Coveted raw materials,
fairly sourced

Raw materials are essential for an environmentally sustainable economic transformation. Latin America has an abundance of them. GIZ supports dialogue between all parties involved in and affected by the mining process – so that raw materials are extracted in a way that is accountable, fair and socially responsible.

Enormous quantities of raw materials are needed for a just energy transition and climate-neutral economy. These include copper and silicon for solar panels, lithium for batteries, and green hydrogen as a chemical raw material and fuel. To achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is important that these raw materials are extracted in a way that is accountable, socially responsible and transparent.

In the long term, Germany and the European Union (EU) have no alternative but to import strategically important raw materials. Latin America is the most important region for the global mine production of copper, accounting for a share of around 40 per cent. The Andean countries are home to half of the world’s lithium reserves. Furthermore, Brazil offers ideal conditions for the production of green hydrogen. However, the local population in Latin America must benefit from this, too. To ensure this happens, we provide support and expertise and facilitate contact between partners.

Sustainable raw material supply chains as a political objective

Critical Raw Materials Act:

With the Critical Raw Materials Act, the EU aims to ensure a continuous and sustainable supply of critical raw materials for its industry. This is to be achieved by strengthening domestic supply chains, clearly prioritising strategically important raw materials, and building mutually beneficial partnerships with non-EU countries.

A group of people in protective clothing standing in front of a vast salt flat with evaporation ponds in a mountainous area.
In Latin America, we are committed to ensuring that raw materials are extracted in a way that is accountable and socially responsible.
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In 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecast that global demand for copper is likely to have tripled by 2040.

More dialogue for fewer conflicting objectives

Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru – mining is an important economic sector in the countries of the Andes. In Peru and Chile, raw materials account for more than 50 per cent of all exports. But time and again, local residents are not adequately informed about mining in their regions. The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), however, took a different approach when it assessed two lithium mines in Salar de Atacama in Chile, a salt flat in the Atacama Desert, as part of its mining certification process. Before the process began, IRMA held workshops to identify the information needs of people living near the mines who were directly affected. These parties subsequently received data about the impact on water resources and biodiversity and were given the details of specific people to contact in the event of any complaints. At events, those who were affected were able to actively participate in decisions regarding improvement plans. This led, for example, to the complaints mechanism being improved. As a result, the communities can now communicate directly with IRMA and raise any concerns they have.

IRMA is an alliance of companies, mine operators and non-profit organisations that aims to improve conditions in industrial mining through certification.

This has been made possible by the Regional Cooperation for the Sustainable Management of Mining in the Andean Countries (MinSus) project. Since 2014, GIZ has been working on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to improve the social, environmental and economic aspects of mining standards in this region. Together with Germany’s Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), we make information about mine certification procedures accessible to local people who are directly affected by the process.

To achieve this, GIZ – together with BGR and with support from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) – formed a working group of associations, organisations, local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and experts. It carefully examined the most important forms of certification over a period of two years. The result was 10 specific recommendations on how data can be presented in a more accessible way and complemented by additional information, and on how local residents in affected regions can be included in the process to a greater extent. Two certification programmes have incorporated the recommendations into their catalogue of criteria and adapted processes accordingly – including the mining project in Chile. This also helps potential investors and buyers of raw materials because certification provides clarity on whether a mine meets environmental and human rights standards.

Regional Cooperation for the Sustainable Management of Mining in the Andean Countries

Commissioned by
German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Location
Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
Term
2022 to 2025
More information

3 questions for Aimee Boulanger

Profile picture of Aimee Boulanger

"Incentives to do more than just legal compliance"

Aimee Boulanger

Managing Director for initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA)
© responsiblemining.net

Aimee Boulanger is the Executive Director of the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA). In our interview, she explains how verified standards create added value for both businesses and people locally.

Ms Boulanger, what is IRMA?

