Nature-Positive

We have re-evaluated our previous efforts and created the following Nature-Positive Vision and roadmap as a guiding framework to further advance our initiatives aimed at achieving nature-positive.

In order to specifically advance our efforts to achieve nature-positive, we qualitatively assessed and evaluated the relationship of the Group's business activities with nature, utilizing existing tools such as ENCORE^*. As a result, we recognized that the Group's direct operations impact nature through land use, water intake, and discharge in operations and the supply chain, while also relying on ecosystem services.
Considering our ongoing forest management activities and other initiatives, we comprehensively evaluated the significance of our relationships with nature. We determined that the connection through the management of inactive mines is the most substantial. Going forward, we will focus our efforts on achieving nature-positive primarily through activities related to inactive mines.
Additionally, we will work on identifying business activities and nature-related challenges using location-specific data, setting targets, and ensuring appropriate information disclosure in line with the final recommendations of the TNFD.

• *Exploring Natural Capital Opportunities, Risks and Exposure (ENCORE): A tool developed by the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) that visualizes dependencies and impacts on natural capital.

JX Advanced Metals established a model for ecosystem and restoration at inactive mines in fiscal 2024. We expand this model across all of our business activities to disclose information in line with the TNFD and other disclosure frameworks. Furthermore, we aim to provide materials with low CFP and low impact on the natural environment by expanding the use of recycled raw materials, in conjunction with our efforts under the Sustainable Copper Vision and the Decarbonization Vision. Through these activities, we will work to manage the impact on nature throughout the entire materials supply chain.

While we have supported the Japanese economy through our mining operations, we are aware that our business activities have had an impact on the ecosystem. Aware of this issue, the Group has actively pursued environmental measures since launching operations. Even after closure of the mines, we have implemented proper management practices, such as treating mine waste-water, along with forest restoration activities.

As the conservation and restoration of ecosystems become increasingly recognized as global challenges, the Group is reevaluating the potential of inactive mines as natural capital. We will not only continue established practices such as wastewater treatment and forest management, but also actively promote initiatives aimed at biodiversity conservation, vegetation management, and the contribution to solving local issues through leveraging natural functions.
Through these initiatives, we aim to redefine our inactive mines as Positive Legacies that contribute to a nature-positive approach for the community and society, while promoting the recovery of ecosystems.

While continuing our previous efforts, we will focus on achieving nature-positive by first targeting Hitachi Mine and Yoshino Mine as model sites. We will evaluate the ecosystems and ecosystem services in the watersheds where these closed mines are located. Building on the initiatives at the model sites, we will create an ecosystem management plan that systematically outlines the desired states of the ecosystems in the inactive mines and the actions required to achieve that. This will mark the start of our comprehensive efforts to manage ecosystems in these inactive mines.
In the future, we will scale up our efforts to address local issues by leveraging the ecosystem services at the inactive mines, working collaboratively with regional stakeholders. At the same time, we aim to create a more positive impact on the natural environment by expanding the initiatives from the model sites to other mines.

The JX Advanced Metals Ryuju no Mori forest creation project began as a social contribution initiative rooted in our historical ties to the Yoshino area of Nanyo City, where our predecessor, Nippon Mining, once operated. We have continued supporting the forest creation program in Nanyo City since fiscal 2009 to preserve the local natural environment and foster interaction with community residents.
Nanyo City in Yamagata Prefecture recognized our long-standing efforts under the JX Advanced Metals Ryuju no Mori forest creation project and presented our company with an award in fiscal 2025.
We view this award as a reflection that these ongoing activities are deeply rooted in the local community and that our commitment to coexisting with the environment and local society has been highly valued. Looking ahead, JX we will remain committed to our social contribution activities, including the JX Advanced Metals Ryuju no Mori forest creation project, as a company that continues to grow alongside the communities we serve.

Reference (Japanese Only): https://www.jx-nmm.com/information/2025/20250603_1.html

The ecosystem of an inactive mine consists mainly of terrestrial ecosystems, such as forests and grasslands, and aquatic ecosystems, such as streams and rivers. To achieve nature-positive, we first analyzed the terrestrial ecosystem condition based on location-area information.
In fiscal 2024, we also conducted surveys to enhance our understanding of the local ecosystems surrounding inactive mines. These surveys included environmental DNA analysis of nearby rivers, vegetation surveys, and bird surveys at selected locations.
Recent surveys at the Yoshino Mine showed that plantation areas and farmland once used for forestry, agriculture, and mining operations have undergone natural succession. The area now features forested areas of Japanese red pine, Japanese walnut, and Japanese larch. The mosaic of environments is also home to neutral to wet grasslands, including Chinese silver grass and reed communities, as well as still-water habitats such as ponds and thickeners.
The species we observed reflected the environmental diversity of the area and included those that favor coniferous forests (Eurasian treecreeper), those that prefer broadleaf forests (white-bellied green pigeon), fruit and seed-eating species (white-bellied green pigeon) and insect-eating species (white-backed woodpecker, Kamchatka leaf warbler). The area also provides a favorable habitat that supports rare flora and fauna in the Tohoku region, including the grey-faced buzzard (Butastur indicus), a species representative of satoyama landscapes.

The Group must identify, avoid, and minimize nature-related risks not only for inactive mines whose operations have already ended, but also for business areas expected to remain active well into the future. However, no internationally recognized standard method for such assessments currently exists. To this end, we adopted a trial evaluation method based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) using the LIME3 framework to assess the impacts of our business activities on nature.

