Report: labour relations have become biggest material risk for miners

According to a new report by intelligence analysis firm Alva, labour relations are becoming the most prominent material risk for the metals and mining industry.

In its Q2 report, which investigated progress on the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, Alva stated that “labour issues take the gloss off improved Q2 mining ESG performance”.

The report ranked companies’ performance based on information sourced from over 200 countries, categorised using the taxonomy of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, machine learning, and topic modelling, and contextualised with historical trend data.

According to the methodology, increased industrial action across the sector led labour relations to fall from third to eleventh in Alva’s materiality index. Despite only contributing <1% material impact last quarter, it fell to -11% in Q2 – the most negative issue and third most impactful material issue overall.

BHP Mitsui Coal signs native title agreement with Aboriginal group

BHP Mitsui Coal (BMC) has signed a native title project agreement with Barada Barna Aboriginal Corporation, representing the Barada Barna people, for South Walker Creek mine in Central Queensland.

The Barada Barna people are the native title holders of an approximately 3,000km² area in Central Queensland. The area includes the South Walker Creek Mine.

This agreement with BMC is expected to provide the Barada Barna with immediate and intergenerational benefits.

It will help provide financial support for community projects, enabling the Barada Barna people to live and work on-country.

The agreement also ensures financial security for socio-economic purposes and non-financial support through contracting, employment, education, business, and training opportunities.

Canada formally rejects proposed Grassy Mountain Coal Project

The Canadian Government has formally blocked the proposed Grassy Mountain Coal Project in the province of Alberta, citing potential environmental impacts.

The decision was taken after assessing the independent panel’s report and other available information.

In a statement, Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson noted that the project would impact surface water quality and threaten the habitat of local animal and plant species.

Wilkinson said: “The Government of Canada must make decisions based on the best available scientific evidence while balancing economic and environmental considerations.

“It is in Canada’s best interests to safeguard our water ways for healthy fish populations like the Westslope Cutthroat Trout, respect Indigenous peoples’ culture and way of life, and protect the environment for future generations.”

BlackRock joins plans to close coal-fired power stations throughout Asia

Asset manager BlackRock has joined plans with other financial institutions, including Citigroup, HSBC Holdings, and the Asian Development Bank, to hasten the closure of coal-fired power stations throughout Asia. The plan aims to support the eventual phasing out of coal-powered stations.

The initiative has evolved due to investor pressure on commercial and development banks to cease the financing of new and existing power plants in order to meet key climate targets.

Donald Kanak, chairman of Prudential Insurance Growth Markets, who came up with the idea, told Reuters: “If you can come up with an orderly way to replace those plants sooner and retire them sooner, but not overnight, that opens up a more predictable, massively bigger space for renewables”.

BlackRock has placed sustainability as central to its agenda over the past five years, believing that sustainability will act as a new standard for investing. 

Northern Territory bans seabed mining on environmental concerns

Australia’s Northern Territory (NT) Government has banned seabed mining in its coastal waters due to concerns that it may adversely affect the environment and marine industries.

The ‘Declaration of Prohibited Action: Subsea Mining’ has been gazetted by Environment Minister Eva Lawler, marking the final step in formalising the subsea mining ban.

The decision by Lawler was informed by reports from the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority and Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority.

While elaborating the rationale, the NT Government said that its decision was based on the potential impacts of seabed mining on the environment, sacred sites and the existing marine resource-based industries, including fishing, aquaculture, pearling, and tourism.

Workers at the Escondida mine in Chile edge closer to strike action

Workers at the Escondida mine in Chile have rejected owner BHP Group’s final wage offer. The Escondida mine is the biggest copper-producing mine globally, with proven reserves of 34.7 million tonnes, of which 22.5 million tonnes is estimated to be recoverable, representing 5% of the world’s supply of the metal. The mine is of critical importance to Chile, with copper production accounting for 10%-15% of the country’s GDP.

The rejection of the wage offer has prompted BHP to request government-mediated talks as a last gasp effort to prevent strike action, which could paralyse the country’s copper industry. If confirmed, the talks are likely to last five to 10 days, and if no agreement is reached, the union would call a strike.

Union leaders announced that 99.5% of workers who had voted had rejected the final contract offer, indicating a wide gap between the workers and BHP. This is not the first time that the Escondida mine has been paralysed by strike action.