Standards Development

Scope

This document specifies requirements for the traceability of copper, encompassing the supply chain from mining and concentration, to smelting and electrolytic refining. It is applicable to artisanal mining, small scale mining and large scale mining in all copper supply regions of the world. It is intended to serve as a basis for a certification scheme for traceability of copper.

Purpose

The purpose of the document is to enhance supply chain transparency in copper supply chains, identified by the Future Minerals Forum (FMF) as a priority mineral.

Copper is a critical mineral for electrification, the energy transition, digital revolution and global security. Making the mining and processing of copper more transparent will serve as a catalyst for improving the sustainability performance of local/regional organizations. As the demand and value of copper rises, and the countries supplying the mineral diversifies, it is important to ensure new supply is responsible. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia alone, where an important component of artisanal and small-scale mining operates (ASM), account for 11% of global reserves. They face perceptions and sustainability challenges that transparency could help address, including securing social license for projects. For example, approximately two thirds of copper sourced from the DRC is not covered by existing frameworks such as The Copper Mark. This means there is a gap to be addressed. Other indicators demonstrate the need for enhancing transparency and traceability. Between 150,000 and 200,000 people work in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) activities in that country. Mining companies operating in the DRC underreported $16.8bn in revenue between 2018 and 2023. In terms of institutional capacity, of the total 127 managers and staff from the former Mining Inspection Directorate who were appointed, only 61 have been transferred to the General Inspectorate of Mines (IGM) so far, and 66 are in the process of being transferred. This means a significant under capacity to monitor compliance.

Enhancing transparency in these and other emerging supplier countries is therefore an important tool in identifying and addressing sustainability challenges in supply chains including social, governance and environmental aspects. In developing the standard, local realities will be considered, resulting in governments, customers, investors and host communities having more and better information on which to base decisions, thereby strengthening confidence for investment to deliver jobs, prosperity and development. At the same time, importing countries such as China, India, Japan, Germany or the United States, and end-user markets overall, will also benefit from the enhanced transparency through implementation of the standard.

A multistakeholder approach is proposed for this project to ensure its effectiveness and continuity. The project aims to provide the copper belt and other copper supplier regions with a voice in the global conversation on sustainability, by ensuring supplier country priorities and local realities are reflected in the proposed standard, as well as in the design of the scheme.

It is expected that focusing on one commodity will facilitate and accelerate the development of a certification scheme, that can be applicable to all regions in the world producing copper. The project can serve as a model to be replicated or adapted to other commodities.

The development of the standard will align with the four pillars, and 12 priorities, of responsible supply set out in the FMF Sustainability Framework namely, development, collaboration, capacity and performance. The standard will also strive to reflect local supplier country realities to enable compliance. The standard will also build on existing efforts and work from IRMA, ICMM, OECD and the UN, such as The Copper Mark; the Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative (ICMM and Copper Mark); Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply (OECD); Chain of Custody Standard (IRMA); UN Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals actions and principles; and Transparency Protocol (UN).

The Future Minerals Forum is organized since 2022 by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources. The FMF gathers mineral producing and consuming countries for practical action for increasing investment in mineral supply, creating local value, building capacity and producing responsibly. The FMF plans to implement a capacity building pilot project to support adoption of the traceability scheme in the African copper belt. Implementation of the proposed standard should lead to better information, performance and investor confidence.