Diversified miner Anglo American has stepped up as a founding donor to the World Bank’s Climate Smart Mining Facility.

In a statement, the company indicated that this was the first-ever fund dedicated to making mining for metals and minerals a more sustainable practice that complements the energy transition.

Building on the World Bank’s initial $2-million investment, Anglo has joined partners from the private sector, as well as governments, as a donor, committing to provide $1-million to the facility over the next five years.

The facility’s work will support the sustainable extraction and processing of mining products used in developing clean energy technologies, such as copper used in energy storage applications and electric vehicles.

The fund will also work with governments and operators in developing countries to establish strategies for sustainable mining operations and legal frameworks that promote smart mining.

Anglo shares the World Bank’s view that the energy transition will be mineral-intensive, creating economic opportunities for resource-rich countries and the mining sector.

“To have real impact we must work together with governments and operators to bring changes.

“That is why we are supporting the World Bank with this facility, to provide funds that can transform our industry for the future,” said Anglo CE Mark Cutifani.

He indicated that mining could not continue its long path of simply scaling up to supply what the world needed.

“We need to do things in dramatically different ways if we are to transform our footprint and be valued by all our stakeholders.

“Our first responsibility is to reduce our energy and water use and our emissions. At Anglo, we have set ourselves on a journey to carbon neutrality, operationally, with our 2020 and 2030 targets as staging posts. Our FutureSmart Mining technologies will be a key driver of this.”