Sustainable mining – Eco-Friendly Practices

Hindalco Industries Ltd. owns and operates 17 manufacturing units and 21 mines across India. We operate across large areas of land, within varied habitats. We believe in harmonious co-existence with nature and all its beings, and it is crucial for us to nullify any impact that our operations may have on the health and richness of surrounding ecosystems. We work in 8,569 ha of the operational mining area in the coal and bauxite sectors.

Our mining practices focus on the management of mining waste, sustainable ore extraction, rehabilitation of the mined area, regeneration activities and community engagement practices.

Our dedicated mining experts have developed a Sustainable Mining Charter (SMC) which helps our mining teams recognise the impact of our mining operations on environmental and socio-economic aspects, through a detailed systems-thinking approach.

Our practices

Management systems and assessment tools: Impact identification and assessment, baseline studies, and action plans for biodiversity protection
Management of mining waste, sustainable ore extraction and processing
Water resources management–preserving natural water bodies, addressing water scarcity, reducing water pollution, and supporting competing uses
Mined area rehabilitation and closure

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These practices minimise the environmental impact and maximise the socio-economic impact during the development of mines. In fact, we developed India’s first Sustainable Mining Charter. As biodiversity and natural resource preservation become focus areas for sustainability in mining locations, so does the pre-existing poverty and poor access to health, education, infrastructure and information. Sustainability in extractive mining needs a specific, structured approach and guidelines to arrive at practical and long-term solutions.

The Sustainable Mining Charter

The SMC embodies Hindalco's efforts toward building a theme-based practical and actionable guideline for sustainability. The SMC is a guideline document to provide a structured framework for holistically achieving sustainable mining goals by focusing on the ESG Framework.

It also guides us on how to develop sustainability goals for focus/thematic areas and an implementation roadmap to achieve these goals. Further, it has cited several case studies to provide insights into the practical aspects of implementation. After unveiling the SMC in June 2021, Hindalco commenced its implementation.We believe that with the adoption of the SMC, the management can channelise its resources and adopt a structured approach to achieve specific goals in each focus area of the mine. In addition to fulfilling the needs of the local people, maintaining environmental conditions and improving productivity, this will help in market value creation, meeting international stakeholder expectations, and could also assist in securing funding from agencies in certain cases. We have undertaken various initiatives like duck farming, aquaculture, mushroom cultivation and vermicomposting, as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility agenda, in line with the thematic areas and as per the SMC.

Sustainability Mining Charter handbooks

Sustainable Mining Charter

Sustainable Mining Charter Part A

Sustainable Mining Charter Part B