Sustainability
Our Approach
Sustainability Strategy
Our sustainability strategy is focused on responsibly unlocking Caravel's copper mineral resources while protecting the environment and supporting the communities where we operate. Through careful planning and partnerships, we aim to deliver a responsible copper project which provides long-term value.
Sustainability Value Chain
Sustainability is embedded in our approach to our business — from exploration and land access, through development, approvals, and responsible production planning. Copper is a critical enabler of the global transition to clean energy, and we are committed to delivering it in a way that is ethical, transparent, and aligned with long-term environmental and social value.
As a Project in feasibility and development stage, our focus areas include:
- Exploration & Land Tenure: Conducting exploration with respect for environmental values, Traditional Owners, and landholders, while securing long-term access through responsible land tenure practices.
- Regulatory Approvals & Social Licence: Meeting environmental and regulatory requirements, while building lasting, trust-based relationships with local communities and stakeholders.
- Sustainable Production: Designing and developing a responsible operation that will produce high-quality copper and molybdenum concentrates needed for renewable energy, electrification, and low-emission infrastructure.
- Responsible Partnerships: Working with organisations aligned with our own company values.
About the Caravel Copper Project
Caravel Minerals’ 100% owned Caravel Copper Project is a proposed mining development project located near Wongan Hills in Western Australia. It centres on one of the most significant Australian porphyry (type of rock) copper discoveries of the last decade.
The Caravel Copper Project is an open pit mining and processing project which will produce a copper-in-concentrate – a critical component for the electrification of economies around the world.
Planned to operate for more than 25 years, the Caravel Copper Project has the potential to:
- Produce up to 65,000 tonnes of copper-in-concentrate per year
- Create more than 500 jobs during construction
- Create more than 200 full-time jobs once operational
- Support the local and regional economy
- Contribute positively to environments impacted by high salinity
- Continue to invest in local communities
Mining and processing
The Company is seeking State and Commonwealth approvals to develop an open pit mine and processing infrastructure to operate for 25+ years. The Project’s copper concentrate product will be loaded onto trucks and transported to existing Western Australian ports that are well-connected to the site by sealed public roads and highways. Project support infrastructure includes a borefield and water pipeline, power infrastructure, site offices and workforce accommodation.
In the first five years of production, Caravel is targeting approximately 71,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of copper-in-concentrate. Steady-state operations are targeting 65,000tpa of copper-in-concentrate and about 900tpa of molybdenum-in-concentrate.
Heritage and Native Title
The Caravel Copper Project is situated on land primarily located within the Yued People’s Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) area. Heritage surveys across the Project area development envelopes have occurred with the Yued people, archaeologists and staff. As a result of the surveys undertaken, Caravel excised certain areas from the project development envelope and redesigned initial plans to avoid sites and places. Caravel is committed to developing the project in a way that avoids culturally significant sites wherever possible.
Project Timeline
The graphic below shows the key milestones of the project.
ESG Standards and Frameworks
Caravel has released its inaugural sustainability report for the period 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025 (FY25). This report contains a range of disclosures that are aligned with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) mining standard – GRI 14 – Mining, and also includes consideration and inclusion of other global standards and frameworks such as:
- the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs)
- the International Finance Corporation Performance Standards (IFC PS)
- the Equator Principles – (EP4)
- International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS); and
- emerging standards which may have application to Caravel Minerals in the future.
Our sustainability report provides further detail on this and is available here.
Materiality Assessment
In FY25, Caravel conducted its first sustainability materiality assessment. Sustainability topics we believe are material for the Caravel Copper Project at the current time (feasibility study phase) are:
- Biodiversity
- Health and Safety
- Energy
- Water
- Working with Communities
- Corporate Governance and Risk
- Responsible Business and Supply Chain
- Economic Contributions
More on these topics and our approach are detailed in our 2025 Inaugural Sustainability Report.
The importance of copper to a low carbon future
Copper’s conductive properties make it an important ingredient in technologies which facilitate low-carbon solutions in an increasingly technologically dependant era.
Large amounts of copper are used in wind turbines, solar panels, and hydropower infrastructure, facilitating the generation and transmission of clean energy. Electric vehicles (EVs) also rely heavily on copper for their batteries and charging infrastructure, while energy storage systems and smart grids depend on copper to store and efficiently distribute renewable energy.
Additionally, copper contributes to energy efficiency in buildings through heating and cooling systems, as well as in the electrification of industrial machinery, further reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.
A copper supply shortage is forecast to bring significant economic value to large copper deposits in Tier-1 mining jurisdictions like WA, including the Caravel Copper Project.