Comments

Cover of IRMA Draft Standard 2.0 Proposed Normative Requirements for Exploration, Development and Mineral ProcessingStandards

Std 2.0 and Exploration, Development & Processing

29 November 2023By IRMA

The IRMA Draft Standard for Responsible Mining and Mineral Processing 2.0 incorporates the draft IRMA Standard for Responsible Mineral Development and Exploration (the ‘IRMA-Ready’ Standard – Draft v1.0 December 2021), the draft IRMA Standard for Responsible Minerals Processing (Draft v1.0 June 2021), and the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining 1.0 (2018) into one integrated standard that covers all phases and types of mineral development activities.

The 2023 proposed revisions for version 2.0 are meant to apply at any phase of the mineral development life cycle (e.g., exploration, project development, permitting, construction, mining and processing operations, reclamation and closure, post-closure).

To highlight and clarify those additions, we have released a summary of the draft Normative Requirements for those phases — where IRMA requirements are modified to govern stages of exploration, development or mineral processing. The IRMA Draft Standard 2.0 Normative Requirements for each chapter are provided and discussed in Appendix A.

In the context of this guidance document, a normative requirement modifies a given IRMA requirement from the IRMA DRAFT Standard 2.0 for a specific phase, by either replacing or supplementing the original text of this requirement. We use the terminology “normative requirements” here since they modify the elements that would actually be required and that auditors would measure against, not just guidance that helps to enrich or guide understanding of those requirements.

These Normative Requirements are part of the Draft Standard 2.0, so just as with the rest of the draft Standard, they are proposed and open for public comment until January 26, 2024.

Standards

Topic consultations for draft Standard 2.0

28 November 2023By IRMA

Over the next two months IRMA is hosting live, virtual consultations to discuss and comment on different topics covered by the Draft Standard for Responsible Mining and Mineral Processing 2.0. Facilitated by the IRMA Secretariat, these virtual meetings share what you need to know about the proposed changes and/or new areas in a specific topic inside the Standard (download or view specific chapters here). They will ask some guided questions where IRMA especially seeks feedback. And we encourage all comments — these Zoom sessions are meant to be inclusive and collaborative spaces for such discussion.

All consultations will be in English and last for 60 minutes. Registration is required, all times are UTC-0. Please register through the links provided below for any topics you might be interested in. NOTE: all consultations below are for the Standard for Responsible Mining and Mineral Processing. Visit the Chain of Custody Standard page for those webinars.

2023	2024
07 December 14:00-15:00 Water Management Watch the recording 🔗 Presentation	10 January 09:00-10:00 Sector-specific: Mineral Processing Watch the recording 🔗 Presentation
08 December 14:00-15:00 Gender Equality & Gender Protections Watch the recording 🔗 Presentation	10 January 17:00-18:00 Sector-specific: Exploration and Development Watch the recording 🔗 Presentation
11 December 14:00-15:00 Occupational Health & Safety Watch the recording 🔗 Presentation	11 January 16:00-17:00 Sector-specific: Mining Companies Watch the recording 🔗 Presentation
11 December 16:00-17:00 Waste & Materials Management (incl. tailings) Watch the recording 🔗 Presentation	12 January 07:00-08:00 Water Management 🔗 Presentation
12 December 14:00-15:00 GHG Emissions & Energy Consumption Watch the recording 🔗 Presentation	12 January 14:00-15:00 Land & Soil Management Watch the recording 🔗 Presentation
12 December 16:00-17:00 Indigenous Peoples & FPIC Watch the recording 🔗 Presentation	15 January 07:00-08:00 Occupational Health & Safety Watch the recording 🔗 Presentation
13 December 14:00-15:00 Management of Physical Stability (incl. tailings) Watch the recording 🔗 Presentation	16 January 07:00-08:00 *Waste and Materials Management (including tailings)* Watch the recording 🔗 Presentation
14 December 14:00-15:00 Planning, Financing Reclamation and Closure Watch the recording 🔗 Presentation	18 January 07:00-08:00 Management of Physical Stability (including tailings) Watch the recording 🔗 Presentation
18 December 14:00-15:00 Land Acquisition, Displacement, and Resettlement Watch the recording 🔗 Presentation	19 January 07:00-08:00 GHG Emissions & Energy Consumption Watch the recording 🔗 Presentation

earth at nightComments

Public Consultation Begins for Draft Standards

26 October 2023By IRMA

Today we began public consultation for the Draft Standard for Responsible Mining and Mineral Processing, and the Draft Chain of Custody Standard. Public consultation runs through 26 January 2024. For more information on how to comment, please click through to each standard.

The Draft Standard for Responsible Mining and Mineral Processing is an update of the 2018 IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining – the strongest voluntary mining standard in the world, and the only one equally governed by a multistakeholder coalition. The updated draft:

Addresses the entire mining process: Mineral Exploration & Development, and Processing in addition to Mining.
Adds new chapters on Gender Equality / Gender Protections; Physical Stability; Land and Soil
Improves chapters on Financial Transparency and Anti-Corruption; Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC); and Indigenous Peoples
Improves how the standard addresses specific topics including greenhouse gas emissions and energy; recycling materials and circularity; operational health & safety; responsible sourcing; human rights; cultural heritage

The new Chain of Custody Standard Draft is designed to provide baseline requirements for tracing material coming from any IRMA-audited mine through the downstream processing of minerals into products, all the way to the end consumer.

Transparently reviewing and updating IRMA Standards ensures they are accountable to all sectors, stakeholders and Indigenous rights holders, and allows for the incorporation of changes in best practice to provide a global responsible mining benchmark. Reviewing every 5 years also complies with the ISEAL Standard Setting Code of Good Practice.

To provide comment, IRMA is reaching out to a wide and diverse set of stakeholders and Indigenous rights holders, including affected local communities, workers and their unions, nonprofit organizations, mining and minerals processing companies, purchasing and investment companies, governments and international organizations, scientists and researchers. Anyone can provide input. Comments will be confidential on request. All comments will be considered carefully – a summary of comments and IRMA’s responses will be provided after the consultation period ends.

Thumbnail of cover of IRMA comments to ANSI re DIN ISO raw materialsComments

Comments to ANSI re DIN ISO Sustainable Raw Materials Proposal

30 June 2023By IRMA

On 30 Jun, IRMA submitted comments to the American National Standards Institute regarding the DIN ISO Sustainable Raw Materials Proposal. Available here, the introduction is excerpted below:

June 30, 2023

Steven Cornish
ANSI Senior Director of International Policy and Strategy
scornish@ansi.org

Dear Mr. Cornish,

Thank you and your colleagues at the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for the opportunity to submit comments on the DIN ISO Sustainable Raw Materials Proposal.

We do not think the ISO Sustainable Raw Materials standard as outlined in this proposal is needed because the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) is already addressing the gaps identified in the proposal.