Conservation and Restoration of Nature

Environmental Impact of Business Activities (Material Flow)

INPUT (Resources)

GRI 301-1 / 301-2 / 302-1 / 303-3 / 303-5

Raw Material Input

Percentage of Recycled Input Raw Materials Used: 2.26%

Raw materials (Total) 9,498 kt
Gold and silver ore (Hishikari Mine) 175 kt
Copper concentrates 1,558 kt
Nickel oxide ore 7,496 kt
Nickel matte, etc. 55 kt
Raw material for batteries 75 kt
ALC raw material, incl. silica rock1 80 kt
Hydrotreating catalyst raw material 58 kt
Recycled Materials2 (Total) 220 kt
Copper scrap 127 kt
Secondary zinc 1 kt
Precious metals and other secondary materials 6 kt
Electric arc furnace dust 86 kt
Sludge and dust 120t
ALC waste1 19t
Materials (Total) 2,150 kt
Silica sand (for copper smelting) 124 kt
Chemicals (lime-based) 1,361 kt
Chemicals (sodium-based) 105 kt
Chemicals (magnesium-based) 18 kt
Sulfuric acid 453 kt
Cement, etc. 89 kt
  • 1Data until September 2024 from Sumitomo Metal Mining Siporex Co., Ltd., which was transferred to another company
  • 2Excludes materials recycled within plants.

Total water withdrawal1

Total water consumption from all areas2: 4,163ML3

Freshwater withdrawal (Total) 35,628 ML
Surface water (rivers) 14,218 ML
Rainwater 44 ML
Groundwater 7,535 ML
Industrial water (water from another organization) 13,453 ML
Tap water (water from another organization) 379 ML
Seawater withdrawal (Total) 158,037 ML
  • Figures are rounded to the nearest whole number, so totals may not match.
  • 1We identify and assess high-water stress areas using the WWF Water Risk Filter, and the results indicate that there are no areas of high-water stress at any of our business sites.
  • 2Water consumption is estimated by subtracting the total water discharge from the total water withdrawal for each business site. There was no water storage, which would have a significant water-related impact.
  • 31ML is equivalent to 1,000 m3

OUTPUT (Products & Emissions)

GRI 303-4 / 305-1 / 305-2 / 305-7 / 306-1 / 306-2 / 306-3 / G4-MM3

Products

Percentage of Products from Recycled Input: 7.84%

Mineral ores from the Hishikari Mine 30 kt
Electrolytic copper 443 kt
Gold 19t
Silver 190t
Gypsum 31 kt
Electrolytic nickel 60 kt
Nickel sulfate 9 kt
Nickel chloride 1 kt
Electrolytic cobalt 3 kt
Crude zinc oxide 32 kt
Scandium oxide 8t
Chromite 65 kt
Sulphur 27 kt
Ferronickel 18 kt
Battery materials 68 kt
Nickel powder 109t
Ag/Pd powder 1t
Sulfuric acid 378 kt
Slag 1,278 kt
Hydrotreating catalyst 10 kt
ALC (Siporex)1 159 ML2
  • 1Data until September 2024 from Sumitomo Metal Mining Siporex Co., Ltd., which was transferred to another company
  • 21ML is equivalent to 1,000 m3

Emissions

Released into the Atmosphere

GHG (Total) 2,356 kt
Scope 11 (direct emissions) 1,724 kt
Scope 22 (indirect emissions) 632 kt
SOx 1,452t
NOx 1,419t
Soot and dust 92t

Discharge into water (total): 121t

COD 51t
BOD 7t
Total phosphorus 1t
Total nitrogen 62t

Release of Chemical Substances: 76t

Atmosphere (PRTR) 5.2t
Public water areas (PRTR) 69.3t
Soil/landfills on business premises (PRTR) 1.6t

Total water discharge: 190,915 ML2

Discharge into seas4 190,006 ML
Discharge into rivers 847 ML
Sewerage, etc. 61 ML

Total Waste5: 6,827 kt

Of which 6,730 kt is landfill on company premises and 2,374 t is PRTR substance transfers6.

Spoil 31 kt
Leach sludge from CBNC, THPAL, etc. 6,698 kt
Industrial waste (Japan) 97 kt
Other 2 kt
  • 1Both Japan and overseas figures are calculated based on the GHG Protocol, and emission factors are based on the Japanese law “Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures.”
  • 2GHG emissions factors for electric power purchased in Japan are the adjusted emissions factors of electric suppliers.
    GHG emissions factors for electricity purchased overseas are based on the current edition of the IEA Emissions Factors.
  • 31ML is equivalent to 1,000 m3
  • 4Discharges into rivers flowing into enclosed seas are included in “Discharge into Seas.”
  • 5Industrial waste treatment is commissioned to Group companies, and industrial waste is recycled for use as raw material. Accordingly, waste figures include some waste which was effectively not discharged outside the Group, in particular, hazardous sludge.
  • 6Total transfers to sewerage and off-site transfers.

Trends in Final Disposal Amount of Industrial and Mining Waste in Japan

GRI 306-5

The SMM Group has long been making efforts to reduce industrial waste in Japan and the amount of wastewater sludge (mining waste) that undergoes final disposal from the mine-affiliated Toyo Smelter & Refinery. The total final disposal amount in FY2024 was 59 kt, which was a decrease of approximately 11 kt from FY2023. The main factor behind this decrease was a decrease in the final disposal volume of iron clinker at Shisaka Smelting Co., Ltd. (Although the volume of iron clinker as industrial waste increased, the final disposal volume of iron clinker decreased due to the increased use of raw materials.)

Waste by Type and Treatment Method (FY2024)

GRI 306-3 / 306-4 / 306-5

■ Waste by Treatment Method (Hazardous1 / Non-hazardous2)

(unit: kt)

  Hazardous Non-hazardous Total
Treatment method3 Recycling 7.9 29.4 37.3
Incineration (with heat recovery) 0.3 1.3 1.5
Incineration (without heat recovery) 0.0 0.1 0.1
Landfill 54.0 6,731.6 6,785.6
Volume reduction, etc. 2.0 0.8 2.8
  Total 64.3 6,763.1 6,827.4

(unit: kt)

Landfill on company premises / Contracted disposal Landfill (SMM premises) 6,730
Contracted disposal 98

Industrial waste treatment is commissioned to Group companies, and industrial waste is recycled for use as raw material. Accordingly, waste figures include some waste which was effectively not discharged outside the Group, in particular, hazardous sludge.

  • 1In general, this depends upon definitions of the regulations in the other releasing countries concerned.
    Since Japan does not have such laws or regulations, SMM applies the following definition:
    “Specially controlled industrial waste and waste delivered to controlled landfill sites (excluding designated inert waste—5 categories of inert waste—that should have been delivered to landfill sites for inert industrial waste, but was disposed of at controlled landfill sites due to the distance limitation)”
  • 2Waste other than hazardous waste
  • 3Treatment methods outside of the Company were identified based on the written agreement with the disposal company and the manifest
■ Breakdown of Industrial Waste by Type of Waste (SMM Japan Group)
Breakdown of Industrial Waste by Type of Waste (SMM Japan Group)

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