"Radical and urgent shifts" are needed in mining says new industry report

A new Responsible Mining Foundation (RMF) report says that radical and urgent shifts are needed to close the gaps between current practices and societal expectations.

The research organisation’s newly-released ‘Closing the Gaps’ report says that while some companies are making commendable steps in implementing responsible practices, “tens of thousands of large and small companies, operating countless mine sites, show little sign of ESG awareness”.

It goes on to say that in order to accelerate industry progress, “responsible mining can only happen with intentional and collective action by all key stakeholder groups”.

The report highlights continued issues, which include the “conflict of conscience between the need for the products of mining and the potential harm caused by extraction”, power disparities, government reluctance to regulate and geopolitical changes.

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However, the report doesn’t just work as a piece of analysis, as the RMF tries to offer solutions, directing readers to four indicators that can be used as ways to show progress in industrial mining.

These four indicators are: ESG-led business models, information sharing, a rights-based approach to harm prevention and “an international instrument on responsible extractives”.

“What is needed most from companies is courageous leadership on the part of mining executives to go beyond industry norms and incremental improvements,” says Closing the Gaps.

The Responsible Mining Foundation is an independent research organisation based in Switzerland that tries to encourage extractive industries to pursue UN Sustainable Development Goals, respect environments, improve lives and benefit economies – but it also accepts that companies should be able to make a viable return.

Hélène Piaget, CEO of RMF, said: “Ultimately, it is up to all of us to make sure that society’s demand for metals and minerals does not continue to come at the cost of harm and injustice to people and environments.”

The report comes on the 20th anniversary of the Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD) initiative that carried out research and analysis into the ways the mining industry could help to develop and conducts sustainable practices globally.

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Then, as the mining industry pivots to more green practices, similar care needs to be enacted as the energy transition will see a huge rise in the mining of metals lithium, cobalt, graphite, indium and vanadium. 

Kitty van der Hijden, Director General of World Bank's International Cooperation said, "Without Climate-Smart Mining practices, the energy transition risks making a significant contribution to global emissions. Negative impacts will affect vulnerable communities and environments, potentially endangering progress on tackling climate change".

In 2020 a McKinsey report said that climate change was also changing the physical challenges of mining operations, with "climate hazards such as heavy precipitation, drought, and heat will get more frequent and intense".

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