Zimbabwe’s third-largest Platinum Group Metal (PGM) producer, Unki Mine, has successfully maintained its Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) 75 rating following a rigorous surveillance audit conducted in 2024, Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) has announced.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
Unki Mine first achieved this prestigious rating in 2021, becoming the first mine in the world to publicly commit to an independent audit against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining. The mine’s sustained performance demonstrates its ongoing commitment to ethical and responsible mining practices, which are increasingly becoming a critical benchmark for global operations.
In the same announcement, Amplats revealed that its flagship South African operation, Mogalakwena Mine, has been assessed for the first time against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining, attaining an IRMA 50 certification. This achievement is particularly significant as it reflects Amplats’ dedication to responsible mining practices across its entire portfolio. Mogalakwena is the last of Amplats’ four wholly owned PGM mines to undergo an IRMA audit, following Mototolo and Amandelbult Mines, which were audited earlier in 2024 and achieved IRMA 75 and IRMA 50, respectively. This milestone brings the company closer to its target of having all its mines certified by 2025, in line with its sustainability and transparency goals.
Speaking on the achievement, Anglo American Platinum CEO Craig Miller said, “As a leading adopter of the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), we recognize that stakeholders, including our shareholders and customers, need to trust where and how our metals are mined. With this latest IRMA accreditation for Mogalakwena, we have achieved our target of having all our mines assured by 2025. We are immensely proud of the work the teams are doing across all of our operations to support responsible mining, enabling us to demonstrate an ethical value chain for our metals, and we look forward to continuing to lead the way in the PGMs sector globally.”
Amplats has long recognized the growing importance of responsible mining, not only in the context of environmental stewardship but also in terms of social responsibility. The IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining is widely considered one of the most comprehensive and stringent mining standards globally, addressing critical areas such as environmental performance, human rights, community engagement, and occupational health and safety. For mines like Unki and Mogalakwena, achieving and maintaining IRMA certification requires substantial effort and dedication to meet the high thresholds set by the standard.
The IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining was developed over a decade of consultation with more than 100 individuals and organizations, including mining companies, labor unions, environmental groups, communities affected by mining, and companies that purchase mined materials. The result is one of the most rigorous third-party verification processes in the mining industry, designed to offer independent, transparent assessments of mining operations worldwide.
The scoring system of IRMA recognizes four levels of performance: IRMA Transparency, IRMA 50, IRMA 75, and IRMA 100. Mines achieving IRMA Transparency undergo a third-party assessment and publicly share their scores. To achieve IRMA 50, as Mogalakwena has done, a mine must meet a core set of critical requirements and at least 50% of the criteria in each of the four principles of responsible mining. Unki’s IRMA 75 status signifies that it meets 75% of these criteria, placing it among the highest-scoring mines globally. These audits are conducted regularly to ensure continuous improvement and compliance with evolving industry standards.
Aimee Boulanger, Executive Director of IRMA, highlighted the importance of these independent audits, stating, “Through detailed IRMA audit reports, mining companies, communities, and companies that purchase mined materials can gain the information they need to decide what’s going well and what may require more attention at specific mines. Mogalakwena’s report demonstrates that the mine can point to transparent, independent evaluations of their environmental and social performance, along with the other three Anglo-American Platinum mines in South Africa and Zimbabwe.”
Amplats has positioned itself as a leader in responsible PGM production, with sustainability initiatives that extend across all its operations. The company’s sustainability strategy focuses on responsible resource extraction, environmental conservation, and fostering positive socio-economic impacts in the communities where it operates. In the case of Unki Mine, the IRMA 75 rating reflects the mine’s efforts to minimize environmental harm, manage water resources responsibly, and ensure that the social and economic benefits of mining are shared with local communities.
Mogalakwena, the world’s largest open-pit platinum mine, plays a central role in Amplats’ portfolio. Its IRMA 50 rating, while a significant achievement, signals that there is still room for improvement. The mine’s operations have faced scrutiny in the past for issues related to water management, community relations, and biodiversity conservation, areas where the IRMA audit process will likely drive future enhancements.
Amplats aims to have all its mines operating under IRMA’s rigorous standards, underscoring its commitment to transparency and ethical mining. This approach positions the company as a responsible leader in the mining sector and aligns with the growing demand from investors, customers, and regulators for companies to demonstrate sustainable practices across their supply chains.