Aimee Boulanger: IRMA is an organisation with an equally shared governance structure that sets out best practices for more responsible mining around the world. Based on globally recognised standards, IRMA audits mines, and publicly shares the results. This creates an opportunity for the mining industry’s customers and investors to identify gaps and make important changes that local communities and mine workers ask for, i.e. protection of human rights, safe workplaces, clean water, healthy land, and a thriving and diverse economy both while a mine is operational and after it closes.

What contribution do voluntary standards make to sustainable mining?

Aimee Boulanger: Voluntary standards should complement, not replace, government laws and regulations. IRMA provides information on the impacts of mining and supports improvements. It creates incentives for mining companies to do more than just legal compliance because it pays to follow best practices that better protect people and the land. A voluntary standard can also be used as a model to improve a country’s mining laws or international mining regulations.

What has the MinSus project changed for IRMA?

Aimee Boulanger: Between 2020 and 2025, we worked with MinSus in the Andean region to improve communication with local interest groups about the effects of mining projects. This included developing new formats for sharing audit reports with civil society and holders of mining rights in Chile´s Atacama region. Since 2025, these communication tools have also been used to support publication of audit reports in Argentina and Brazil. In addition, we compared Peruvian and Chilean legislation with the requirements outlined in the IRMA Standard to identify areas in which legislation still needs to be improved.

But there is much more to MinSus. The project supports the employment of women in the mining sector and improves the tax and levy system. This allows countries to gain maximum benefit from mining and use more sustainable technologies. GIZ has also organised a Lithium Forum in which representatives from Argentina, Bolivia and Chile come together once a year to discuss current issues and best practices.

GIZ’s recommendations on certification are having a positive impact:

  • Mining companies have raised their standards to meet the requirements of the IRMA audit process. Some 14 mines have already taken part in this audit procedure and nine are currently in the middle of the process.
  • Mining communities are gaining more transparency about the impact of mining projects.
  • IRMA has adapted its processes to include local stakeholders more effectively in the certification process. Through better communication between holders of mining rights, NGOs, trade unions and mining communities, all stakeholders can suggest improvements to the audit process.
  • German and European buyers can obtain information from IRMA certification, enabling them to meet their own due diligence obligations in their supply chains.

Protecting water, sourcing lithium responsibly

A quarter of global lithium production comes from the Salar de Atacama salt flat. Water scarcity is a major problem in this sensitive ecosystem: lithium mining requires water too. The Responsible Lithium Partnership project was launched to reduce the risks posed by lithium extraction. A number of large global firms support the initiative. Working on their behalf, GIZ has brought some 20 interest groups together around a table for the first time in the Salar de Atacama. This Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable (Mesa Multiactor) is made up of representatives of indigenous communities, civil society, the scientific and research community, and the public and private sectors. It is moderated and coordinated by GIZ.

Responsible Lithium Partnership

Commissioned by
BASF, BMW Group, Daimler Truck AG, Fairphone, Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Volkswagen Group
Location
Salar de Atacama, Chile
Term
2021 to 2025
The Salar de Atacama salt flat is home to a quarter of the world’s lithium reserves.

The aim is to protect water resources in the Salar de Atacama and ensure they are used more sustainably. To this end, the Mesa Multiactor has developed an action plan containing 30 measures. For example, a new cadastre is being implemented to regulate the rights of water holders in the Salar and create greater transparency. The roundtable has also published more than 300 studies and reports on water and water quality in the Salar de Atacama. In addition, new sources of water have been identified: using a new method, the community of San Pedro de Atacama is collecting greywater to irrigate its fields. A campaign launched by the Mesa Multiactor on the economical use of water reached around 200,000 people, including the local population as well as target groups in other regions.

The roundtable is a model for cooperation in the Salar de Atacama. Since February 2025, the Mesa Multiactor has continued its work as an independent foundation with a continued focus on the sustainable use of water and other resources.

Profile picture of Erika Muñoz

"The participatory manner in which issues have been discussed from the project’s inception has enabled the generation of social capital, identification of solutions, and the development of a concrete action plan that benefits all involved."

