Anglo trying to stretch itself, communities
Anglo American (LN:AAL) will take on the role of teacher and career counselor in mining towns around the world.
Staff reporter
"Remember kids, if you write about Anglo's mining improvement plans, you must use the trademark symbol"
13 MARCH 201813/03/2018commentsshareAnglo has picked five new social and environment 2030 "stretch goals", which presumably won't result in bonuses being blocked if they are missed.
Anglo has said it will endeavour to create five jobs off-site in communities with mines nearby for every job actually at the mine, bump local state schools into the top 20% of comparable institutions in the country, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% and drop freshwater abstraction by 50% in water-scarce regions.
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The goals came alongside the release of the miner's sustainability report, which showed how previous targets have fared.
The miner said it used 306 million cubic metres of water in 2017.
The reporting standards changed year-on-year, with mine dewatering included in consumption, but Anglo said it was making progress in reducing absolute freshwater abstraction by 20% and using recycled water for 75% of all requirements by 2020.
The miner said it used 190.7 million cubic metres overall in 2016, under the former reporting system.
Anglo CEO Mark Cutifani said the environmental and social goals would keep the company focused and help the bottom line.
"Keeping our people and the environment safe, supporting excellent education, and using our unique approach of collaborative regional development to further enhance our ability to provide truly sustainable benefits for our host communities present a different picture of the future of mining," he said.
"The financial benefits to our business by 2030 are expected to be significant, including from substantially reduced energy and water costs.
"At the same time, we expect our innovative approach and the technologies we are developing to open up new mineral resource opportunities for us over the medium term."
The sustainability report showed Anglo cut its workforce by almost 10,000 people between 2016 and 2017, with a headcount of 69,000 reported.
This week, a section of the 525km pipeline that goes between Anglo's Minas-Rio mine in Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro carrying a 70% iron ore, 30% water mix failed and sent the concentrate into a nearby stream.
Brazilian media broadcast footage of the rupture, which clearly showed the extent of the spill.
In a statement to Globo, Anglo said it was not toxic but it had shut down the water supply of a nearby town while fixing the leak.