Standards

The IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining defines best practices for what responsible mining should look like at the industrial-scale. It provides the list of expectations that independent auditors will use as the benchmark for responsible mines.

The requirements in the Standard include the following elements:

Business Integrity

  • Legal compliance
  • Community and stakeholder engagement
  • Human rights and due diligence
  • Complaints and grievance mechanisms, and access to remedy
  • Transparency in revenue payments from companies to governments

Planning for Positive Legacies

  • Environmental and social impact, assessment and management
  • Free, Prior and Informed Consent
  • Obtaining community support and delivering benefits
  • Resettlement
  • Emergency preparedness and response
  • Planning and financing reclamation and closure

Social Responsibility

  • Fair labor and terms of work
  • Occupational health and safety
  • Community health and safety
  • Mining and conflict affected or high-risk areas
  • Security arrangements
  • Artisanal and small-scale mining
  • Cultural heritage

Environmental Responsibility

  • Waste and materials management
  • Water management
  • Air quality
  • Noise and vibration
  • Greenhouse gas emissions
  • Biodiversity, ecosystem services and protected areas
  • Cyanide management
  • Mercury management

View the full IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining or individual chapters on our Resources page.