Erika Muñoz

Founder and President, Tourism Corporation of San Pedro de Atacama
Photo: © Saturnino Ramos

Profile picture of Friederike Schön

"The success of the Responsible Lithium Partnership proves that industry has the power to achieve positive environmental and social outcomes. By working with local interest groups, we have helped lay the foundations for a more sustainable future in the Salar de Atacama. We look forward to seeing how the Mesa Multiactor continues this important task."

Friederike Schön

Global Head of Supplier Risk and Sustainability Management, Volkswagen Group

Profile picture of Benigno Reyes

"Key achievements of the project include connecting existing organisations, improving water management in agriculture, and ensuring stakeholders are better informed and more knowledgeable."

Benigno Reyes

President of the Association of Irrigators and Farmers of the San Pedro de Atacama River
Photo: © Benigno Reyes

Profile picture of Victoria Lindner

"At Mercedes-Benz, we believe sustainability in the supply chain is driven by transparency and collaboration. The Responsible Lithium Partnership has shown the importance of bringing together diverse stakeholders in addressing complex challenges. It provided deeper understanding of human rights and environmental risks in the Salar de Atacama and enabled effective responses. We are proud to have contributed to this important initiative from the start and look forward to its continued progress."

Victoria Lindner

Project Coordinator for Sustainable Supply Chains, Mercedes-Benz AG
Photo: © Roland Bending

German-Brazilian cooperation on sustainable fuel

Around 2,000 kilometres to the east, in the municipality of Toledo in Brazil’s southern state of Paraná, Ilmo Werle Welter gazes around his pig farm. The smell of manure hangs in the air, and he wonders what to do with it all. In this region, which is roughly the size of Luxembourg, some 6,000 farmers produce around 13 million cubic metres of manure annually. This is usually released into nearby lagoons, where it contaminates the water and soil.

The manure is soon set to become a business model for the pig farmer and, at the same time, part of the energy transition. This is because Welter’s agricultural cooperative Ambicoop is part of a joint cooperation project between GIZ and mele Biogas, a German company based in Torgelow in the federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Some 52 farmers from Ambicoop will soon be able to divert their animal waste to a nearby, newly built biogas plant via a specially installed pipe system.

The Ambicoop plant is the first of a total of 40 biogas facilities to be built in the region in the period from the end of 2026 to 2032; in total, they are expected to produce around 30,000 cubic metres of biomethane per hour. That is equivalent to roughly a quarter of all biomethane currently produced in Germany. On behalf of the large-scale project, GIZ assessed the feasibility of producing green fuels from the biomethane and green hydrogen along various production pathways. "GIZ is now providing us with additional support by presenting our project at international events and producing publications. This helps us a lot because it enables us to build important networks with other potential partners," says Helmut Tündermann from mele Biogas in Brazil.

With the help of systems technology from Germany, the company turns the manure into biogas and converts it into biomethane. This is then made into green fuels by combining it with green hydrogen. These can also be transported to Germany. A win-win partnership for both countries.

A wind farm with numerous wind turbines in Chile’s Atacama Desert.
High yields from wind energy make Brazil an ideal location for the production of green hydrogen.

Green hydrogen

Optimum conditions for green hydrogen

Green hydrogen is essential for a climate-friendly industrial sector. In areas where direct electrification is difficult, including aviation, shipping, the steel industry and the production of cement and fertiliser, green hydrogen helps to significantly reduce CO2 emissions. When used to produce electricity, green hydrogen also helps to improve supply security.

"Brazil has enormous potential for the production of green hydrogen and is a very interesting partner for Germany," says Markus Francke, Manager of the large-scale hydrogen project H2Brasil. "It is an industrialised country, has plenty of experts, and the amount of electricity produced from wind and solar energy is so high that renewable sources already account for 90 per cent of all electrical energy."

