Since the 1990s several large companies have been publishing nonfinancial performance reports. Focusing initially on the physical environment, these reports evolved to consider social relations, as well as data on the firm's economic performance. A few mining companies pioneered this trend, and in the last years some of them incorporated the three dimensions of sustainable development, publishing so-called sustainability reports. This article reviews 31 reports published between 2001 and 2006 by four major mining companies. A set of 62 assessment items organized in six categories (namely context and commitment, management, environmental, social and economic performance, and accessibility and assurance) were selected to guide the review. The items were derived from international literature and recommended best practices, including the Global Reporting Initiative G3 framework. A content analysis was performed using the report as a sampling unit, and using phrases, graphics, or tables containing certain information as data collection units. A basic rating scale (0 or 1) was used for noting the presence or absence of information and a final percentage score was obtained for each report. Results show that there is a clear evolution in report's comprehensiveness and depth. Categories "accessibility and assurance" and "economic performance" featured the lowest scores and do not present a clear evolution trend in the period, whereas categories "context and commitment" and "social performance" presented the best results and regular improvement; the category "environmental performance," despite it not reaching the biggest scores, also featured constant evolution. Description of data measurement techniques, besides more comprehensive third-party verification are the items most in need of improvement.

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During last years companies have an increasing concern about corporate social responsibility and sustainable development. Performance disclosure through sustainability, social or environmental reports can demonstrate efficiency and improve the relationship with stakeholders. Publishing researches about the usage of sustainability reports in mining sector can indirectly promote the evolution of this practice in companies and contribute to improve the public image of the sector. The goal of this research is investigating how sustainability reports are evolving in mining companies. A method was developed for reports assessment, based on international good practices and literature about sustainability reports. The assessment was made in terms of presence or not of 62 topics which ideally should be presented in sustainability reports of this sector. The topics were organized in the following categories: Context and Commitment, Management, Economic performance, Social performance, Environmental performance and Assurance and accessibility. The method was applied to 35 reports published between 1997 and 2006 by five big multinational mining companies. The assumption of evolution in report quality and completeness was confirmed, with a positive trend. A high mean of reports score as well as a high percentage of disclosing mining specific information show the effort of these companies in risk identification and response to stakeholders. It was noticed that the six information categories analyzed presented different results, both in adherence to the developed framework and in evolution trend. The category which had the highest score was "Context and Commitments" while the category which had the lowest scores was "Assurance and accessibility". The assessment method was efficient to assess comprehensiveness or completeness of reports. The reporting process is established in the companies analyzed, and it is possible to keep evolving with orientation to deeper issues, as well as sharing information and lessons learned to disseminate good practices in the mining sector. Beyond the initial phase of reporting, it is time for companies to improve their reporting processes by complying with all best practices available and responding to stakeholders' expectations in a more comprehensive way, reaching the next level of quality in sustainability reporting.