(Corrects report from Feb. 12 to say S&P's ratings, not S&P's ESG ratings, in sixth paragraph)
MELBOURNE, Feb 12 (Reuters) - S&P Global ratings on Wednesday released its first scorecard for metals and mining companies that rates them on their environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials, an area of increasing focus for investors.
* Coal mining is the most heavily exposed subsector, as global demand for coal is expected to peak in coming years with more adverse policies expected for coal-fired power, which emits roughly twice as much greenhouse gas as all gasoline burned.
* The mining industry has "well-above-average" exposure to environmental risks, resulting from land use, waste, pollution and water usage. Techniques such as heap leaching or the use of toxic fluids like cyanide and sulphuric acid can be devastating if there are leaks. Low probability events like tailings dam failures as seen in Brazil also have a severe impact.
* Metals production also has "well-above average environmental exposure" for example high green house gas emitting blast furnaces used by the steel industry.
* Main social tensions arise from safety and local labour relations and from the impact on communities of pollution, water or land usage conflicts and economic or landscape impacts.
Selected global miners and S&P's ratings*
* Ratings below BBB- are regarded as non-investment grade BHP Group
A/Stable/A-1 Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) PLC
A/Stable/A-1 Codelco
A+/Negative/-- Glencore (LON:GLEN) PLC
BBB+/Stable/A-2 South 32
BBB+/Stable/A-2 Newcrest Mining
BBB/Stable/-- Anglo American (LON:AAL)
BBB/Stable/A-2 Barrick Gold Corp.
BBB/Stable/A-2 Teck Resources Ltd
BBB-/Stable/-- Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) BBB-/Stable/-- Zijin Mining Group Co
BBB-/WatchNeg/-- Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Corp
BB+/Stable/-- Alliance Resource Partners
BB+/Stable/-- Fortescue Metals Group
BB+/Stable/-- Freeport-McMoRan
BB/Stable/-- PT Vale Indonesia
BB/Stable/-- Yanzhou Coal Mining
BB/Stable/-- Arch Coal
BB-/Stable/-- Peabody Energy
B+/Stable/-- China Hongqiao Group
B+/Positive/-- PT Bumi Resources
CCC+/Stable/--