Zijin Mining

Sustainability strategy and accountability 

Zijin Mining discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability impacts as well as the outcome of this process, in relation to its sustainability strategy. The company has group-wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain. The company reports consistently against all its targets. 

Stakeholder engagement 

Zijin Mining discloses an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities. The company discloses how often and through which channels it engages with various stakeholder groups. The company’s stakeholder engagement covers nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. 

Solid and air pollution 

Zijin Mining discloses the proportion of hazardous waste treated to reduce pollution compared to total waste, the hazardous waste diverted from disposal and the waste directed to disposal. 

Indigenous peoples’ and land rights 

Zijin Mining is committed to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights. The company discloses its processes for identifying and recognising the rights of Indigenous Peoples when activities in its own operations may impact their rights, and it describes how it obtains Indigenous Peoples’ free, prior and informed consent. The company has a commitment to respect ownership and use of land and natural resources and related legitimate tenure rights. 

Sustainability strategy and accountability 

Zijin Mining does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics. 

Lobbying 

Zijin Mining discloses a list of trade associations of which it is a member wherever it operates. The company does not disclose a clear and detailed framework for assessing alignment of its trade associations with nature-positive policies. The company does not report (potential) misalignment between the lobbying activities of its trade associations and nature-positive policies. 

Impact and dependencies assessment 

Zijin Mining has not holistically assessed its impacts or how it depends on nature, including biodiversity. It has an opportunity to start such an assessment across its value chains, focused on quantification of its impacts or dependencies. 

Key areas and species 

Zijin Mining does not disclose key species or areas important for biodiversity affected by its operations or suppliers. It has an opportunity to increase its transparency. 

Ecosystem conversion and restoration 

Zijin Mining does not disclose a commitment to ensure zero conversion. The company does not disclose some activities to achieve conversion-free supply chains. The company does not disclose time-bound targets to achieve conversion-free supply chains. The company does not disclose a commitment to minimise ecosystem conversion. The company does not disclose activities to minimise ecosystem conversion.  

Zijin Mining is committed to restoring ecosystems. The company discloses details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects in areas affected by its own operations or by its suppliers. 

Resource exploitation and circularity 

Zijin Mining does not disclose its inputs, including its material footprint. The company does not report quantitatively on its group-wide circularity performance. The company discloses activities to improve soil health or agrobiodiversity in its production or sourcing practices. The company does not disclose a target to improve soil health in its production or sourcing practices. 

Water 

While Zijin Mining discloses its amount of water withdrawal, no evidence that the company reduces water withdrawal across the company’s own operations. The company does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce water withdrawal across its own operations. The company reports how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas. The company does not engage with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal.  

Zijin Mining reports a decrease in water pollution. While the company mentions its water discharge measures by having timely forecast and early warning on the total amount of pollutants, it has an opportunity to disclose specific processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. The company regularly reports on water pollution. The company does not disclose targets to reduce water pollution. The company does not disclose a commitment to respect the right to water. The company does not disclose its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations. 

Solid and air pollution 

Zijin Mining is reducing the production of hazardous waste. No evidence that the company reduces plastic use and waste in its own operations was found. The company does not report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. The company reports regularly on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants. The company does not report time-bound targets to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain. 

GHG emissions 

No evidence that Zijin Mining reduces its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions was found. While the company mentions to make efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2059, the statement does not translate to a target. No evidence that the company’s scope 1 and 2 emissions target is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory was found.  

No evidence that Zijin Mining reduces its scope 3 emissions was found. The company does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce its scope 3 emissions.  

Invasive species 

Zijin Mining has not identified any activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive alien species in its own operations. 

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment

Zijin Mining does not disclose a commitment to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. No evidence that the company tracks its actual or potential negative impacts on the health of local communities was found. The company is not committed to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders. 

Indigenous peoples’ and land rights 

No evidence was found that Zijin Mining requires its business relationships to have a process to identify legitimate tenure rightsholders, paying particular attention to vulnerable or marginalised tenure rightsholders, and to negotiate with them to provide adequate compensation. 

While Zijin Mining conducts a materiality/risk assessment to identify the main risks to the business and it has identified human rights broadly as a risk, no evidence that it has a process to identify which human rights are at risk of being impacted by its own operations, in specific locations or through specific activities, as part of a human rights due diligence process. The company has an opportunity to describe a process for assessing the human rights risks it has identified and to disclose what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. A description of this process would include how relevant factors are considered, such as geographical, economic and social factors. While the company describes its process to mitigate the risks related to the occupational health and safety impacts, no evidence was found that the company discloses what it considers to be its salient human rights risks. No evidence that the company provides an example of the conclusions reached and actions taken or to be taken on at least one of its salient human rights issues as a result of assessment processes was found.

While Zijin Mining discloses the categories of stakeholders it engages with generally on sustainability issues, it is not clear if these stakeholders are those whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities. The company engages with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities.

Zijin Mining has a publicly available policy statement which shows it is committed to respecting the health and safety of workers. While the company provides a statement expecting its suppliers to commit to respecting the health and safety of their workers, no evidence was found that it is a formal policy, approved and signed off by the highest governing body. The company has an opportunity to disclose a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage. The company has an opportunity to describe how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates.

Zijin Mining discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements. No evidence that the company describes how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to freedom of association and collective bargaining was found.

No evidence that Zijin Mining has a publicly available global tax strategy was found. While the company indicates that it has steps to ensure compliance and it conducts internal and external audits to review anti-corruption compliance, its process(es) to identify its bribery and corruption risks is not clear. The company includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships. No evidence that the company has a publicly available policy statement or policy setting out its lobbying and political engagement approach was found. No evidence that the company has a publicly available policy statement that specifies that it does not make political contributions was found.