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) was quick to recognise this. As early as 2021, GIZ was commissioned as part of H2Brasil to support the country in building a green hydrogen economy. GIZ’s hydrogen projects in Brazil now also include the H2Uppp programme of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), which aims to support German companies in the country in implementing green hydrogen projects. GIZ advises ministries and associations, develops research projects with universities and organises training. We not only connect producers in Brazil with German buyers, but also bring German engineering technology to Brazil. "The key thing is that both sides always benefit," says Markus Francke.

A fenced-in pilot plant for the production of green hydrogen located on the edge of a hillside. ‘H2’ is written on one of the various interconnected storage tanks.
Green hydrogen has great potential for decarbonizing the economy. To promote its research and development, GIZ has joined forces with the federal university UNIFEI in Itajubá to establish Brazil´s first green hydrogen center.
Profile picture of Jens Hüren

"GIZ’s contribution to the development of the green hydrogen sector in Brazil was crucial. It helped to lay the foundations for development of legal regulations for the sector, demonstrate technologies in pilot plants and raise awareness of Brazil’s potential."

Jens Hüren

Managing Director, MAN Energy Solutions Brasil and President of the German-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Rio de Janeiro

Photo: © MAN Energy Solutions Brasil

Profile picture of Paula Alvarebga

"Green hydrogen plays a key role in decarbonisation of the economy and is therefore of vital importance for both Germany, which needs clean and competitive energy, and Brazil, which is positioning itself as a green energy powerhouse and leading actor in this new sector. The H2Brasil project serves as a tool to support this mutually beneficial connection, drive innovations and collaboration, and facilitate the energy transition."

Paulo Alvarenga

CEO, thyssenkrupp Group in South America and President of the German-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in São Paulo

Photo: © thyssenkrupp South America

Profile picture of Fabiola Corria

"Fossil fuels will soon no longer be considered acceptable for climate reasons. Our pilot plant for the production of sustainable aviation fuel was developed in cooperation with the H2Brasil project. Collaboration with GIZ is a big gain for us. It enables us to expand our research significantly."

Fabíola Correia de Carvalho

Researcher, SENAI Innovation Institute for Renewable Energies, Natal

Photo: © SENAI-RN

The list of what the hydrogen projects have achieved is long. At the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), a hydrogen test laboratory for industrial applications has been set up and, in the federal state of Minas Gerais, Brazil’s first green hydrogen centre has been established – with a 300 kilowatt electrolyser and hydrogen refuelling station. There are also plans to build the first commercial plant for production of sustainable aviation fuel in Brazil. Since October 2024, GIZ has been working with the Brazilian company Geo bio gas&carbon to advance the industrial production of synthetic kerosene from organic waste. The sustainable aviation fuel is made using green hydrogen and existing CO2 and offers an alternative to fossil fuels. It therefore allows for massive CO2 reductions in the aviation sector. It is vital in this context that sustainable methods are used consistently along the new value chains. These need to be defined using clear criteria and guaranteed through certification and regular audits. GIZ therefore works with private companies to implement these high standards.

Only by developing new production methods for sustainable aviation fuel can the CO2 reduction targets defined by the EU and other international organisations be achieved in long-haul air travel. The private sector has recognised this potential: 80 per cent of investment in the first commercial plant for production of sustainable aviation fuel comes from Geo bio gas&carbon. Companies benefit from the project’s innovative capacity and from GIZ’s local network and expertise.

develoPPP project for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from biomass

Commissioned by
German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Location
Brazil
Term
2024 to 2027
Interview | Sustainability
"The demand for sustainable aviation fuels is huge"
More information
A hand holding up to the camera a sealed test tube labelled ‘SAF’. In the background, there are many interconnected pipes and cables.

Whether in the fields of Brazil, the mines of Peru or the Atacama Desert in Chile, our work helps bring together all relevant stakeholders in the area of raw material extraction in Latin America. Our aim: to support dialogue and reduce potentially conflicting objectives, with a view to ensuring that our planet’s valuable resources are used in a way that is accountable and socially responsible.

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