Hindalco Industries’ Baphlimali Bauxite Mine in Odisha’s Rayagada district has become the first bauxite mining operation in India to receive certification under the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) Performance Standard V3.1 (2023). The certification covers the mine’s planning, mining, onsite crushing and conveyor transportation activities. The mine, operated by Utkal Alumina International Limited (UAIL), a Hindalco subsidiary, has an annual production capacity of 8.5 million tonnes of bauxite. The material is transported to Utkal Alumina’s refinery and forms an important part of Hindalco’s integrated aluminium value chain.
The ASI Performance Standard is a globally recognised framework for assessing environmental, social and governance practices across the aluminium value chain. Its assessment covers areas including biodiversity, greenhouse-gas emissions, human rights, community engagement, occupational health and safety, responsible business practices and stakeholder relations.
For Hindalco, the certification extends its responsible-production framework further upstream, bringing its mining operations into the same sustainability architecture as its alumina, aluminium and downstream manufacturing facilities.
The company said the Baphlimali certification takes its ASI-certified portfolio to 11 operations across mining, smelting and downstream manufacturing. Utkal Alumina itself is one of Hindalco’s major alumina operations, producing around 2.67 million tonnes of alumina annually.
The certification is also significant from a supply-chain perspective. As customers and markets increasingly demand greater transparency around the environmental and social footprint of raw materials, certification at the mining stage can provide stronger traceability from bauxite extraction through refining and aluminium production.
Baphlimali’s certification followed an independent third-party audit conducted by CETIZION Verifica. The audit identified nine minor non-conformances covering areas including stakeholder grievances, greenhouse-gas disclosure and reduction planning, air emissions, Indigenous Peoples, forced labour, remuneration, working hours and occupational health and safety. Hindalco’s subsidiary is required to implement corrective actions, which will be verified through a follow-up audit.
The development comes as the aluminium industry faces growing pressure to reduce its environmental footprint while maintaining reliable supplies for sectors such as transportation, renewable energy, infrastructure, packaging and advanced manufacturing.
For India’s mining industry, the milestone could also have wider implications. Bauxite mining is an important starting point for the domestic aluminium value chain, and greater adoption of independently assessed sustainability standards could strengthen the sector’s ability to demonstrate responsible resource development.
The Baphlimali certification therefore represents more than an ESG milestone for Hindalco. It strengthens the company’s integrated mine-to-metal sustainability credentials while establishing a new benchmark for responsible bauxite mining in India.
