Following the release of a 1st Draft of the IRMA Mining Standard V2.0 in October 2023 for a 90-day public consultation, the IRMA Secretariat received more than 2,500 points of comments from 82 organizations, organized additional engagement with stakeholders and Indigenous rights-holders, and solicited complementary guidance from multiple topic-specific Expert Working Groups.
We first anticipated the release of a 2nd Draft – for a second round of public consultation – as early as Q3 2024, then subsequently announced that this would likely not be approved by the IRMA multi-stakeholder equally-governed Board of Directors before March 2025. We provided a detailed explanation for why the process was taking longer than planned.
Where are we now?
We are now in June and a sub-group of the IRMA Board of Directors is still actively working to resolve the final points of disagreements. This discussion is entirely focused on the draft revised Chapter dedicated to the management of Mine Waste Facilities, including tailings storage/management facilities (TSF or TMF), especially with regard to the GISTM standard and the recent announcement of a Global Tailings Management Institute being established to oversee it.
Once all issues are resolved and approved by the IRMA Board, the Secretariat will be able to release the 2nd Draft IRMA Mining Standard V2.0 for a 60-day consultation period.
(NOTE: the Board agreeing to release a Draft Standard for consultation does not constitute endorsement of everything in the Standard; it will be an invitation to the world to help further improve and refine the revision of the IRMA Mining Standard for the Responsible Exploration, Extraction, and Processing of Minerals.)
Expert Working Groups: 2025 and beyond
At the time of the release of the 2nd Draft IRMA Mining Standard V2.0 for public consultation, the IRMA Secretariat plans to circulate a call for interest to refresh and restart the topic-specific IRMA Expert Working Groups (EWG). The final list of topics to be covered is being finalized, and Terms of Reference are being updated.
We express our gratitude to you all again for your patience and understanding, as IRMA remains committed to working transparently on the revision of the world’s most comprehensive and rigorous standard available for the minerals sector.
Following the release of a first draft of Standard 2.0 in October 2023 for a 90-day public consultation, the IRMA Secretariat received more than 2,500 points of comments from 82 organizations (see previous update).
Although we had first anticipated the release of a second draft as early as Q3 2024 for a 60-day public consultation, such release is now expected for March 2025; and subject to approval by the IRMA multi-stakeholder equally-governed Board of Directors.
Click to enlarge.
Why is the process taking longer than planned?
IRMA granted extensions to organizations that asked for more time during the first public consultation up to March 2024) to ensure all could contribute.
The quality and length of most contributions required a longer processing time from our team of subject matter experts.
During and after the first public consultation, IRMA received requests for additional engagement, including calls and in-person meetings, from a number of organizations (across NGOs, Indigenous rights’ organizations, mining companies, government agencies, and other industry actors). IRMA responded by engaging in all requests; this engagement occurred mainly April-July 2024, but also continued through November 2024.
This lengthened process delayed our ability to prepare updated material and questions for our Expert Working Groups (see note below).
A new consolidated draft was then submitted to the IRMA Board of Directors on 1st November 2024 for a 6-week review period, aiming for their approval before the end of 2024.
Board members from the mining and the NGO sectors requested additional discussions about, and work on, the following topics:
Rationale for, and listing of, critical requirements;
Upstream and downstream sustainability due diligence;
Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of Indigenous Peoples;
Tailings management, especially with regard to the GISTM standard;
Water management;
Biodiversity offsets;
Carbon offsets;
Air quality and dust management.
Finally, the fact that IRMA finalized and launched the first official version of the IRMA Chain of Custody Standard (with its associated Assurance Manual, and Claims Procedure and Communications Policy) over the course of the three first quarters of 2024 consumed attention, discussion, and refining time from both the IRMA Secretariat and the IRMA Board.
What’s next?
The second round of public consultation is coming up soon!
The IRMA Board, supported by the IRMA Secretariat, is working to finalize the new draft for a 60-day consultation period. This is now expected for March-April (NOTE: the Board agreeing to release the Standard for consultation doesn’t constitute endorsement of everything in the Standard It’s an invitation to the world to help further improve the new draft.)
Materials we will release in support of this second consultation:
A public report on the first consultation period;
A fully detailed log of all the comments that were submitted (confidential contributions will be redacted), and the response from IRMA;
The full draft Standard, that includes:
For each chapter: summary of the changes since the 2023 first draft; details on feedback received and proposed decision for every consultation question;
Applicability to respective development stages (exploration to permitting to operations) will be integrated within the design of the chapters;
Comparative tables between IRMA Standard V1.0 and this second draft, highlighting substantial differences.
IRMA is committed to again offer opportunities for feedback from all stakeholders and Indigenous rightsholders.
We aspire to process all the comments, convene expert working groups, and meet requests for specific engagement, during Q2 and Q3 2025, so that a final Standard may be adopted as final by the IRMA Board before the end of 2025.
We thank you all for your patience; we remain committed to working transparently on this updated IRMA Mining Standard that many are eager to use and implement.
Expert Working Groups: 2023-2024 update
Some of the Expert Working Groups that were convened in 2022 have been solicited again, while a new one was created (Mineral Supply Chain). Note that no group calls took place, and members were only asked to provide individual feedback. Details are provided in the table below:
IRMA Working Groups
Status
Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (CAHRAs)
Asked for additional contribution in August 2024 on the new draft Chapter on “Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Area Due Diligence“.
It is anticipated that this working group will need to be reconvened during the second public consultation.
Land Acquisition, Displacement, and Resettlement
Asked for additional contribution in April 2024 on the new draft Chapter.
Mineral Supply Chain
Asked for additional contribution in August 2024 on the new draft Chapter on “Upstream and Downstream Sustainability Due Diligence“.
It is anticipated that this working group will need to be reconvened during the second public consultation.
Planning and Financing for Mine Closure
Asked for additional contribution in August 2024 on the new draft Chapter on “Concurrent Reclamation, Closure, and Post-Closure“.
Waste and Materials Management
Asked for additional contribution in August 2024 on the new draft Chapter on “Tailings Storage Facilities and Physical Stability Management“.
It is anticipated that this working group will need to be reconvened during the second public consultation.
Water Management
Asked for additional contribution in August 2024 on the new draft Chapter on “Water Management“.
It is anticipated that this working group will need to be reconvened during the second public consultation.
Circularity
Solicited feedback in October 2023 when 1st Draft was released.
No particular challenge identified since.
Gender Equality and Gender Protections
Solicited feedback in October 2023 when 1st Draft was released.
No particular challenge identified since.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG)
Solicited feedback in October 2023 when 1st Draft was released.
No particular challenge identified at that time.
Former “Greenhouse Gas Emissions” chapter has been expanded, renamed “Climate Action” and peer-reviewed by an external consultancy firm, AGS Carbon, specializing in Climate Action, Standard setting, and audits. It is anticipated that this working group will need to be reconvened during the second public consultation.
Indigenous Peoples and FPIC
Solicited feedback in October 2023 when 1st Draft was released.
No particular challenge identified at that time.
Following specific request for engagement, the new draft chapter was sent to 15 Indigenous leaders from across all 7 socio-cultural regions (most of them were not previously part of the Expert Working Group). An in-person closed-door meeting was also organized in October 2024, following a request from Indigenous rights’ organizations and Indigenous leaders to do so.
It is anticipated that this working group will need to be reconvened during the second public consultation.
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)
Solicited feedback in in October 2023 when 1st Draft was released.
No particular challenge identified since.
Expert Working Group Demographics
Total number of Working Groups: 11 Total number of Experts: 159 (87 male, 72 female) Countries represented: 26
