Finance

a private equity firm, has declared that

“IRMA is the global benchmark for ethical mining, ensuring full transparency, environmental protection, and social responsibility. It is no longer a nice-to-have—it is a requirement for the future of mining investment. [And that] TETHYS does not finance any mining project that does not commit to IRMA’s third-party assurance process. […] TETHYS is committed to IRMA not because we have to, but because it is the onlyl viable path forward.”

Director of the Extractives Industries Program Pavel Laberko, as reported in a Mines and Money story Standards provide bridge to mining’s tomorrow, spoke about the power of IRMA and its credibility with investors:

“I would highlight the IRMA standard as the most comprehensive set of best practices which was created and governed on a multi-stakeholder approach, taking into consideration the interests of different groups of stakeholders.

Adopting an industry standard that is inherently risky in terms of conflict of interest or greenwashing is probably not the best idea if we look to the future.

My call to action for everybody in the audience who belongs to the mining industry is to look at the IRMA standard, to adopt it [and] to submit your assets to IRMA [auditing].

It will not just send a strong positive signal to investors but it also will help you to see the areas for potential improvement for the current and the future performance of your assets.”

at the London School of Economics submitted comments to the UN Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals in response to the Panel’s call for input to inform its development of principles and actionable recommendations.

The comments uniquely highlight IRMA “for its assurance system that includes public notice of audits in a sustained effort to hear all voices, and makes use of offsite audit interviews to acquire a holistic view of mine performance.” It also mentions that “IRMA’s governance is uniquely aligned with the just transition principle of centering the voices of affected workers and communities …. Most other standards only involve stakeholders outside of the mining sector through more detached consultation processes. A systematic and comprehensive overview of global mining standards found IRMA to have among the highest quality of governance structure, auditing and transparency.”

published Sector Supply-Chain Guidance — Batteries which “focuses on actions that a project sponsor or the developer of a project involving electric vehicles (EVs) or battery energy storage systems (BESSs) can take to manage social and environmental risks associated with the battery supply chain.”

The Guidance refers to IRMA as a “key resource on traceability,” and “example of leading practice” that can be used to identify potential risk.

issued a “Statement on Anglo American and Proposed Take-Over Bids.”

The statement explained “Anglo has played a distinct role in driving best practice and was one of the first to support institutional investor calls for a different approach following the Brumadinho tailings disaster. It recognised that the social license of the sector was under threat and that the key to addressing challenging issues and building trust required multi-stakeholder approaches. It is also Anglo that has championed the development of a multi-stakeholder approach to standards through initiatives such as IRMA.”

signed a statement demanding companies enhance their environmental and social due diligence in nickel supply chains of the electric vehicle industry.

The 29 signatories endorsed VBDO and Rainforest Foundation Norway’s  investor statement which uniquely mentions IRMA as “one key initiative in this area which downstream companies can support by joining directly but also by prioritising sourcing from mines audited by IRMA and requiring their own suppliers to be audited by IRMA.”

, an investor-led initiative to ensure the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters take necessary action on climate change, published “Investor Expectations for Diversified Mining.”

In section 9.iii “Aligning with core best practices for the acceleration for of [transition mineral] mining” they suggest “that IRMA be considered the primary independent responsible mining [verification] when assessing indicator 9.iii because of its multistakeholder governance system that specifically allocates equal governing power to each of the represented stakeholders: communities, workers, NGOs, mining companies, companies that purchase mined materials, and investors.”

Associate Director for Stewardship, Joris Laseur published a blog: “Raising the Bar in Mining and Minerals for the Cleantech Supply Chain: The Role of Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives.”

In discussing the shift towards renewables, Mr Laseur notes that “metals need to be mined responsibly and then become part of the circular economy,” and that “two initiatives have emerged as leaders in the supply chains of cleantech equipment: Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) and the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA).”