Luoyang Molybdenum Industry joined the "Better Mining" plan with its trading company IXM.

Luoyang Luanchuan Molybdenum Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Luoyang Molybdenum"), the world's second largest cobalt producer and one of the largest scheelite producers, announced that it will join the Better Mining program with its trading company IXM (Exxon Metal Trading Company). The plan is mainly aimed at the upstream identification and impact of artisanal and small-scale mining (that is, hand-grabbing) from unknown sources, and is being publicly supported by more and more enterprises. As a large industrial mining enterprise, Luoyang Molybdenum Industry has been strictly abiding by its product supervision procedures, and grasping ore by hand is not in its supply chain. However, the company is fully aware that a large number of local communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo depend on hand mining for survival, which cannot be ignored and that their working and living conditions should be improved as far as possible to promote the comprehensive and diversified development of the local economy.

The Better Mining program is an industry-wide program established by RCS Global Group, which focuses on the upstream identification and impact of hand-grabbing. Currently, it has been implemented in 27 cobalt, copper, 3TG (tantalum, tin, tungsten, gold) hand-grabbing mines around the world, and will be replicated to other hand-grabbing varieties such as mica in the future. Better Mining uses the world's first platform for such data to monitor and continuously improve conditions in and around artisanal and small-scale mining areas.

In a challenging industry such as mining, the impact of, Better Mining is obvious to all. More and more enterprises in the ecological chain begin to support the plan, including world-class digital communication technology companies such as Intel and Volvo and automobile brands.

In 2020 alone, Better Mining generated accident data and information covering seven major risk areas, with a total of more than 1000 accidents, and put forward 480 recommendations for corrective measures, of which 72% have been implemented or are in progress.

Better Mining has also established a partnership with (RMI), the responsible Minerals Initiative, and its influence is growing. RMI is an important organization dedicated to promoting responsible mineral procurement in the global supply chain and currently has more than 400 corporate members.

Companies joining the Better Mining program will have access to their original handheld data streams from products in all handheld areas covered by Better Mining to facilitate traceability and on-site monitoring and improve working conditions and safety performance at handheld mines.

As an important player in the global mining industry, Luoyang Molybdenum is committed to ensuring that all of its mining production meets good global standards. As a large industrial mining company that maintains strict product control and regulatory procedures, hand mining is not in our cobalt supply chain. But we realize that hand-grabbing and its surroundings should not be ignored. Luoyang Molybdenum is committed to implementing risk mitigation measures that can actively improve the conditions of local communities, including hand-held mines and surrounding communities., Better Mining has proved that it has a real impact in this area. We are proud to be able to join and support this program. " Liang Wei, director of the Luoyang molybdenum industry sustainable development executive committee, said.

"for IXM, joining Better Mining provides a rare opportunity to support a plan that has a real impact on improving industry conditions while identifying and monitoring risks across the mineral supply chain." "all companies in the industry have a responsibility to improve conditions in the mining industry and we look forward to working with other participants in IXM to further expand the scale of the programme," said Robert Sidders, head of special metals trading at Better Mining.

"the Better Mining project is in an exciting period of expansion, and we are pleased to welcome Luoyang Molybdenum and IXM to our rapidly growing team. As an important global player in the metal mining industry and trade, Luoyang Molybdenum shows the importance of the Better Mining program and its potential for development," said Ferdinand Maubrey, general manager of the RCSGlobal Group.

About Luoyang Molybdenum Industry

Luoyang Molybdenum is an international mineral resources company engaged in exploration, mining, processing, refining, sales and trade of mineral products, mainly in Asia, Africa, South America, Oceania and Europe. It is the world's leading producer of tungsten, molybdenum, cobalt and niobium, as well as an important global copper producer. As a world-class mining company with a leading MSCI ESG rating, Luoyang Molybdenum complies with the highest international ESG standards. Luoyang Molybdenum is listed on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges and currently has about 21000 employees and contractors worldwide.

About IXM

IXM is one of the largest non-ferrous metals traders in the world and has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Luoyang Molybdenum Group since 2019. IXM has offices around the world and is responsible for purchasing, transporting and selling third-party raw materials, as well as products from mines owned by Luoyang Molybdenum, including cobalt hydroxide and cathode copper produced by Tenco Fenggu Lumi Mining Company of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In addition, IXM also widely sells other cobalt intermediates and metals and has long-term underwriting rights outside the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

About RCS Global Group

RCS Global Group is the world's leading certification and consulting company in the field of responsible procurement of raw materials. We generate and provide responsible procurement and ESG improvement data points at all levels of the global value chain, enabling our customers to proactively manage supply chain risks and provide strong evidence for their continuous improvement.