Regions

Harita Nickel mine is first in Indonesia to commit to IRMA audit

7 October 2024By IRMA

Seattle/Jakarta – 07 Oct 2024 – PT Trimegah Bangun Persada, Tbk or Harita Nickel, an integrated nickel mining and processing company, has committed its nickel mining and related processing operations to third-party independent assessment against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining. Harita Nickel’s mine is the first in Indonesia to formally commit to an IRMA audit. Harita Nickel is located on Obi Island, South Halmahera, North Maluku.

“By volunteering the Harita Nickel mining operation for independent audit against the world’s most rigorous global mining standard, Harita Nickel is providing unprecedented transparency into the operations of an Indonesian mine,” said IRMA Executive Director Aimee Boulanger. “Harita will provide affected stakeholders with information they can use to engage the company in dialogue about how to make their mine more responsible. This is especially timely given the importance of nickel to support the energy transition, and the demand from downstream purchasers to source more responsibly mined nickel, particularly for the automotive and renewable energy sectors.”

“Harita Nickel’s commitment to undergoing the rigorous IRMA audit reflects their dedication to responsible mining practices in Indonesia. We highly appreciate their initiative, which not only sets a benchmark for the industry but also supports the government’s vision for a more transparent, and environmentally and socially responsible mining sector. This effort underscores the importance of aligning national industrialization with global standards, ensuring long-term benefits for our communities and the environment,” said Septian Hario Seto, Indonesia’s Deputy of Coordinating Ministry of Maritime and Investment.

“We want our purchasers to have confidence that they are buying responsibly sourced nickel,” said Roy Arman Arfandy, President Director of PT Trimegah Bangun Persada, Tbk (Harita Nickel). “By undergoing an independent IRMA audit, we aim to align our operations with best practices and, with affected stakeholders and rights holders, identify areas for ongoing improvement. We are committed to aligning with international standards for responsible mining for the long term.”

The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) is (1) a voluntary mining standard describing best practices to protect people and the environment, (2) an assurance process to measure mines against that standard, and (3) an organization equally governed by representatives of six affected stakeholder sectors – communities, organized labor, NGOs, finance, purchasers and mining companies — that controls the standard and the assurance process. IRMA is globally unique in that its governance provides communities equal power to mining companies, and the non-commercial interests have the same power as commercial interests.

Harita Nickel holds mining licenses, under which mining operations commenced in 2010. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, the Company has been operating high-grade nickel ore (saprolite) smelters since 2017, low-grade nickel ore (limonite) processing refinery facilities since 2021, and a nickel and cobalt sulfate refinery since 2023. All these facilities are located in Harita Nickel’s 2 active mining concession areas, on former mining pits. Harita Nickel produces key raw materials for electric vehicle batteries – by processing and refining low-grade nickel ore (limonite) using High-Pressure Acid Leach to produce Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP), which is then further processed into nickel sulfate (NiSO4) and cobalt sulfate (CoSO4).

SCS Global Services, an IRMA-approved independent audit firm, will be carrying out the assessment, which includes a desktop review (stage 1) followed by an onsite audit (stage 2). Using the contact information below, members of the affected community, public officials, representatives of the workforce, or other interested parties are invited to submit comments starting now regarding how the mine site is managing their impacts to the environment including air, water, waste, greenhouse gasses, and ecosystems; how the mine supports their workforce; and how the mine interacts with the surrounding community, and how it impacts the community. Interested parties may also ask to be interviewed by auditors once they are on the mine site.

