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At the end of October, the IRMA Secretariat had our first in-person annual planning retreat since the onset of the COVID pandemic. At the retreat’s opening, those in attendance shared with one another why we work for IRMA. Below we share those reasons with you.

“Industrialized societies used mined materials every day but most people don’t know much about mining, the places these materials come from, and the impacts of extraction. Among the people who know the issues well, there is deeply broken trust between companies and affected communities. It’s meaningful to work with diverse stakeholders and indigenous rights holders committed to addressing these issues in a respectful way and working together to reduce harm.” — Aimee Boulanger, Executive Director

“I work for IRMA because in a time of peak political will to improve environmental and social performance in the mining sector, the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining provides a detailed roadmap informed by over a decade of input across sectors. The IRMA Standard is an excellent tool for assessing and improving legal frameworks as well as mine site performance, promoting the level of protections and transparency so greatly needed in this era of energy transition.” — Kristi Disney Bruckner, Senior Policy Advisor

“Since the beginning of my career, I have believed business—when managed responsibly—can have substantial, positive impacts in the places it operates, from source point to end consumer. IRMA provides a clear path for companies along the mineral value chain to perform at a higher level and align with the expectations of customers and civil society alike.” — Rebecca Burton, Director of Corporate Engagement

“The IRMA Standards have the potential to bridge the gaps between mining policies and the demands of various stakeholders impacted by resource extraction. As a part of the IRMA Secretariat, I have the unique opportunity to work together with some of the most passionate people to reach the full potential of the IRMA mission and vision in a manner that gives an equal voice to all stakeholders.” — Adan Olivares Castro, Special Projects Coordinator for Latin America

“As traditional means of protecting communities and the environment are increasingly hamstrung by bad faith actors, I believe that IRMA is the best way to help the most people and the ecosystems we all rely upon by encouraging mining companies to operate more responsibly — and showing them how.” — Alan Septoff, Information Systems & Communications Director

“We live in a world that requires metals to address today’s needs and provide solutions for tomorrow. I am inspired every day to have the opportunity to support a holistic and honest assessment of the impact of mining on people and the planet, and I am humbled with the opportunity to set expectations for best practice mining that honors the diverse interests and rights of stakeholders.” — Michelle Smith, Director of Standards & Assurance

“As the demand for mined materials and natural resources increase, the IRMA team is navigating a better way for the mining industry and finding solutions for best practices which includes the critical work of reducing impacts and harm to affected communities and the environment. This is approached with great passion, intelligence and respect for all our stakeholders, and I am proud to be part of making such meaningful and positive changes for the world.” — Kristen Vissers, Program Coordinator

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