Horizonte Minerals publishes sustainability report for 2021
Published: 02:33 20 May 2022 EDT
Horizonte Minerals PLC (AIM:HZM, TSX:HZM, OTC:HZMMF) chief executive Jeremy Martin said the company understood that “value generation is inherently linked with sustainability” as it published its 2021 sustainability report in accordance with the core options of the Global Reporting Initiative Standards.
Although nickel is an important metal in the clean energy transition, Martin acknowledged that the production of the metal comes with environmental and social impacts.
“To balance these, in 2021 we commenced technical studies and programs that will help us to design controls so that wherever possible, we manage these risks whilst enhancing the outcomes of the many benefits that our operations will bring,” he said in a statement announcing the report.
He added: “Our comprehensive approach to sustainability has been an instrumental component of our success in securing project financing from a suite of leading international banks and investors. This week we marked a major milestone with the commencement of earthworks at Araguaia.”
The sustainability report details how the practices implemented in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic and various critical risk control standards resulted in no lives lost and no serious health outcomes in the development of the Araguaia project in Brazil, with no fatal injuries since inception through mobilisation and early works.
The AIM-listed company said it also implemented integrated systems to manage its impact on environment, safety, health and communities, with 100% conformance to statutory and compliance obligations at Araguaia.
Consistent with objectives for gender diversity and community inclusivity, Horizonte said 30% of the local workforce in Brazil and 38% in the UK are female, while 97% of the Araguaia workforce are Brazilian nationals, 19% of which hail from the local Pará state, and 12% of which hail from local host communities. In early 2022, further programmes have been launched to strengthen local community involvement.
Furthermore, more than 80% of procurement value was said to have been supplied by Brazilian companies in the year and 11% from Pará state, while almost 38mln Brazilian reais (£6.2mln) of economic value was distributed in this pre-production year in Brazil.
The report is available on Horizonte's website.