For More Information

To follow the progress of the IRMA assessment, visit the IRMA website for Harita Nickel independent assessment status page
If you would like more information on how the audits are conducted against the IRMA standard — contact IRMA’s Director of Assurance: Michelle Smith, msmith@responsiblemining.net
Interested parties may contact the independent audit firm SCS Global Services, to share comments or to ask to be interviewed as part of the audit process. At least 30 days prior to the onsite audit, SCS will make its own announcement and invitation directly to local communities and workers. The audit firm can be reached by email at: feedback@scsglobalservices.com

Rustenburg. Credit: Sibanye-StillwaterAudits

ERM CVS to Conduct On-site IRMA Assessment of Sibanye-Stillwater Rustenburg

5 October 2024By IRMA

ERM CVS Seeks Input from Local Community and Other Stakeholders

[isiXhosa | Setswana]

Today, 5 October 2024, ERM CVS announces that on November 4 – November 12, 2024 it will visit the Sibanye-
Stillwater Rustenburg mining operations in the Rustenburg local municipality, South Africa to conduct the onsite
phase of its independent, third-party Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) assessment of the
operation.

When finished, an IRMA assessment results in a public audit report released locally and on the internet. This report
will describe how ERM CVS scored Sibanye-Stillwater Rustenburg against each of the 400+ requirements of the IRMA
Standard for Responsible Mining, and why ERM CVS gave Sibanye-Stillwater Rustenburg that score. The report will
also assign an overall achievement level: IRMA Transparency, IRMA 50, IRMA 75, or IRMA 100.
Sibanye-Stillwater can use this information about the environmental and social impacts of the Rustenburg mining
operation to improve its practices. Other stakeholders, particularly affected communities, may use this audit report to
engage with Sibanye-Stillwater and others on a more equal footing to improve the operation in the ways that matter
most to them.

During ERM CVS’s time at Sibanye-Stillwater Rustenburg, they will collect feedback from local stakeholders – anyone
directly or indirectly affected by the mine — including community members, mine workers, and government officials.
The ERM CVS team will also inspect the operation and its associated facilities.

November 4 – November 12, 2024

ERM CVS invites you to sign-up for an interview while we are in the area, and/or submit written comments about Sibanye-Stillwater Rustenburg using the contact details below. You must contact us before 21 October 2024 to be interviewed. Written comments submitted before 11 November 2024 will be considered.

On the web: ermcvs.com/contact-us
Email: post@ermcvs.com

Interviews occur without mine personnel present. Interviews with non-management workers occur without management present and occur offsite on request. Comments will be kept confidential upon request.

Your comments will help ERM CVS assess the impact of Sibanye-Stillwater Rustenburg on local communities and measure its performance against best mining practices.

ERM CVS is an independent IRMA-approved and trained audit firm. For more about ERM CVS visit ermcvs.com.

IRMA’s mission is to protect the environment and people directly affected by mining. For more about IRMA including
the assessment process, the IRMA Standard, and to see audit reports of other mines visit responsiblemining.net.

For Rustenburg audit status: responsiblemining.net/rustenburg

If you have concerns or complaints about the IRMA mine site assessment process or the IRMA Standard visit
responsiblemining.net/complaints

UNSG CETM Panel at the Aug 2024 Nairobi meeting.Energy Transition

Update: UN Critical Energy Transition Minerals Panel

3 September 2024By IRMA

On 20-21 August, the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals held its last in-person meeting in Nairobi at the UN Environmental Programme Headquarters.

The meeting focused on developing a short list of actionable recommendations to accompany a set of voluntary principles on issues key to the panel aims of “building trust between governments, communities and industry, enhancing transparency and investment, and ensuring a just and equitable management of sustainable, responsible, and reliable value chains for terrestrial critical energy transition minerals.”

The Nairobi meeting followed a series of virtual discussions with civil society and Indigenous rights holders, industry, and artisanal and small-scale miners, convened by Panel Co-Chairs Ambassador Nozipho Joyce Mxakato-Diseko of South Africa and Ms. Ditte Juul Jørgensen, Director-General for Energy of the European Commission. These discussions and input received through a July UN-hosted written submissions period informed panel members and their input on the draft principles and recommendations.

The panel began its work in April 2024 and will finalize its report for the Secretary-General in early September for expected publication on the 11^th of September 2024.

