry is facing huge challenges, and we all have to work together to transform it.”

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Rubén Alvarado, CEO of Santiago, Chile-based Codelco, says, “Reducing the copper industry’s environmental footprint to the absolute minimum benefits everyone. We want to ensure that the methods we use to extract minerals, essential for the global transition to clean energy sources, grow increasingly sustainable. We are all targeting a central objective, environmentally friendly production, and this cooperation with Aurubis is an important driver here. This also goes hand in hand with our purpose as a company: Be a pillar for the sustainable development of Chile and of the world.”

Employees from both companies will play a central role in the project, Aurubis says. Starting in April 2024, a custom-tailored expert exchange program will enable participants to take a deeper dive into environmental, occupational safety and health issues and reciprocally increase their understanding of a sustainable supply chain.

With the potential for higher business volumes and a wider trading portfolio, the new cooperation agreement also will have a positive effect on the business relationships between the two companies, the recycler says. This will secure more of the metals Europe needs for the energy transition, green mobility and digitalization.

As part of the new cooperation agreement, the two companies also agreed to exchange experience related to The Copper Mark, the seal for sustainability and integrity in the copper industry. Since it signed the memorandum of understanding with Aurubis for more sustainability in the supply chain, Codelco has completed The Copper Mark assurance process for its mines, smelters and refineries. Aurubis says it also will complete The Copper Mark certification for its large smelters in 2024 and perform its first reaudit. The Copper Mark criteria comprise 32 internationally recognized, leading sustainability standards.

Codelco is not the only mining company Aurubis intends to cooperate with. In late 2022, Aurubis also signed a memorandum of understanding with London-based Anglo American PLC “to develop copper products that respond to the increasing expectations for future-enabling metals that are sustainably sourced and supplied.”

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