Sustainable.
Sustainable.
We are interested in hearing from you.
If you would like to make suggestions and/or comments about this Sustainability Report, you are welcome to email us at sustentabilidad@molymet.cl
We want to continue strengthening our position focused on efficiency, continuous process optimization and innovation, constantly looking for new business opportunities in strategic metals.
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Looking out for the wellbeing of our planet is fundamental to our purpose; and conducting our business in a way that constantly takes the environment into account means that we generate value for the advancement of humanity.
Our Corporate Policy for Prevention and Management of Environmental Incidents clearly states our commitment to take all necessary actions to prevent, control, mitigate and/or compensate the environmental impacts of our production activity.
Having plants in four countries, constantly challenges us to analyze each geographic context and create specific plans for the ongoing monitoring and management of potential biodiversity impacts.
In the community of San Bernardo, Chile, we have an organic walnut crop that creates a green lung and buffer zone for MolymetNos’ activities. The cultivation over an area of 123 hectares not only provides permanent and temporary sources of employment, but also: improves the structure and quality of the soil; facilitates the proliferation of beneficial species for pest control; aids the capture of CO2; and improves the local microclimate by reducing the radiation and intensity of the urban heat island.
Dam and decanting project generating a significant improvement in water availability at the farm level
Care of centennial and endemic species in parks: Parque Áreas Verdes and Parque Las Lilas
Ongoing deep maintenance and recovery of green areas undertaken by a qualified team and specialized machinery
Monitoring of water quality in compliance with requirements established by NCh 1333
Maintenance of green areas and reforestation through fertilization, composting and planting; Restoration of 1 hectare of native species
Creations of new green area around the new Purox plant
At Molynor we invested USD 54,309 in efforts to protect the endangered Little Tern. This was done by working with the Little Tern Sustainability Foundation, where we are founding partners and serve on the Board of Directors. Actions carried out over 2020 were aimed at monitoring and protecting the species in accordance with Chilean Environmental Qualification Resolution guidelines.
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We are ever mindful of the amount of energy needed to transform molybdenite concentrate into our final products. To this end we have a Corporate Energy Policy to guide us in our ongoing search for more efficient and sustainable energy systems.
* Data does not consider Molymet Corporate as it is not applicable
* Data does not consider Molymet Corporate as it is not applicable
During the year 2020 we positioned sustainability as a fundamental pillar of our Strategic Agenda. Within this framework, challenges and goals were defined around sustainable energy management. Our immediate goal was to reduce energy consumption per unit processed, where each subsidiary defined a specific goal according to their local realities with reductions ranging between 1% and 3%.
Creation of a multidisciplinary committee in order to implement collaborative methodologies across areas for reduction per product unit
Secured co-financing for the implementation of an ISO 50001 energy management system from the Energy Sustainability Agency
Operational control through the PI System gave stability to the furnace, avoiding fouling and leading to a reduction in fan energy use
Implementation of a non certified ISO 50001 energy management system, which is evaluated by the authorities, Replacement program for LED lighting.
Recertification of ISO 50001 standard, aligned with government compliance policies
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Water is an essential resource for human evolution and we are highly conscious of the risks posed by its scarcity. This is why we have a firm commitment to reduce the consumption of water in our operations and we are developing plans that make us responsible for safeguarding this precious resource for future generations.
*Corresponds to industrial water from third parties
**Corresponds to municipal water suppliers, municipal wastewater treatment plants
Note: Data does not consider Molymet Corporate as it is not applicable
In response to our commitment to the responsible use of water resources, our management focused on the following initiatives aimed at the well-being of the planet:
Formation of the Water Committee. Implementation of improvements in the control of the cooling plant fan system, reducing water evaporation
Improvements in the control of water distribution equipment, optimizing delivery according to need
Exhaustive daily monitoring of water consumption, implementing water saving equipment, together with awareness of water use
Installation of a rainwater collector to use this rainwater in company bathrooms
Equipping a third of the production line with closed-circle high-performance water cooling technology
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We are resolute in our undertaking to treat the water we use in our production processes and return it to the environment with the quality required by the regulations of the countries where we operate and the voluntary commitments we ourselves have adopted. The subsidiaries who discharge water in the Environment are:
In 2020 there were no significant spills.
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Our focus is to be sustainable; to deliver value today and to be champions of the future. The construction of our Corporate Climate Change Policy will allow us to achieve this, ensuring that for each project and action which has the potential to do environmental damage, we will adopt a comprehensive preventative approach. To this end, Molymet has an Environmental Management System defined in our Corporate Environmental Policy.
We monitor our CO2 emissions to control their impact and evaluate the results of initiatives to reduce emissions.
As a company, we measure ranges 1 and 2 of greenhouse gas emissions.
Note: Molynor and Molymex carried out a complete calculation of their carbon footprint for 2021. Going forward, our Corporate Climate Change Policy will guide the actions of our other subsidiaries based on this pioneer exercise.
Data does not consider Molymet Corporate as it is not applicable
In our Strategic Agenda, we defined as a goal the generation of Zero S02 concentration peaks. In this way, we have set rigorous and strict concentration limits in subsidiaries. These go well beyond the environmental regulations with the main objective of not generating community incidents.
For more details, we invite you to review our policy through the following link: https://molymet.com/sustentabilidad/mirada-sustentable/
Other significant emissions
Note: MolymetNos emits 126.9 tons of CO and 13.26 tons of MP
Technological advances and improvements are making our processes more sustainable every day. This is why we extended the opacity measurements from the roaster to the Briquettes installation, indicating the concentration of dust particles in the air gas in the upper part of the Briquettes or “Pillows Carbon Free” installation. In this way, our operational team can prevent or react faster when a dust emission starts.
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Manufacturing products which generate value for the advancement of humanity, means that our purchasing processes and material management must be carried out in accordance with strict parameters; and aligned with our Corporate Sustainability Policy which guides our relationships with suppliers, customers and end users.
The molybdenum cycle requires additional materials for its processing and packaging. These, together with the raw materials, generate waste. This is why, in line with our efforts to achieve a circular economy, each subsidiary records their waste in a particular way based on their local reality and every effort is made to reuse and recycle waste material.
The ongoing valorization of our waste improves the efficiency of our processes. This is why we began to recover maxi bags in a non-optimal state and then send them to an authorized company for reconditioning and reuse. In this way, we recover the material after compaction. During 2020, a total of 6,300 lbs of maxi bags were reintroduced into our processes.
Note: Molymet Corporate data is included in MolymetNos data
We constantly seek to reduce waste to the point of eliminating each one of them. Now, during the treatment of leaching water, molybdenum by-products are generated; and while these products cannot be sold, they can be reused in different processes at the Belgium plant or in other subsidiaries.
For example, OPAS B contains approximately 57% molybdenum and is reused in the roaster for optimum molybdenum recovery. Only filter cakes containing too hight copper and arsenic are treated by third parties.
We want to be in line with industry trends, progressively adopting measures that bring us closer to the circular economy. Each of our subsidiaries develops activities that allow them to recycle and/or reuse the inputs involved in their production processes.
We constantly seek to valorize our waste. This is how we began to valorize ferrous chloride waste used as raw material in large-scale mining. Through this milestone, we set ourselves on the path to a circular economy at Molynor, while generating an annual economic benefit close to MUSD$ 2.0.
We take care of every type of waste we generate in order to achieve a sustainable supply chain. To this end, we agree in advance with our customers on the specifications for the packaging of drums and maxi bags in order to guarantee stable processing. In this way, we ensure that all imported raw material containers are used in sales, thereby reducing waste and losses of packaging material.