While we do not have control over the final panel report, we hope that our input has contributed to bringing the experience and insights across all IRMA sectors into the principles and actionable recommendations. We appreciate all who took valuable time to submit comments and recommendations to inform the work of the panel.

Look for the final report to be posted soon in our social media feeds and on the UN Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals Website.

Complaints

Complaints and the IRMA System

6 May 2024By IRMA

This week IRMA posted the first complaints being processed through the IRMA Issues Resolution System. One (IRMA-2024-001) filed by the SIRGE Coalition (Securing Indigenous Peoples’ Rights In The Green Economy), and another (IRMA-2024-002) by the environmental advocacy NGO (and IRMA Board Member) Earthworks, both complaints question how the audit firm ERM CVS assessed the conformity of Albemarle’s Salar de Atacama lithium operation in northern Chile with IRMA’s Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) requirements, and how evidence was weighed and assessed in reaching audit findings.

Although the larger goal is to make mining more responsible – overall and particularly at IRMA audited mines – the means to do that is by providing unprecedented transparency to all stakeholders so that they can open dialogues that incentivize better operational practices. These complaints are exactly that: stakeholders using the information provided by IRMA audits to examine a mine’s practices and ask why they were measured as they were.

It’s important to note that all actors directly or indirectly associated with these complaints are learning how to do their work better. Although the IRMA Standard has been around since 2018, the Albemarle operation was the first lithium operation audited against the Standard, and just the third mine audited overall. The audit firm, the mining company, and IRMA itself are learning how to the IRMA system works in practice and how we can improve it.

In the near future, IRMA and the audit firm will meet, after which point we will get back to the complainants with next steps. As we process these complaints we will update their pages to keep stakeholders current about how the Issues Resolution System is working, and to allow the opportunity for all concerned to keep IRMA true to our core principles.

Sishen Mine. Credit: Anglo AmericanAudits

Audits released for first African iron ore mines

5 April 2024By IRMA

Two Anglo American mines are first African iron ore operations audited against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining

Kolomela and Sishen achieve IRMA 75

UPDATED 5 April with recording of 4 April webinar

27 March 2024 – Today the Initiative for Responsible Mining (IRMA) released the audits of Kumba Iron Ore’s Kolomela and Sishen iron ore operations against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining. Independent audit firm ERM-CVS assessed both operations at IRMA 75 when measuring their performance against the Standard’s best practice social and environmental criteria. Kumba Iron Ore is an Anglo American subsidiary.

The IRMA 75 achievement level means that ERM-CVS verified that the operations at least substantially met all 40 critical requirements of the IRMA Standard, as well as at least 75% of the Standard’s criteria in each of the four principle areas: social responsibility, environmental responsibility, business integrity and planning for positive legacies. The full audit reports are available on the Kolomela and Sishen audit pages on the IRMA website.

“The information stakeholders need to decide what’s going well — and what may require more attention.”

“This report demonstrates that mines can point to transparent, independent evaluations of their environmental and social performance,” said Aimee Boulanger, Executive Director of IRMA. “Through detailed IRMA audit reports, mining companies, communities and companies that purchase mined materials can gain the information they need to decide what’s going well — and what may require more attention — at specific mines.”

As the IRMA Standard is recognized and adopted around the globe, these audits are first steps in a deepening dialogue between mining companies and those affected by their operations. Because the process is still evolving, IRMA cautions that the initial results should be reviewed and interpreted accordingly.

“These mines began audits during the early COVID years. The timeline was delayed by travel challenges, and then the company’s decision to use the optional corrective action period to make improvements. The public has long awaited opportunity to review the information included here, and we applaud Anglo American for volunteering these mines for audit against such comprehensive criteria.” Ms. Boulanger went on to say, “That said, the IRMA Standard is relatively new for companies that volunteer to be audited, and even our accredited auditors are still learning. The same is true for community members and workers who are interviewed as part of the process, some of whom may not yet feel comfortable engaging. So, the Amandelbult and Mototolo audits need to be read with this in mind.”

