The environmental impact of mining operations in Brazil is under sharper scrutiny than many other countries, primarily because its borders contain the lion's share of the Amazon rainforest, a haven for biodiversity and one of the most important eco-systems in the world.
As such, environmental awareness is particularly strong in the Brazilian mining industry. Experts from the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards are playing a leadership role in the further development of the recently introduced ISO 26000 international standard on social responsibility. Furthermore, licensing for new mining projects is often legally conditional on the drafting of comprehensive environmental impact studies, reports and extensive public consultations, particularly in areas inhabited by tribal groups.
For example, Alcoa Aluminio's Juruti bauxite mine project must maintain its 35 Environmental Control Plans - informed by studies and public meetings - to ensure its access to the region's 700 million tonne reserves of bauxite.
The company has also put together a voluntary 'Positive Agenda' to further strengthen its obligations to the local community and environment. This extensive preliminary work has led the company to state that it will 'mine bauxite and return the area to the same, if not better, condition than when we initially arrived'.
Although carrying out mining operations in a region like the Amazon will be controversial, the environmental commitment seen here and echoed by many other Brazilian mining companies (including industry giant Vale, which has a complex environmental quality management system based on ISO 14001 standards) provides a useful model of awareness for other BRIC nations, and the global mining industry in general, to follow.
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