Monthly Archives: August 2022

The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) is pleased to announce the upcoming third-party independent surveillance assessment of the Carrizal Mine against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining. The Carrizal Mine is located near Zimapan in the Hidalgo province of Mexico. The on-site portion of the surveillance audit will occur 24-27 August 2022.

What is a Surveillance Audit?

A surveillance audit is a mid-cycle verification to ensure no material negative changes have occurred at a site. It is not a re-assessment of all IRMA requirements. Surveillance audits follow much of the same process as a certification audit and include document review, on site-assessment, and community and stakeholder engagement. An IRMA surveillance audit confirms continued performance against critical requirements, verifies ongoing regulatory compliance processes, and evaluates progress on corrective actions. It also follows up on stakeholder input received since the prior audit and areas of risk identified in the previous audit and confirms no major changes have occurred that would impact the previously assessed achievement level.

ERM CVS is the IRMA-approved certification body carrying out the surveillance assessment.

Stakeholder Engagement in the Assessment

Interested stakeholders and members of the public can sign up to receive updates about the Carrizal mine assessment. The Mines Under Assessment page of IRMA’s website will also provide up-to-date information on all assessments.

Mine site stakeholders are invited to submit comments to ERM CVS on the social and environmental performance of the Carrizal Mine (in particular, how the mine measures against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining).

Carrizal Mine stakeholders may also contact ERM CVS if they are interested in being interviewed as part of the assessment process or being notified of the publication of the public report.

Stakeholder comments and expressions of interest in being interviewed as part of the audit process should be submitted by email to post@ermcvs.com.

Email: visit the ERM CVS website for this information and more on the audit.

Please forward this announcement, and feel free to contact ERM CVS directly to provide names and contact information for other mine site stakeholders who may be interested in knowing about and participating in the mine site assessment process.

For more information

• Contact IRMA’s Director of Standards and Assurance: msmith@responsiblemining.net
• For general information on the IRMA mine site assessment and certification process, visit the IRMA website.

As of August 2022, 62 mining companies are now engaged in IRMA representing 74 sites:

• 62 sites are self-assessing under the IRMA Standard, the first step before an independent audit;
• 11 sites are piloting the draft IRMA exploration (IRMA Ready) or mineral processing standard self-assessments
• 2 independent audit reports have been released — Anglo American’s Unki mine in Zimbabwe, and Carrizal’s Zimapán mine in Mexico;
• 11 audits are under way — 9 initial audits (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, South Africa), and 2 surveillance audits (Mexico, Zimbabwe)
• They are located in 23 countries:
  1. Argentina
  2. Australia
  3. Brazil
  4. Canada
  5. Chile
  6. Colombia
  7. Dominican Rep.
  8. Finland
  9. France
  10. Indonesia
  11. Liberia
  12. Mexico
  13. Mozambique
  14. New Caledonia
  15. Panama
  16. Philippines
  17. Russia
  18. South Africa
  19. Spain
  20. Sri Lanka
  21. Ukraine
  22. United States
  23. Zimbabwe
• They encompass 27 minerals:
  1. Aggregate
  2. Barite
  3. Bastnaesite
  4. Chrome
  5. Cobalt
  6. Copper
  7. Clay
  8. Diamonds
  9. Gold
  10. Graphite
  11. Iron
  12. Lead
  13. Limestone
  14. Lithium
  15. Magnesium
  16. Mineral sands
  17. Nickel
  18. Palladium
  19. Platinum
  20. Rhodium
  21. Sand
  22. Silver
  23. Strontium
  24. Titanium
  25. Vanadium
  26. Zinc
  27. Zirconium
  28. Rare Earth elements