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SOURCING’S REACH GROWS","responsible-sourcings-reach-grows","article/responsible-sourcings-reach-grows",{"_uid":557,"date":558,"tags":559,"editor":560,"content":570,"excerpt":749,"featured":50,"reporter":750,"_editable":754,"component":755,"seo_title":553,"categories":756,"visibility":763,"author_company":49,"featured_image":764,"seo_description":749,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":769,"formattedArticleDate":770},"b7b004ca-46cd-44cb-a8c6-cff3c8f48166","2019-07-22 00:00",[],[561],{"slug":562,"name":563,"content":564},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":565,"image":566,"bio":568,"linkedin":569},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":567},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":571,"content":572},"doc",[573,580,585,590,595,600,605,610,615,620,625,630,635,642,647,652,657,662,667,672,677,682,687,692,697,704,709,714,719,724,729,734,739,744],{"type":574,"attrs":575,"content":576},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[577],{"text":578,"type":579},"Responsible sourcing practices are now reaching beyond conflict minerals and cobalt to other materials including copper, as the International Copper Association have taken a more proactive stance on responsible sourcing","text",{"type":574,"attrs":581,"content":582},{"textAlign":49},[583],{"text":584,"type":579},"By RCS Group",{"type":574,"attrs":586,"content":587},{"textAlign":49},[588],{"text":589,"type":579},"These past months have been particularly eventful in responsible sourcing news, not least due to the 13th OECD Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains and related announcements. From copper to cobalt, but also increasingly lithium, downstream companies are demonstrating their increasing awareness of responsible sourcing risks beyond cobalt and conflict minerals (3TG).",{"type":574,"attrs":591,"content":592},{"textAlign":49},[593],{"text":594,"type":579},"They are slowly increasing their efforts to take a more proactive approach to manage their supply chains, now increasingly also in the upstream. In this context, Volvo Cars has agreed to back RCS Global Group’s Better Cobalt data subscription program that focuses on digitally monitoring copper, cobalt and 3T ASM mine sites for risks, impacts and the implementation of corrective actions to support continuous improvement.",{"type":574,"attrs":596,"content":597},{"textAlign":49},[598],{"text":599,"type":579},"RESEARCH",{"type":574,"attrs":601,"content":602},{"textAlign":49},[603],{"text":604,"type":579},"A report published by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) on behalf of Earthworks is another in-depth analysis of the risks of increasing demand for 14 minerals, including battery minerals, and of potential mitigation measures.",{"type":574,"attrs":606,"content":607},{"textAlign":49},[608],{"text":609,"type":579},"The research body complements existing research published by Drive Sustainability.",{"type":574,"attrs":611,"content":612},{"textAlign":49},[613],{"text":614,"type":579},"With a widening material focus, deposits outside of conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRAs) are gaining in attraction.",{"type":574,"attrs":616,"content":617},{"textAlign":49},[618],{"text":619,"type":579},"First Cobalt’s efforts to relaunch its Canadian refinery receiving input from the company’s Idaho and Ontario operations and the development of new lithium deposits, including in the United States and Serbia are cases in point. Nevertheless, CAHRAs remain the core focus of responsible battery raw material sourcing.",{"type":574,"attrs":621,"content":622},{"textAlign":49},[623],{"text":624,"type":579},"RULES OF THE GAME",{"type":574,"attrs":626,"content":627},{"textAlign":49},[628],{"text":629,"type":579},"The London Metal Exchange (LME)’s new sourcing rules got a lot of attention and the LME’s public consultation will no doubt unearth divergent views on the rules. The new rules require all brands, including cobalt, listed on the LME to undertake a red flag assessment in line with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance by the end of 2020 and perform audits by the end of 2022 if red flags are raised. Addressing non-profits and consumer concerns, the LME will also require this risk assessment to be publicly accessible two years later, by 2024.",{"type":574,"attrs":631,"content":632},{"textAlign":49},[633],{"text":634,"type":579},"Copper has long been outside of the core focus of due diligence and responsible sourcing requirements, but this changed last month. Adopting a proactive stance, the International Copper