glossary

AA1000 Assurance Standard
the first non-proprietary, open-source Assurance Standard that covers the full range of an organisation's disclosure and performance, based on assessment of reports against three Assurance Principles: Materiality; Completeness; and Responsiveness.
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
Anti
retroviral treatment (ART)
A drug that suppresses the progression or activity of a retrovirus. For HIV these drugs usually target various stages of the replication cycle such as transcription and protein synthesis. Anti-retroviral drugs include ddC and AZT.
BEE (black economic empowerment)
a programme of redress launched by the South African government in order to fast-track upliftment of previously disadvantaged groups of the South African population.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is an abbreviation of "biological diversity" and means the variability among living organisms from all sources, including land-based and aquatic ecosystems, and the ecosystems of which they are part. These include diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems.
Brigalow (Acacia harpophylla)
A species of silvery wattle found in Queensland and north NSW, Australia.
Biodiversity offset
The setting aside of an area to compensate for the disturbance of biodiversity.
Business Principles
Xstrata's Statement of Business Principles sets out the ethical framework for the way we work globally. The statement sets out specific aspirations and commitments that apply to the company's relations with its customers, employees, shareholders, partners, suppliers and in the communities where it operates.
CCSD
Cooperative Research Centre for Coal in Sustainable Development in Australia.
Closure plan
A formal document detailing a costed conceptual outline of how the operation will be closed, taking into account the options available to deal with prevailing social and environmental issues.
Coal mine methane
Methane is a greenhouse gas with approximately 21 times higher global warming potential than CO2. In certain regions, methane (CH4) is released from coal as it is mined.
CO2-e
Carbon dioxide equivalent is a standard metric by which greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide are converted to CO2 equivalence to facilitate comparisons and quantification.
Colliery
Underground coal mine.
Commodity business
Xstrata's activities are structured into global commodity businesses organised along commodity lines.
Community complaints and enquiries
Any issue raised by a member of the community relating to the operation in question, whether resolved or not. This can relate to an enquiry, pollution or other incident or non-compliance. Critical HSE Incident.
dBA
Decibels adjusted (measurement of noise intensity).
Disabling Injury
Lost Time Injuries plus Restricted Work Injuries (LTI + RWI).
DISR
Disabling Injury Severity Rate. The number of days lost to disabling injuries per million hours worked.
Eastern Limb
The eastern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC), a well differentiated geological structure in South Africa.
EIS
Environmental Impact Study.
EITI (Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative)
The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) aims to increase transparency in transactions between governments and companies in extractive industries.
Environmental Incident categories
A scheme based on a scale ranging from 1 to 5 representing scale of environmental impact.
  • Category 1: an incident that has caused negligible, reversible environmental impact, requiring very minor or no remediation.
  • Category 2: an incident that has caused minor, reversible environmental impact, requiring minor remediation.
  • Category 3: an incident causing moderate, reversible environmental impact, with short term effect, requiring moderate remediation.
  • Category 4: an incident that has caused serious environmental impact, with medium term effect, requiring significant remediation.
  • Category 5: an incident that has caused major environmental impact, with long term effect, requiring major remediation.
EMPR
Environmental Management Programme Report (the South African equivalent of an Environmental Impact Study).
EMS
Environmental Management System[s].
Fatality
A death resulting from an occupational injury or illness.
GJ
Gigajoules (1 GJ = 1,000,000,000 joules).
Global Compact
the UN Global Compact is a voluntary corporate responsibility initiative to advance ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption.
GHGs
Greenhouse gases.
GRI
Global Reporting Initiative
a long term, multi stakeholder, international process whose mission is to develop and disseminate globally applicable Sustainability Reporting Guidelines to assist corporations in reporting on the economic, environmental, and social performance of their operations.
ha
Hectares (1 ha = 10,000 square metres).
HDSA
Historically disadvantaged South African.
High Potential Risk HSE Incident (HPRI)
See page 60.
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus.
Hours worked
Total number of hours worked by employees and contractors, including overtime and training, excluding leave, sickness and other absences.
HSEC
Health, safety, environment and community.
HSEC Assurance Programme
An independent audit programme which assesses the systems and performance of Xstrata's sites and commodity businesses against Xstrata's HSEC Policy and Management Standards.
HSEC Committee
Xstrata's HSEC committee is a committee of the Board and the primary HSEC governance structure.
HSEC Management Standards
a set of 17 standards which set out corporate performance expectations for each operation and against which sites and commodity businesses are independently audited through the Xstrata HSEC Assurance Programme.
Indaba
Important meeting (Southern Africa).
ISO 9001
The International Standardisation Organisation's standard for quality management systems.
ISO 14001
The International Standardisation Organisation's standard for environmental management systems.
IUCN
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, also known as the ‘World Conservation Union'.