The report also provides an honest accounting of IRMA’s own progress as the Standard and assessment process continue to mature.

“If the results don’t fully reflect the experience of communities, Indigenous rights holders or other affected groups, we want to hear from them,” Ms. Boulanger said. “We’ll help them communicate with the company to better understand its performance, and with the auditors on any issues they feel were overlooked in the review. This is a cornerstone of our own commitment to transparency. We invite anyone who has criticisms of our work to join us in making it better. Finding ways to improve is built into our system — and a measure of its success.”

The IRMA Standard is being updated in 2024; input on how to improve the IRMA Standard is welcomed. Chapters in the IRMA Standard include requirements on protection to human rights, water resources, worker health and safety, biodiversity, Indigenous free, prior, informed consent and more.

“Committing to an IRMA audit reflects our desire to improve and our openness to dialogue”

Mpumi Zikalala, Chief Executive for Kumba Iron Ore said, “Our achievement of IRMA 75 for Kolomela and Sishen mines is testament to the hard work of our teams. The result is informed by evidence from a diverse range of stakeholders including employees, governments, NGOs, and communities alike. This invaluable input will drive our ongoing efforts to enhance sustainability performance. Achieving excellent results in IRMA audits serves as recognition and proof of our commitment to high standards, best practices, transparency and assurance.”

Including Kolomela and Sishen, 19 industrial-scale mines worldwide are within the IRMA independent assessment system. After an initial self-assessment, a participating mine engages a third-party audit firm — trained and approved by IRMA — to conduct a detailed independent evaluation, including on-site visits to the mine and nearby communities. Following the release of the initial audit, a shorter surveillance audit checks on the mine’s performance. Three years after the initial audit, the operation is fully audited again (Note: The first mines audited in the IRMA system have had extensions to this timeline due to Covid delays and launch-phase learning; updated full reviews will be required to maintain or increase achievement scores.)

The independent IRMA system is the only global mining standard that provides equal power to the public sector (communities and Indigenous rights holders, mine workers, and environmental and human rights advocates) alongside the private sector (mining companies, mined materials purchasers and investors).

Apr 4th Webinar Q&A

For More Information:

Alan Septoff, +1.301.202.1445, aseptoff@responsiblemining.net
Kolomela IRMA audit page (visit the Results tab): https://responsiblemining.net/kolomela
Sishen IRMA audit page (visit the Results tab): https://responsiblemining.net/sishen

Kolomela pdf audit packet: https://responsiblemining.net/kolomela-packet
Sishen pdf audit packet: https://responsiblemining.net/sishen-packet

Panelists at IRMA Breakfast Side Event. Photo: IndustriALL Global UnionAfrica

IRMA at Mining Indaba and Alternative Mining Indaba 2024

28 February 2024By IRMA

This February three members of the IRMA Secretariat participated in events in Cape Town at and around the Investing in African Mining Indaba and Alternative Mining Indaba. This was IRMA’s largest delegation to Indaba to date, an indication of the growing importance of these gatherings and the wide range of associated side events to IRMA’s mission and accountability across stakeholder sectors.

IRMA led a breakfast side event that incorporated opportunities for cross-sector sharing and featured a panel of Syrah Resources’ Agnaldo Laice, IRMA’s Kristi Disney Bruckner and Scott Sellwood, IRMA Board Member and IndustriALL Global Union’s Glen Mpufane, Anglo American’s Mahlogonolo Rangata, Mercedes Benz’s Johannes Danz, and Earthworks’ Vuyisile Ncube.

IndustriaLL Global Union members at IRMA breakfast. Credit: IndustriALL — IndustriaLL Global Union members at IRMA Mining Indaba breakfast.
Credit: IndustriALL

IRMA also partnered with IRMA-member Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) to host an interactive discussion at Alternative Mining Indaba on the role of standards and third-party assurance in promoting environmental and social governance. The discussion focused on how affected communities, NGOs, and organized labor have used the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining and IRMA audit reports, with small group discussions on the types of tools and strategies that would help participants make use of IRMA to protect their rights.

