The news comes after the producer said in September it had applied for the recognition for six of its active sites. These are the first three to receive the Copper Mark; Freeport said it is committed to all of its operations receiving the award.

The Copper Mark promotes responsible production practices and demonstrates the copper mining sector's contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

For sites to receive the Copper Mark, copper producers are independently assessed on a comprehensive group of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria.

The Copper Mark assurance framework currently is focused on copper producers at the beginning of the supply chain, but the group said it will in the coming years expand the framework to include the entire supply chain. 

The term 'Copper Mark Partners' currently relates to organisations in the copper value chain that use or rely on copper in their business and that have made a public commitment to the Copper Mark's vision and objectives and recognise the responsible production and sourcing of copper in their business activities through expressing a preference for copper producers assured by the Copper Mark.

According to the organisation's website, the current Partners are Ford Motor Co, Google, chipmaker Intel and copper alloys group Wieland.

The Copper Mark was originally founded and developed by the International Copper Association (ICA).