Note:
All financial amounts expressed
throughout this report are in US dollars.

Environment

How we manage

Resolution Copper's environmental approach is contained within the company's Health, Safety and Environmental Policy. Decisions and activities we make regarding the environment are driven by our Environmental Management System (EMS), the plans, policies and procedures by which we manage and continually improve our work in the environment. Our EMS has received ISO 14001:2004 certification, the recognized international standard for achieving environmental excellence. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) helps establish a set of common rules that support international trade and ensure that companies operate ethically and responsibly.

Our ISO Environmental Management System is now part of the larger Rio Tinto Health, Safety and Environmental Management System and we benefit from our parent company's knowledge of and commitment to global environmental responsibility.

We maintain an incident reporting system to cover all environmental incidents by type (e.g., water, air, land). We also maintain ongoing relationships with appropriate regulatory agencies and obtain necessary permits to ensure that we are meeting all environmental requirements in our mining activities.

Learn more about our approach to the environment and our performance record:

• 2008 Environmental highlights and incident reporting
  Highlights of our environmental performance during 2008, including a look at our detailed incident reporting system.
• Environmental impact studies and reports
  Studies we are undertaking to determine our potential impact on the environment at all stages of operation and our plans for mitigating ill effects. Studies are made available for public review and comment.
• Land management and biodiversity
  The decisions we've made to ensure our mining approach minimizes ill effects on the land, the steps we're taking to ensure protection of Apache Leap, our efforts to rehabilitate lands affected by previous mining operations, the environmental safeguards included in the land exchange needed for our mine to progress, and the ways in which we are partnering with others to protect and preserve the environment and the species that inhabit it.
• Water
  The approach we're taking to dewatering a mine shaft used in previous mining operations and ensuring the water is treated and reused to benefit the environment. How we're working with Arizona water districts to secure renewable sources of water for our future mining operations.
• Energy management
  Our plans to use energy-efficient processes in our future mining operation.
• Waste management
  While Resolution Copper is years away from active mining, we encourage employees to minimize waste and we participate in community recycling efforts.