Davidzo Muchawaya, IRMA Regional Lead, Africa, introducing IRMA at IRMA/ZELA Alternative Mining Indaba Session

This year, joining long-standing participation from mining companies, the presence of purchasing companies was more prominent at Indaba, including multiple members of the IRMA Buyer’s Group calling for more responsible mineral supply chains and engagement in IRMA.

IRMA attended a wide range of events and held meetings with government, company, investor, purchasing company, civil society, and labor representatives. Indaba and Alternative Mining Indaba continue to be important forums for sharing IRMA’s value and deepening our accountability across sectors. We look forward to engaging in these important forums again in 2025!

Credit: Dick Thomas Johnson-CCBY2.0Standards

ISO, responsible mining, and multi-stakeholder engagement

21 February 2024By IRMA

As the ISO takes on important work on responsible mining, IRMA restates the importance of inclusive and meaningful multi-stakeholder engagement

On 15-16 February 2024 in Tokyo, Japan, IRMA participated in the first working session of the ISO IWA 45, an international working agreement on “sustainable critical mineral supply chains.” This project is led by Standards Australia (Australia’s national standardization body) under the auspices of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and is tasked to “understand the range of sustainability tools/guides/frameworks available which will assist in improving an organization’s sustainability outcomes.” ISO is a quasi-governmental organization dedicated to standard development, headquartered in Switzerland and composed of the national standards bodies of its member countries.

This workshop was an in-person-only event which, while providing constructive opportunity for people to connect directly, dramatically reduced the number and diversity of stakeholders affected by mining and mineral value chains to participate. There were about 45 participants, with a majority from industry (mining and mineral processing) and consultants to the private sector, followed by government delegations (including national standardization bodies and state agencies or research institutions). The most represented countries were the United States, Canada, China, and Japan.

Articulating the perspectives of our members from six houses—affected communities, downstream purchasers, investment and finance, mining industry, NGOs, and organized labor—IRMA worked actively in the session to integrate the perspectives of civil society and organized labor, as those groups were not in attendance. We are concerned about how their absence might leave a significant gap in this process and encourage the event organizers to increase this outreach.

The working session opened with a summary of the results obtained from a preliminary survey circulated by Standards Australia in January 2024. Of the 115 full responses received, two-thirds came from the mining and mineral processing industry, 7% from NGOs, and 7% from academia. Most of the responses originated from China and Canada (over 10%), followed by the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Germany, South Africa, and Sweden; other countries were all under 3%.

Given the survey feedback was foremost from industry, the main insights shared by the workshop organizer reflected the positions of industry representatives who engaged in the survey, including the “proliferation,” “overlap,” and “inefficiency” of sustainability standards, the “confusion” they would create, and the “burden” created by assurance mechanisms that would be “significant, costly, and time-consuming”.

It is worth noting that IRMA has never heard civil society or mine workers complain that “assurance processes are too expensive,” but rather that they see need for increased investment in transparent sharing of information on performance and for improved practices. We hope that Standards Australia will be able to soon provide a breakdown of the responses by stakeholder groups and increase outreach to civil society, Indigenous rights holders, and labor leaders.

IRMA emphasized throughout the workshop the importance of inclusive and meaningful multi-stakeholder engagement for ISO to ensure robustness and credibility in its processes and its efforts to standardize responsible business practice. A number of other participants similarly asked for more proactive and targeted outreach to all stakeholder groups. The issue of inclusive and meaningful multi-stakeholder engagement was then selected by the organizer as the final topic for plenary discussion.

As currently designed, IWA and ISO processes, including IWA 45, are not inclusive for affected communities, NGOs, and organized labor, and do not allow for meaningful multi-stakeholder engagement. We ask that this fundamental gap be identified as the top priority in the final report that will be produced by Standards Australia this year, including as a key recommendation to inform the other ongoing ISO committees and workstreams on responsible mining and sustainable mineral value chains.