Copper smelting is the most energy- and resource-intensive business in our operations. We therefore conducted a trial assessment of the impact our copper smelting business has on biodiversity and other environmental factors using Life Cycle Impact Assessment Method based on Endpoint (LIME3), an environmental impact assessment framework that enables life cycle assessment on a global scale.

• *Norihiro Itsubo and Atsushi Inaba (2018): LIME3: Life Cycle Impact Assessment Method to Achieve Global-Scale LCA, Maruzen Publishing.

One area we focused on in the assessment was a comparison of the biodiversity impact of producing one kilogram of electrolytic copper under two scenarios. The first scenario evaluated the current full production process, from raw material extraction and production at overseas mines to copper smelting and recycling in Japan. The second scenario evaluated only the processes associated with producing electrolytic copper from recycled raw materials, excluding raw material extraction at overseas mines.

Biodiversity impact per kilogram of electrolytic copper produced (based on internal estimates)

• *EINES：Expected Increase in Number of Extinct Species

Results of the assessment show that the recycling scenario has a smaller impact on biodiversity. More detailed analysis also indicated that greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of copper concentrate are likely the largest contributing factor.
These findings suggest that achieving our target of a 50％ recycling rate by 2040 (approx. 25% achieved in fiscal 2023) will be an effective measure for reducing nature-related risks (adverse impacts on biodiversity) in our business activities. We expect further analysis of these results to clarify the hotspots of our nature-related risks and enable us to plan and implement more effective measures.

Participation in the Development and demonstration project of Nature Footprint for promoting Nature-related Financial Disclosures by investors and financial institutions and international standardization
The Company has participated in the Demonstration Project for the Application of Nature Footprints by Financial and Investment Institutions (the “Program”) since 2024. The Program is a part of the Development and demonstration project of Nature Footprint for promoting Nature-related Financial Disclosures by investors and financial institutions and international standardization, led by Professor Norihiro Itsubo of Waseda University. Where traditional LCA evaluations have focused on biodiversity, the Program expands this scope by also focusing on developing assessment methods for ecosystem services (the benefits provided by nature). The Program aims for companies to use the results to evaluate and disclose the impacts of their business activities, and for financial institutions to then use those evaluation results in their investment activities.
JX Advanced Metals is the only copper smelter among the multiple leading Japanese companies from a wide range of industries participating in the Program. We aim to lead the copper smelting industry through our initiatives in the Program by working with upstream and downstream companies in the supply chain to visualize and reduce impacts on ecosystem services and biodiversity.

• *https://www.bridge-naturefootprint.jp/index_en.html

The Group recognizes that our daily business activities are supported by the natural environment and the benefits of ecosystems, and we are committed to proactive environmental conservation efforts.

The Group uses large volumes of water in our business activities, primarily as cooling water (mainly seawater) at our smelters. With this in mind, we strive to ensure our manufacturing sites make effective use of water resources by properly monitoring water consumption and exploring methods to reduce or reuse water. Each manufacturing site applies voluntary standards that are stricter than the emission levels required by laws and ordinances and manages operations to prevent any exceedance of these standards.

The Group assesses and confirms how water risks, such as water shortages, water pollution, and flooding associated with climate change, affect each production site. We use Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, a water risk assessment tool provided by the World Resources Institute (WRI), to identify what water risks are present.
In fiscal 2024, we assessed 29 sites in Japan and 17 overseas sites, and also carried out questionnaire surveys on water management. No sites were assessed as having high water risk.

The Group has voluntarily established chemical substance management standards, and we strive to mitigate the harmfulness of these substances by controlling their use. In addition, the Green Procurement Guidelines clearly identify substances that must not be included in manufacturing processes, materials, or equipment, and we ensure our suppliers are aware of these. Furthermore, we strive to provide safety information to our customers and all other product stakeholders.

The Group contributes to environmental conservation by treating low-concentration PCBs, which helps to neutralize hazardous waste.
We have also been proceeding with the treatment of Group-owned high-concentration PCB equipment at the Japan Environmental Storage & Safety Corporation (JESCO). We have completed the treatment of this equipment by the prescribed deadline.
In addition, we have been planning the disposal of equipment with low-concentration PCBs through licensed low-concentration PCB treatment contractors such as JX Metals Tomakomai Chemical Co., Ltd.; this disposal is scheduled to be completed by the end of fiscal 2026.

• *Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs): Substances that were often found in insulating oils for transformers and capacitors, as well as in pressure-sensitive photocopiers, due to their excellent electrical insulating properties. However, their toxicity has now led to a ban on their new manufacture and import.

Since our founding in 1905, the JX Advanced Metals Group has been engaged in mining operations across Japan. By ensuring a steady supply of nonferrous metals and other resources, we contributed to Japan's economic growth. In Japan, however, operations have ceased in nearly all mines as their mineral resources have dried up. Still, in closed mines, we provide acid mine drainage (AMD) treatment and work to maintain and preserve the natural environment.
JX Nippon Mining Ecomanagement, Inc. oversees the closed mines managed by the Company. The work mainly consists of detoxifying acid mine drainage (AMD) and maintaining and preserving the tailings dams and galleries of the mining sites. AMD occurs when rainwater or other water comes into contact with materials such as copper concentrates remaining after the mine is closed or the rubble and slag of tailings dams. Since AMD contains metals and is highly acidic, treatment facilities have to operate 365 days a year. As for tailings dams, construction is underway to handle the recent flooding in areas of frequent rainfall and to adapt to large earthquakes. Through the management of these closed mines, we are striving to preserve the natural environment.