Blog

As of September 2022, 65 mining companies are now engaged in IRMA representing 76 sites:

• 56 sites are self-assessing under the IRMA Standard, the first step before an independent audit;
• 9 are piloting the draft IRMA exploration (IRMA Ready) or mineral processing standard self-assessments
• 11 independent audits under way: nine initial audits (South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Argentina) and two surveillance audits (Mexico, Zimbabwe)
• 2 independent audit reports have been released — Anglo American’s Unki mine in Zimbabwe, and Carrizal’s Zimapán mine in Mexico
• They encompass 25 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. Namibia
  15. New Caledonia
  16. Panama
  17. Philippines
  18. Russia
  19. South Africa
  20. Spain
  21. Sri Lanka
  22. Turkey
  23. Ukraine
  24. United States
  25. Zimbabwe
• And 52 minerals and mineral types:
  1. Aggregates
  2. Barite
  3. Bauxite
  4. Cerium
  5. Chromite
  6. Chromium
  7. Coal (metallurgical)
  8. Cobalt
  9. Copper
  10. Diamonds
  11. Europium
  12. Feldspar
  13. Gadolinium
  14. Gold
  15. Graphite
  16. Iridium
  17. Iron
  18. Kyanite
  19. Lanthanum
  20. Lead
  21. Limestone
  22. Lithium
  23. Magnesium
  24. Mica
  25. Mineral sands
  26. Molybdenum
  27. Monazite sand
  28. Neodymium
  29. Nickel
  30. Osmium
  31. Palladium
  32. Praseodymium
  33. Platinum
  34. Potash
  35. Quartz
  36. Rare earth elements
  37. Rhodium
  38. Ruthenium
  39. Samarium
  40. Sand
  41. Selenium
  42. Silver
  43. Staurolite
  44. Sulphur
  45. Talc
  46. Tellurium
  47. Titanium
  48. Tourmaline
  49. Vanadium
  50. Xenotime
  51. Zinc
  52. Zircon

(Note: this blog appeared in the Sep 22, 2022 IRMA newsletter)

On September 11 in South Africa about 500km southwest of Johannesburg, the tailings dam failed at the Jagersfontein mine waste impoundment. Three people were killed, four more are still missing, and 40 were hospitalized.

This is a tragedy, and all the more so because it was predictable.

IRMA Board member Meshack Mbangula of Mining Affected Communities United in Action and other MACUA leaders are currently in the region, gathering the perspectives of communities. Meshack shares that some are still without water, electricity, sewage management, and with road blockages limiting children’s access to school.

From the world’s repeated recent experience with mine waste disasters, we know that poor tailings facility designs, aging facilities, and increasing frequency of extreme weather associated with climate change will combine to cause more mine waste tragedies around the world for communities living near mining operations.

We can act to minimize that threat. We join with others asking three questions:

1. How can we prevent the construction of new mining waste facilities with this type of risk to fail?
2. How can we provide sufficient funds for communities and governments to protect public safety from these mine waste risks even when mine ownership changes?
3. The unbelievably difficult question of how to put protection of human life first at the thousands of places around the world where these dams already exist?

The disaster, and reports of years of community effort to raise concern and attention to the risks, shows the importance of ongoing community involvement in addressing a mine’s impacts – for as long as the mine’s impacts exist.

IRMA’s Standard for Responsible Mining seeks to address these issues in not only our chapter on waste management, but also chapters on emergency preparedness and response, protecting water resources, stakeholder engagement, and reclamation, closure and financial assurance.  Learning from this experience will inform the update of how diverse stakeholders together define “best practices” in the IRMA Standard, due out in 2023.

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

Today IRMA executive director Aimee Boulanger, and senior policy advisor Kristi Disney Bruckner presented before the Department of State’s Clean Energy Resources Advisory Committee (CERAC). CERAC “advises the Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources on strategies, programs, and policies related to clean energy mineral supply chains.”

IRMA made nine recommendations to CERAC:

1. Recognize the importance of equal governance in multi-stakeholder leadership, engagement, and public access to information.
2. Adopt a holistic lens to mining sector management, including a wide range of environmental and social factors.
3. Use the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining to assess gaps in domestic legal frameworks, and incorporate best practices on international to local levels.
4. Promote an inclusive, participatory, transparent rights-based approach to relationships between mines and communities, with access to remedy.
5. Use IRMA standards and audit reports to guide more responsible sourcing of mined materials.
6. Encourage mines to engage in IRMA, which connects market value with environmental and social responsibility, and encourages continuing improvement while striving toward best practice.
7. Identify and act on opportunities for the U.S. to be a “first mover” on responsible sourcing of mined materials, due diligence, and circularity.
8. Foster innovation, strategic planning, and meaningful engagement of workers, communities, NGOs, companies, and investors in the “green” transition
9. Collaborate with other governments to enhance environmental and social performance and transparency of the mining sector and supply chains.

As of this June, 55 mining companies are now engaged in IRMA representing 72 sites:

• 61 sites are self-assessing, the first step before an independent audit;
• 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. Nickel
  17. Palladium
  18. Platinum
  19. Rhodium
  20. Sand
  21. Silver
  22. Strontium
  23. Titanium
  24. Vanadium
  25. Zinc
  26. Zirconium
  27. Rare Earth elements