Association (ICA) announced the launch of its new responsible copper initiative, the Copper Mark.",{"type":574,"attrs":636,"content":637},{"textAlign":49},[638,640],{"text":639,"type":579},"As an assurance system and voluntary",{"text":641,"type":579},"program, the initiative will be open to all industry members and cover mine sites, smelters and refiners. Just as the Cobalt Industry Responsible Assessment Framework (CIRAF), the Copper Mark does not create a new standard but bases its requirements on existing tools, including the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI)’s Risk Readiness Assessment (RRA) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), combined with third party assurance.",{"type":574,"attrs":643,"content":644},{"textAlign":49},[645],{"text":646,"type":579},"This new development will strengthen the ability of downstream users to assess upstream producers and better understand midstream and upstream risks in copper. Copper is also increasingly at the forefront of stakeholder attention with the publication of a report by Swedwatch focused on tackling environmental concerns and community relationship issues in the Zambian copper industry.",{"type":574,"attrs":648,"content":649},{"textAlign":49},[650],{"text":651,"type":579},"The industry is facing growing pressure from governments as well, with Lusaka currently involved in an arm wrestle with Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, over the liquidation process.",{"type":574,"attrs":653,"content":654},{"textAlign":49},[655],{"text":656,"type":579},"TECHNOLOGY",{"type":574,"attrs":658,"content":659},{"textAlign":49},[660],{"text":661,"type":579},"Companies also continue to focus on technology, with the RCS Global Group co-founded Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN) welcoming Volkswagen Group as a new member, joining Ford Motor Co, IBM, LG Chem and Huayou Cobalt on a responsible cobalt sourcing blockchain platform.",{"type":574,"attrs":663,"content":664},{"textAlign":49},[665],{"text":666,"type":579},"In a year of pilots and in an effort to determine what role blockchain technology can play in bringing efficiencies to responsible sourcing efforts and supplier management Volkswagen Group also joined start-up Minespider’s platform.",{"type":574,"attrs":668,"content":669},{"textAlign":49},[670],{"text":671,"type":579},"MINING AND UPSTREAM",{"type":574,"attrs":673,"content":674},{"textAlign":49},[675],{"text":676,"type":579},"Mining and midstream players are also making moves in an effort to remain in step with downstream expectations for responsible sourcing. With rumoured uncertainty over future depth of presence in the DRC, the Eurasian Resource Group (ERG) is progressing the Metalkol RTR project, the most important new cobalt project, and the company has now also joined the United Nations (UN) Global Compact.",{"type":574,"attrs":678,"content":679},{"textAlign":49},[680],{"text":681,"type":579},"Umicore’s acquisition of the joint venture between Freeport McMoRan and Lundin Mining, Freeport Oy Cobalt, shows the increasing integration of the cobalt supply chain, with companies controlling both the upstream and downstream aspects of production.",{"type":574,"attrs":683,"content":684},{"textAlign":49},[685],{"text":686,"type":579},"Interestingly, the Belgian giant announced a few days later the reorganisation of Europe’s largest cobalt refinery’s sourcing practices, which until now received materials mostly from Tenke Fungurume Mining International (TFM). Due to internal responsible sourcing requirements, Umicore signed a major long-term agreement with Glencore to source from Mutanda and Kamoto Copper Company (KCC).",{"type":574,"attrs":688,"content":689},{"textAlign":49},[690],{"text":691,"type":579},"This move should also be read in the context of CIRAF promulgation, which requires companies to proactively adopt good practice due diligence management systems for cobalt based on existing international standards including the OECD Due Diligence Guidance.",{"type":574,"attrs":693,"content":694},{"textAlign":49},[695],{"text":696,"type":579},"Of course, challenges also remain. In a report published during the OECD Forum, the Brussels-based non-profit, Resource Matters, emphasised the need for greater awareness of corruption risks in cobalt (and by association copper) sourcing and underscored the need for downstream companies to focus on this issue in their supplier management efforts. The Resource Matters report is complemented by research reports by the Sentry and the Enough Project, both focusing on the DRC.",{"type":574,"attrs":698,"content":699},{"textAlign":49},[700,702],{"text":701,"type":579},"In