Our ESG strategy

Sustainability is innate to our business, as our products are produced with far fewer harmful impacts on the environment.

Our approach to sustainability is evolving in the build-up to first production.

Every element of our strategy is driven by adherence to global standards governing ESG practices. By working as partners with diverse stakeholders, our commitment to sustainability remains resolute.

That means creating shared value with all our stakeholders by supporting the growing trend and best practice of “responsible sourcing” while keeping our people safe and healthy.

Risk management and the mitigation of our impacts will be driven and defined by our goal to achieve significant carbon reductions in nickel, copper and cobalt production.

Recycling

As our strategy unfolds, we will add further value from recycling as it applies to all metals and means end products can reduce dependence on mining.

This will support the creation of a genuine circular economy in the metals sector, maintain our social license to operate and support our goal of creating value for all stakeholders.

ESG breakdown

Environmental

Our approach reduces carbon and other harmful emissions across the refining process. Benefits include1:

  • Lower CO2 equivalent emissions, eliminates SO2 emissions, cyanide free, less water and electricity used2
  • Mining and refining processes reduce the project’s tailing’s footprint, as hydromet processes more deleterious material than smelting
  • Our tailings are planned to be used as backfill underground
  • Reviewing opportunities to reduce carbon in mining processes

1. Actual values, benefits and footprints will vary according to site specific site factors.
2. Nickel Class 1 downstream processing CO2 eq. emissions baseline from 2020 Nickel Institute LCA. Estimated Kabanga refinery expected emissions from internal Company analysis.

Social

Commitment to sharing benefits with government and people of Tanzania; building lasting stakeholder relationships

  • In-country beneficiation, job creation and community development policies and programmes in place
  • Focus on local content via Tanzanian management, a goal to have a labour force with a low expat representation, focus on skills transfer and training
  • Security will be managed collaboratively and in partnership with communities and local government, and via training on the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights

Governance

Our high-levels approach to sustainability are informed by the UN’s Sustainable Development Guidelines, the World Bank’s Climate Smart Mining standards and relevant elements of the International Council for Metals and Mining’s guidelines. These key benchmarks are being integrated into all decision-making and company structures.

  • Alignment with standards is informed by customer and stakeholder needs. OEMs are already looking at the asset, and their requirements will further inform our ESG and production approach.
  • Responsible sourcing requires verification. Our goal is to work towards our products being traceable and ethically produced via the Global Battery Alliance and the Global Battery Passport initiatives.
  • SASBI is a key tool informing our approach on reporting on our impacts as a global resource which US investors favour.
  • We are committed to zero harm and will focus on Health & Safety for all employees as a priority.