Jarofix
jarosite is transformed into jarofix, a solidified, stabilised, inert material.
Jarosite
iron sulphate (classified as a hazardous waste).
kg
kilogram (1 kg = 1,000 grams).
kL
kilolitre (1 kL = 1,000 litres).
km
kilometre (1 km = 1,000 metres). Land disturbed
Land disturbed by operational activities. Land rehabilitated
Land disturbed by operational activities and then reshaped and revegetated.
Longwall
Series of equipment, including hydraulic jacks and a shearer, used to mine coal in an underground mine.
LPG
Liquid petroleum gas.
LTI
Lost Time Injury
an occupational injury or illness that results in days away from work on any rostered shift subsequent to that on which the injury occurred.A fatality is also recorded as a LTI.
LTIFR
Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate = LTI x 1,000,000/hours worked.
Materiality
disclosing all information of significant concern to stakeholders for assessing our economic, environmental, and social performance.
m3
Cubic metres.
Megalitre
1 megalitre = 1,000,000 litres or 1,000 kilolitres.
µg/L
Micrograms per litre.
Mining Charter
The policy objective stated in the South African Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act to expand opportunities for historically disadvantaged persons to enter the mining and minerals industry or benefit from the exploitation of the nation's mineral resources.
ML
Megalitres (1 ML = 1,000,000 litres).
MPRDA
the South African Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act 2004 governs the transfer of mining rights and grant of mining authorisations.
Mt
Megatonnes (1 Mt = 1,000,000 tonnes).
MTI
Medical Treatment Injuries
an occupational injury/illness which is not classified as an LTI or RWI, but which results in loss of consciousness or requires medical treatment beyond first aid.
MW
Megawatt, a unit for measuring electric power, which has the value of 1,000,000 watts.
NGOs
Non-governmental organisations.
NIHL
Noise-induced hearing loss.
Non-trading items
non-trading items are material items of income and expense, which, due to their nature or expected infrequency are presented separately.
NOx
Oxides of nitrogen (nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide).
Occupational illness
Any abnormal condition or disorder, other than one resulting from an occupational injury, caused by exposure to factors associated with employment.
OHSAS 18001
Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (specifications for occupational health and safety management systems).
PGMs
Platinum group metals.
PPE
Personal protective equipment.
PJ
Petajoule (1015 joules).
Pneumoconiosis
Primarily an occupational disease of miners, sandblasters and metal grinders. A chronic disease of the lungs, it is a result of repeated inhalation and accumulation of dust in the lungs leading to loss of lung function and possibly heart failure.
Premus technology
proprietary technology for the production of ferrochrome, developed and patented by Xstrata Alloys which has significant cost and environmental benefits compared to existing technology.
Raw water
Untreated water extracted from groundwater, dams or rivers. Groundwater is extracted from wells, bores, cut off trenches and mine dewatering both on and off site. Surface water is defined as water from streams, lakes and dams including storm water and collected runoff.
Recycled water
Recycled/re-used water is water:
  • that has been used at least once in a process within the operation or at another operation within the organisation; and
  • that would otherwise be part of a waste stream; and
  • if not re-used, would require the input of raw water.
Red List
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Reductant
Reducing agent, the electron donor in an oxidation-reduction (redox) reaction.
RWI
Restricted Work Injury
An occupational injury or illness that results in a person being physically or mentally unable to perform all or any part of his/her normal assignment during any rostered shift subsequent to that on which the event occurred, that is, where: (1) the employee was assigned to another job on a temporary basis; (2) the employee worked at a permanent job less than full-time; or (3) the employee worked at his or her permanently assigned job but could not perform all the duties normally connected with it.
SME
Small and medium-sized enterprise(s).
Social Involvement Plan (SIP)
A plan produced by each Commodity Business which sets out their engagement with local communities, and details the range of initiatives to be undertaken and the resources, financial and other, dedicated to this area of their business.
Tailings and tailings dams
The fine fraction of waste rock remaining after the mining and on-site processing of mineral resources. This consists of finely ground particles and traces of process reagents and chemical residues. Tailings are piped into engineered impoundments known as tailings dams, which are developed, operated, monitored and maintained to prevent failure, seepage and contamination both during and after mining operations.Transformation
In South Africa, the term transformation describes the ongoing process to develop a sustainable, equitable society and economy in South Africa.
TRI
Total Recordable Injuries
a measure that includes all injuries other than first aid, ie:
  • Lost Time Injuries (including fatalities);
  • Restricted Work Injuries; and
  • Medical Treatment Injuries.
TRIFR
Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate = (LTI + RWI + MTI) x 1,000,000/hours worked.
VCT
Voluntary counselling and testing for HIV/AIDS.
Waste water discharged
Total volume of effluent discharged to: surface water for irrigation; third parties for treatment; and rivers or oceans.