Photo credit: Dick Thomas Johnson CCBY2.0

Amandelbult PGM Complex. Credit: Anglo AmericanAudits

Audits released for Anglo’s Amandelbult, Mototolo, Unki

16 February 2024By IRMA

Two Anglo American mines are first South African operations audited against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining

Amandelbult and Mototolo achieve IRMA 50 and IRMA 75, respectively

UPDATE 28 Feb: Watch the audit report release webinar recording

16 Feb 2024 – Today the Initiative for Responsible Mining (IRMA) released the audits of Anglo American’s Amandelbult and Mototolo PGM operations against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining. Independent audit firm ERM-CVS assessed Amandelbult at IRMA 50 and Mototolo at IRMA 75 when measuring their performance against the Standard’s best practice social and environmental criteria.

IRMA also released the surveillance (interim) audit for Anglo’s Unki PGM operation in Zimbabwe, as conducted by audit firm SCS Global. In 2021, Unki achieved IRMA 75 in IRMA’s first-ever on-site audit; a surveillance audit is a more limited check-in, so it does not result in further detailed scoring but rather provides updates on performance.

IRMA 50 or 75 means that ERM-CVS verified that the operations at least substantially met all 40 critical requirements of the IRMA Standard, as well as at least 50 or 75% of the Standard’s criteria in each of the four principle areas: social responsibility, environmental responsibility, business integrity and planning for positive legacies. The full audit reports are available on the Amandelbult and Mototolo audit pages, as well as Unki’s surveillance report, on the IRMA website.

“The information stakeholders need to decide what’s going well — and what may require more attention.”

“This report demonstrates that mines can point to transparent, independent evaluations of their environmental and social performance,” said Aimee Boulanger, Executive Director of IRMA. “Through detailed IRMA audit reports, mining companies, communities and companies that purchase mined materials can gain the information they need to decide what’s going well — and what may require more attention — at specific mines.”

“These mines began audits during the early Covid years. The timeline was delayed by travel challenges, and then the company’s decision to use the optional corrective action period to make improvements. The public has long awaited opportunity to review the information included here, and we applaud Anglo American for volunteering these mines for audit against such comprehensive criteria.” Ms. Boulanger went on to say, “That said, the IRMA Standard is relatively new for companies that volunteer to be audited, and even our accredited auditors are still learning. The same is true for community members and workers who are interviewed as part of the process, some of whom may not yet feel comfortable engaging. So, the Amandelbult and Mototolo audits need to be read with this in mind.”

The report also provides an honest accounting of IRMA’s own progress as the Standard and assessment process continue to mature.

“If the results don’t fully reflect the experience of communities, Indigenous rights holders or other affected groups, we want to hear from them,” Ms. Boulanger said. “We’ll help them communicate with the company to better understand its performance, and with the auditors on any issues they feel were overlooked in the review. This is a cornerstone of our own commitment to transparency. We invite anyone who has criticisms of our work to join us in making it better. Finding ways to improve is built into our system — and a measure of its success.”

“Committing to an IRMA audit reflects our desire to improve and our openness to dialogue”

Craig Miller, CEO of Anglo American Platinum said, “This significant milestone at Mototolo and Amandelbult mines in our overall adoption of IRMA enables us to promote transparency and best practice in sustainability, while adding value to our global customers by helping them to meet increasing expectations for responsibly mined materials in an efficient and credible way. With Unki mine achieving IRMA 75 in 2021, and now the achievements of Mototolo with IRMA 75 and Amandelbult with IRMA 50, we are continuing to make great progress towards our sustainable mining plan target of having all our mining operations assured against a recognised responsible mining standard by 2025.”