addition, the loss of life associated with the collapse of two illegal artisanal galleries at the KOV mine of KCC highlights that the interface between ASM and LSM activities remains challenging to",{"text":703,"type":579},"manage. In an effort to seek protection, TFM called on the Congolese national army to help clear artisanal mining activities. This controversial move, which was days later also applied by Glencore, raised concerns over a potential standoff with the miners and the Army’s adherence to the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.",{"type":574,"attrs":705,"content":706},{"textAlign":49},[707],{"text":708,"type":579},"The drop in cobalt prices has spurred demonstrations at mine sites, while also effecting a transition of ASM activities from cobalt to copper. A new focus on lithium resources in the Manono Territory of the DRC will be followed with interest.",{"type":574,"attrs":710,"content":711},{"textAlign":49},[712],{"text":713,"type":579},"DOWNSTREAM INVESTMENT",{"type":574,"attrs":715,"content":716},{"textAlign":49},[717],{"text":718,"type":579},"From a downstream perspective, responsible sourcing is also impacting corporate behaviour as Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, predicted that the company could enter the mining business to secure supplies of battery materials, first of which cobalt.",{"type":574,"attrs":720,"content":721},{"textAlign":49},[722],{"text":723,"type":579},"Volkswagen signed a long-term memorandum of understanding with Ganfeng Lithium for the supply of lithium materials and highlighted its medium-term strategy to source from European deposits, decreasing its exposure to supply chain risks.",{"type":574,"attrs":725,"content":726},{"textAlign":49},[727],{"text":728,"type":579},"In this context controlling material flows within the supply chain will be key, as major risks from South American lithium sources are already being highlighted by German media and will be more so by non-profits in the near future.",{"type":574,"attrs":730,"content":731},{"textAlign":49},[732],{"text":733,"type":579},"3TG",{"type":574,"attrs":735,"content":736},{"textAlign":49},[737],{"text":738,"type":579},"In the 3TG space, it is important to note that the International Tin Association (ITA) International Tin Supply Chain Initiative (ITSCI) is facing blowbacks in Central Africa, including legal action by the only Ugandan tungsten producer. The decrease in raw materials demand from China, which is linked to a slowdown in manufacturing that is linked to the US-China trade war is having a profound impact, reducing 3T export volumes and putting pressure on producers.",{"type":574,"attrs":740,"content":741},{"textAlign":49},[742],{"text":743,"type":579},"Export volume priced certification schemes are losing operating capital as a consequence, putting strain on the implementation of due diligence in the upstream.",{"type":574,"attrs":745,"content":746},{"textAlign":49},[747],{"text":748,"type":579},"A new focus on Tanzania and in particular the North Mara gold mine operated by Acacia Mining is forcing brand companies to reconsider their sourcing practices and might impact the future of the RMI smelter certification process. While widespread human rights abuses and environmental issues at the mine have been described by two major news outlets, the Indian refiner receiving the raw material has successfully passed the RMI certification, questioning the good faith approach of its due diligence processes.","Responsible sourcing practices are now reaching beyond conflict minerals and cobalt to other materials including copper, as the International Copper Association have taken a more proactive stance on responsible sourcing By RCS Group These past months have been particularly eventful in responsible sourcing news, not least due to the 13th OECD Forum on Responsible Mineral […]",[751],{"slug":562,"name":563,"content":752},{"job_title":565,"image":753,"bio":568,"linkedin":569},{"filename":567},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b7b004ca-46cd-44cb-a8c6-cff3c8f48166\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[757,760],{"slug":758,"name":759},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":761,"name":762},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals","private",{"id":49,"alt":765,"name":765,"focus":765,"title":765,"source":765,"filename":766,"copyright":765,"fieldtype":767,"meta_data":768,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ae6d4ba071/bm-222104-drc-artisanal-cobalt-mining-1-1.jpeg","asset",{"alt":765,"title":765,"source":765,"copyright":765},"Jul 22, 2019","22nd July 2019",[],[],1792756399402]