Monthly Archives: June 2021

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Comment period open: IRMA draft Mineral Processing Standard

16 June 2021By

Today the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) is pleased to release its draft Standard for Responsible Mineral Processing (Mineral Processing Standard) for a 60-day global public comment period. Download the draft standard (as a Word document or in pdf format).

The draft Mineral Processing Standard is IRMA’s response to stakeholder requests for a global set of best practices that go beyond ensuring responsible practice at the mine site by clarifying expectations at other key points in minerals and metals supply chains.

IRMA’s Mineral Processing Standard will serve as the basis of a global, voluntary system offering independent third-party review and certification of environmental and social performance measures at smelters, refineries and other operations involved in the processing and extraction of minerals and metals from ores, concentrates and scrap materials. It was developed through multi-stakeholder collaboration and the innovation that comes from working across diverse sectors, disciplines, and geographic locations.

The Mineral Processing Standard is incomplete without your valuable feedback. The public comment period begins today and remains open through 16 August 2021.

Learn more

IRMA is hosting two webinars to introduce the draft Mineral Processing Standard and highlight some questions that we have for stakeholders. Please join us for one of the following sessions:

How to comment

Next steps

The 60-day public comment period ends 16 August 2021.  Based on the comments and direct feedback from one or more pilot projects, we will revise the Mineral Processing Standard. We aim to release the final Standard in late 2021. We will make the final Mineral Processing Standard available on the IRMA website as well as via the IRMA e-newsletter (sign up here).

 

Photo information: Mineral processing operation (lead, zinc, copper and other metals), La Oroya, Peru.
Photo credit: Earthworks/Scott Cardiff.

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IRMA cited in White House report on building resilient supply chains

15 June 2021By

We are pleased to share that the U.S. White House mentions IRMA in their recent report from Biden’s Executive Order on building resilient supply chains. Both the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Defense reference the IRMA Standard as a road map for best practices in mining materials needed for large capacity batteries related to renewable energy and for critical minerals related to electronics and mobility:

“The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) is an international coalition of businesses, nongovernmental organizations, labor unions, mining operators, and other stakeholders that has developed a Standard for Responsible Mining and established a system for independently certifying mines worldwide that adhere to that standard. IRMA may provide a method for U.S. companies and the Federal Government to ensure that minerals are being sourced from mines with robust environmental, social, and financial responsibility policies, and also could provide a model for responsible development of additional mines in the United States.”

With a measurement model built on social responsibility, environmental responsibility, business integrity and planning for positive legacies, a governance model founded on consensus across multi-stakeholder interests, and a reporting model capturing unprecedented detail while prioritizing transparency, IRMA provides the most credible assurance standard for the mining industry. As recognized by the Biden Administration, IRMA’s standard can inform and provide a template for improved laws and regulations for mines developed in the United States (and elsewhere), and IRMA’s independent assurance program can help to recognize and foster more responsible mineral supply chains globally.

This important recognition is thanks to the commitment and years of collaborative work invested by IRMA’s visionary multi-stakeholder board.

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