Including Amandelbult, Mototolo and Unki, 19 industrial-scale mines worldwide are within the IRMA independent assessment system. After an initial self-assessment, a participating mine engages a third-party audit firm — trained and approved by IRMA — to conduct a detailed independent evaluation, including on-site visits to the mine and nearby communities. Following the release of the initial audit, a shorter surveillance audit checks on the mine’s performance. Three years after the initial audit, the operation is fully audited again (Note: The first mines audited in the IRMA system have had extensions to this timeline due to Covid delays and launch-phase learning; updated full reviews will be required to maintain or increase achievement scores.)

Feb 27th Webinar Q&A

Speakers:
IRMA Executive Director Aimee Boulanger,
IRMA Africa Regional Lead Davidzo Muchawaya,
IRMA Assurance Director Michelle Smith, and
Anglo American Platinum Head of Sustainability Stephen Bullock
IRMA slides: http://responsiblemining.net/IRMAAmandelbultMototoloUnkiSlides
Anglo American slides: http://responsiblemining.net/AngloAmandelbultMototoloUnkiSlides

For More Information:

Alan Septoff, +1.301.202.1445, aseptoff@responsiblemining.net

Amandelbult audit packet: https://responsiblemining.net/amandelbult-packet
Mototolo audit packet: https://responsiblemining.net/mototolo-packet
Unki audit packet: https://responsiblemining.net/unki-packet

Amandelbult IRMA audit page: https://responsiblemining.net/amandelbult
Mototolo IRMA audit page: https://responsiblemining.net/mototolo
Unki IRMA audit page: https://responsiblemining.net/unki

Barro Alto. Credit: Anglo AmericanAudits

Audits released for Anglo’s Barro Alto, Minas-Rio

7 February 2024By IRMA

Anglo American’s Barro Alto, Minas-Rio operations in Brazil audited against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining

First nickel, iron mines to complete IRMA audits, both Barro Alto and Minas-Rio achieve IRMA 75

UPDATE 14 Feb: Webinar recording in English and Português added.

07 Feb 2024 – Today the Initiative for Responsible Mining (IRMA) released the results of independent audits of Anglo American’s Barro Alto nickel and Minas-Rio iron ore operations against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining. The mines achieved IRMA 75 when two independent audit firms measured their performance on concrete social and environmental impact criteria.

IRMA oversees the only independent, comprehensive process for assessing individual mines’ performance against an equally governed, consensus-based standard — and for measuring their subsequent progress in reducing social and environmental harm. The rigorous IRMA process invites all those currently or potentially affected by a mine to share their experiences and perspectives with the auditing team.

Barro Alto and Minas-Rio join 17 other industrial-scale mines worldwide that are independently assessing against the IRMA Standard. After an initial self-assessment, a participating mine engages a third-party audit firm — trained and approved by IRMA — to conduct a detailed independent evaluation, including on-site visits to the mine and nearby communities.

IRMA 75 means the audit firms ERM-CVS (Barro Alto) and SCS Global (Minas-Rio) verified that the operations met all critical requirements of the IRMA Standard, as well as at least 75% of the Standard’s criteria in each of the four areas: social responsibility, environmental responsibility, business integrity and planning for positive legacies. The full audit reports are available in Results tab of the Barro Alto and Minas-Rio audit pages on the IRMA website.

“The information stakeholders need to decide what’s going well — and what may require more attention.”

“This report demonstrates that mines supplying materials essential to the renewable energy transition and the steel supply chain can now point to transparent, independent evaluations of their environmental and social performance,” said Aimee Boulanger, Executive Director of IRMA. “Through detailed IRMA audit reports, mining companies, communities and companies that purchase mined materials can gain the information they need to decide what’s going well — and what may require more attention — at specific mines.”

As the IRMA Standard is recognized and adopted around the globe, these audits are just the first steps in a deepening dialogue between mining companies and those affected by their operations. And because the process is still evolving, IRMA cautions that the initial results should be reviewed and interpreted accordingly.

