Chain of Custody Standard - IRMA - The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance

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

The IRMA CoC Standard is for use by Entities processing, buying, or using IRMA-audited materials along the supply chain. To make official claims that are approved and assured by IRMA, such Entities shall be independently assessed by an IRMA-accredited Certification Body, in accordance with the IRMA CoC Assurance Manual.

The IRMA CoC Standard is supplemented by the IRMA CoC Claims Procedure and Communications Policy which specifies normative requirements and/or guidance for specific mineral supply chains. Although recycled materials are not presently available for independent IRMA audits, they are an important part of the metals supply chain; a dedicated section of the Standard also contains normative guidance for recycled materials accounting when mixed with IRMA-audited materials.

This standard is designed to be compatible with other standards programs that ensure responsible sourcing of mined materials downstream of the mine (e.g., ResponsibleSteel, Responsible Jewellery Council). In addition, this Standard has been developed to work in concert with existing and emerging traceability services and technologies (e.g., block chain, mineral ID scanning, testing, etc.).

What the IRMA Chain of Custody Standard includes

The IRMA Chain of Custody Standard provides a common set of requirements for sourcing, tracking, accounting, handling, and selling materials that come from mines audited against the IRMA Standard. It establishes requirements that can be independently verified to provide objective evidence for the flow of materials from the mining operation or mineral processor, down the supply chain to the end products.

The IRMA CoC Standard allows for five different chain of custody models for chain of custody systems. Each model has specific requirements that allow different claims to be made about materials or products that are delivered using that chain of custody model.

The five chain of custody models allowed by the IRMA CoC Standard are:

Identity Preserved Model – chain of custody model in which the materials or products originate from a single source and their IRMA Standard achievement levels are maintained throughout the supply chain;
Segregated Model – chain of custody modelin which IRMA Standard achievement levels of a material or product are maintained from the initial input to the final output;
Controlled Blending Model – chain of custody model in which materials or products with a set of IRMA Standard achievement levels are mixed according to certain criteria with materials or products without that set of characteristics resulting in a known proportion of the IRMA Standard achievement levels in the final output;
Mass Balance Model – chain of custody model in which materials or products with a set of IRMA Standard achievement levels are mixed according to defined criteria with materials or products without that set of characteristics;
Book and Claim Credit Model – chain of custody model in which the physical flow of material with a set of IRMA Standard achievement levels is not connected, but an administrative record of flow is maintained to ensure the quantity and achievement levels booked are not exceeded by the claims. Entities using the book and claim credit model cannot guarantee that a particular physical output, even when accompanied by the appropriate credit or certificate, actually contains items from a verified source with the specific IRMA achievement level under which they were produced.

In addition, the IRMA Chain of Custody Standard also recognizes (and includes specific requirements related to) recycled content. This is important in the shift to a more circular economy that values reuse of scrap materials, recycling and reducing waste.

Simplified illustrations of the different CoC models and supply chains as applied to IRMA-audited material are provided in the IRMA Claims Procedure and Communications Policy.

How the IRMA Chain of Custody Standard supports responsible sourcing

The IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining is widely recognized as the most comprehensive set of best practices for industrial-scale mining. The IRMA Standard and system for independent third-party site-level audits and transparent reporting have generated a high level of trust across public and private sectors. The IRMA Chain of Custody Standard protects the value of the investment in social and environmental responsibility as materials from IRMA-audited mines and mineral processors move through the supply chain, from the mine to products that will be bought by the end consumer – like cars, computers, phones, jewelry, solar panels, buildings, wind turbines and more.

The IRMA Chain of Custody Standard is for use by entities processing or trading materials from IRMA-audited mines and mineral processors along the supply chain. Entities assessed by an IRMA-CoC-approved auditing body, and that obtain and maintain compliance with the IRMA CoC Standard, can pass on an IRMA achievement claim for qualifying material.

How the IRMA Chain of Custody Standard supports credible claims and prevents greenwashing

The IRMA Chain of Custody Standard comes with an associated normative IRMA CoC Claims Procedure and Communications Policy that includes approved examples of types of claims related to each material accounting methodology, for any given IRMA Achievement Level.

Assured IRMA CoC claims are only allowed for entities whose compliance with the IRMA CoC Standard has been verified through an independent third-party verification audit.

IRMA will diligently oversee claims following international best practice to ensure they are accurate and prevent greenwashing.

How was the IRMA Chain of Custody Standard developed

The IRMA Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard was developed in response to demands from end-users for independently-verified socially and environmentally responsible mined materials. The IRMA CoC Standard, and its associated compliance audit system are designed to track and provide assurance about the origin and impacts of mined materials being purchased and sold in the marketplace. The IRMA CoC Standard sets out specific requirements for tracking material from verified IRMA-audited mines and mineral processors to market, enabling Entities operating within the supply chain and end users to make credible claims about IRMA-audited material.

IRMA released an initial draft CoC standard in 2020 for public review and comment. A second revised draft version informed by comments on the 2020 version, including the addition of controlled blending and book-and-claim accounting models to align with practical realities of complex supply chains was released for a 90-day public-comment period between October 2023 and January 2024. The final version of the IRMA CoC Standard V1.0 was approved by IRMA’s equally governed multi-stakeholder Board in September 2024.

All previous draft versions, and the report on the 2023-2024 public-comment period and associated comments log, are available on the Resources section of the website.

INTRODUCTORY AND LIVE CONSULTATION WEBINARS

Recordings of the 21 November 2023 Chain of Custody introductory webinar are available below in English, French, Indonesian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Recording of the 9 January 2024 live consultation webinar is also available.