€32 million
Amount devoted by the Group in 2022 to reducing its environmental footprint

69 %
reduction in channeled dust between 2018 and 2022

B-
Eramet’s score on the CDP Water Security questionnaire, reflecting its performance on both industrial and mining sites.

1,2
Group rehabilitation ratio (area rehabilitated/area cleared) for the period 2019-2023. The target set by the CSR roadmap is a ratio greater than or equal to 1.

Our environmental policy

Eramet has undertaken to have all its mining sites audited by 2027 to verify their compliance with the CSR requirements of the IRMA standard, which cover issues such as water, biodiversity and mine waste management.

This approach is fully in line with Eramet’s environmental policy which, in addition to strict compliance with the laws and regulations applicable to its activities, is committed to the voluntary and continuous reduction of the Group’s environmental footprint.

We are also committed to integrating environmental issues at the highest possible level into the design of industrial and mining projects. This is why dedicated teams are present at Group level and at all sites (including Gabon, Senegal, New Caledonia, Indonesia, Argentina and Norway) to manage these issues in the most detailed way possible.

A trusted partner for Nature

Our actions through images in terms of water management and site revegetation during the rehabilitation of our mining sites.

A sustainable approach to environmental management

Each Eramet subsidiary has set up an environmental management system that complies with the requirements of the ISO 14001 standard. They are audited annually by independent external firms.

Eramet Ideas, the Group’s research and innovation center, has embarked on the process of certifying its battery recycling process, with the aim of obtaining ISO 14001 certification in the first quarter of 2024.

By the end of 2022, 89% of Eramet subsidiaries will have achieved certification.

Our work to promote biodiversity

Although Eramet does not mine in protected areas, our activities can have an impact on species, habitats and ecosystems, depending on the location.

Consequently, our network of biodiversity specialists is implementing a four-pronged strategy:

  1. Avoid as far as possible negative impacts on biodiversity
  2. Limit those that cannot be avoided, in order to reduce their duration, intensity and/or extent
  3. Rehabilitate areas affected by our activities as soon as possible, giving priority to the reintroduction of indigenous species
  4. Compensate for significant residual impacts that could not be avoided, reduced and, where appropriate, rehabilitated.

The most significant biodiversity issues are currently centered in New Caledonia, Indonesia and Gabon. Particular attention is also being paid to Senegal, where local populations are keen to see the land vacated by the mine rehabilitated and planted with vegetation.

Eramet’s biodiversity approach was recognized in 2021 by the Act4nature international initiative.

In New Caledonia

In Gabon

In Senegal

Our work to preserve water resources

Our mining and metallurgy businesses use water resources at several stages in the process of transforming ore into metal: during the washing of ores, raw materials and by-products, as well as in furnace cooling, gas washing and slag granulation processes.

We are also committed to preserving aquatic environments by minimizing erosion at our mining sites and reducing water consumption during operations.

In New Caledonia

In Gabon

In Senegal

In Argentina

At Group level

Storage of mine tailings

Mining involves extracting a substantial amount of waste rock in addition to the ore. Managing this mining waste responsibly and safely is a key environmental challenge.

With this in mind, we have committed over the period 2019-2023 to recovering more than 2 million tonnes of material previously considered as waste. The Group is also contributing to the development of dry storage of mine tailings. A groundbreaking innovation in environmental terms, dry stacking reduces the risk of instability and enables enables significantly enhanced recycling of the water used in the process.

In New Caledonia

Mill tailings are processed and sold as mining by-products. At the Népoui site, this operation is facilitated by innovative optical sorting technology. Thanks to this more refined process, 73,000 tonnes of tailings were recovered between 2020 and 2023.

Environment: our latest news