“These mines began audits during the early Covid years. The timeline was delayed by travel challenges, and then the company’s decision to use the optional corrective action period to make improvements. The public has long awaited opportunity to review the information included here, and we applaud Anglo American for volunteering the first iron and nickel mines for audit against such comprehensive criteria.” Ms. Boulanger went on to say, “That said, the IRMA Standard is relatively new for companies that volunteer to be audited, and even our accredited auditors are still learning. The same is true for community members and workers who are interviewed as part of the process, some of whom may not yet feel comfortable engaging. So the Barro Alto and Minas-Rio audit reports need to be read with this in mind.”

The report also provides an honest accounting of IRMA’s own progress as the Standard and assessment process continue to mature.

“If the results don’t fully reflect the experience of communities, Indigenous rights holders or other affected groups, we want to hear from them,” Ms. Boulanger said. “We’ll help them communicate with the company to better understand its performance, and with the auditors on any issues they feel were overlooked in the review. This is a cornerstone of our own commitment to transparency. We invite anyone who has criticisms of our work to join us in making it better. Finding ways to improve is built into our system — and a measure of its success.”

“Committing to an IRMA audit reflects our desire to improve and our openness to dialogue”

Ana Sanches, CEO of Anglo American in Brazil, said: “Anglo American’s achievement of IRMA 75 is a first for a nickel and an iron ore mine and is a testament to the hard work of our teams at Barro Alto and Minas-Rio. Participating in IRMA audits for our operations serve as recognition and proof of our commitment to high standard best practice, transparency and assurance, while it also provides independently verified next steps for further improvement. This transparent positive-feedback loop ensures we continue to improve our sustainability practices, leads to better ways to do business and creates greater value for employees, governments, NGOs, customers and communities alike.

Feb 8th Webinar Q&A – slides

Português – Webinar IRMA sobre relatórios de auditoria de Barro Alto/Minas-Rio

English – IRMA webinar re Barro Alto/Minas-Rio audit reports

For More Information:

Alan Septoff, +1.301.202.1445, aseptoff@responsiblemining.net
Barro Alto Audit packet: https://responsiblemining.net/barroalto-auditpacket-en (portuguese)
Minas-Rio audit packet: https://responsiblemining.net/minasrio-auditpacket-en (portuguese)
Barro Alto IRMA audit page: https://responsiblemining.net/barroalto
Minas-Rio IRMA audit page: https://responsiblemining.net/minasrio

Audits

ArcelorMittal commits Andrade operation to IRMA audit

25 January 2024By IRMA

The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) is pleased to announce that ArcelorMittal has committed to the third-party independent assessment of its Andrade iron operation in Brasil’s State of Minas Gerais against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining.

SCS Global, an IRMA-approved independent audit firm, will be carrying out the assessment, which includes a desk review (stage 1) followed by an onsite audit (stage 2). After the SCS draft audit report is reviewed by IRMA and ArcelorMittal, the company may release the report or has the option to take up to twelve months to implement corrective actions and be re-assessed before a final report is published and a Performance Level assigned.

Stakeholder Engagement in the Assessment

Interested stakeholders and members of the public can sign up to receive updates about the Andrade independent assessment (e.g., the timing of the stage 2 onsite visit, link to public summary of audit results). The Mines Under Assessment page of IRMA’s website will also provide up-to-date information on all assessments.

Members of the community, public officials, representatives of the workforce, or other organizations are invited to submit comments regarding how the mine site is managing their impacts to the environment including air, water, waste, greenhouse gases, and ecosystems; how the mine supports their workforce; and how the mine interacts with the surrounding community, and how it impacts the community, positively or negatively.

Interested parties may contact the independent audit firm, SCS Global, to share comments or to ask to be interviewed as part of the audit process. The audit firm can be reached via its webform.

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

For more information

For general information on the IRMA mine site assessment process, visit the IRMA website.
IRMA: ArcelorMittal Andrade Mine independent assessment status page
If you would like more information on how the audit of the Andrade operations are conducted against the IRMA standard — contact IRMA’s Director of Assurance: Michelle Smith, msmith@responsiblemining.net