Mining

There are a number of international conventions and multi-stakeholder processes which set important standards for mining operations:

Waste management

Many environmental problems associated with mining are related to the generation and management of waste. Existing standards and guidelines regarding waste management can be found in:

• The 1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping Wastes and other Matters by the International Marine Organisation (IMO) of the UN. The convention prohibits the dumping of mercury and mercury compounds directly into the sea, and requires special permits for dumping cyanide and heavy metals.
• The 2003 Extractives Industries Review (EIR) commissioned by the World Bank recommends that companies seeking funding by the Bank should avoid sub-marine and riverine tailings disposal, and that companies explore safer alternatives to the use of cyanide and mercury.
• The Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD) project of IIED, carried out in 2000-2002, endorsed a presumption against riverine disposal. Legislatures and regulatory agencies in countries such as the United States and Canada have banned the practice of dumping directly into rivers.
  
• The 2006 EC Directive on the management of waste from extractive industries requests EU Member States to ensure that extractive waste is managed without endangering human health or water, air, soil, fauna and flora, and other environmental resources. EU Member States shall also take the necessary measures to prohibit the abandonment, dumping or uncontrolled depositing of extractive waste.
• The gold industry has developed an International Management Code for Cyanide, a voluntary agreement which emphasises minimising the use of cyanide and recommends measures to assure health and safety for mine workers. The code also comprises emergency response plans, but still lacks guidelines on waste disposal.
  

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Closure of production facilities

The Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD) project calls for companies to include the effects of mine activity and closure on local communities already in the decision-making process for mine development. It calls on companies to consider the future use of the mine, the facilities to be supplied, and the responsibilities of the mining company in realising the post-mining plan.

The United States requires companies to provide a financial guarantee for clean-up, restoration and ongoing monitoring of the natural environment.

Artisanal and small-scale mining

The Association for Responsible Mining is an independent multi-stakeholder initiative seeking to enhance equity and wellbeing in artisanal and small-scale mining communities through improved social, environmental and labour practices, governance and the implementation of ecosystem restoration practices. In 2009 ARM published the fourth updated version of the Standard Zero for Fair Trade Artisanal Gold and Associated Silver and Platinum, which expresses social and environmental standards regarding small-scale mining. Furthermore, the Fairtrade Labeling Organisation (FLO) and ARM are developing a certification for Fair-trade and Fair-mined gold and associated silver and platinum.

Protected areas

In any of the protected areas covered by categories I-IV of the IUCN, or those that fall under the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, special measures must be taken to conserve biodiversity, natural or cultural heritage. This subject is dealt with on the sector page on Biodiversity.

Transparency and tax avoidance

In countries where governance is weak, activities in the mining industry may contribute to poverty, corruption and conflict. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), supported by a coalition of governments, companies, civil society groups and investors, is a voluntary process that has established criteria for full publication and verification of company payments and government revenues from mining.

The Publish What You Pay coalition, in which more than 300 civil organisations cooperate, further calls on mining companies to publish the amounts they pay to governments. This includes tax payments, royalties, concessions etc. Publish What you Pay also calls on mining companies to disclose the content of contracts and agreements between governments and mining companies and all bank investments related to resource exploitation.

See the issue page on Taxation.

Good governance

To avoid or at least minimise the negative impacts of the resource curse, it is important that the development of a mining industry goes hand in hand with the development of good, capable and trustworthy governance. The Extractives Industries Review (EIR) by the World Bank recommends that private investments in extractive industries should not be promoted in countries where governance is inadequate. The review also states that before the World Bank invests in mining projects the quality of public governance should meet certain explicit requirements.

Sovereignty over resources

The legislative framework covering (the use of) natural resources varies from country to country. At the international level however, it is agreed upon that mining companies should acknowledge the sovereignty of states over their own natural resources. This concept (Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources) was enshrined in a number of United Nations resolutions. The 1962 UN Declaration on Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources gave producing countries not only the right to make decisions about the management and extraction of their natural resources, but also - as long as compensation is paid - to expropriate or nationalise land areas, if it is in the public interest to do so. Amending this declaration, the 1966 UN Resolution 2158 (XXI) dealing specifically with developing countries, recommended public-private joint ventures as the most appropriate model for development.

Rights of local communities and indigenous peoples

Mining companies must acknowledge and respect the rights of indigenous peoples, acknowledge their sovereignty and self-determination, and allow them decide themselves on the future use of their lands. In order to do the latter, indigenous peoples should always be informed in a full and timely manner in any prospective business, this in order to obtain their Free Prior Informed Consent for any planned activity.

See the issue page on Indigenous peoples.

Human rights and labour conditions

Besides respecting human rights it is of utmost importance that mining companies comply with the most important codes of conduct by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). These are the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, of which the fourth version was published in March 2006. An ILO code of conduct specifically applicable for the mining sector is the 1995 Safety and Health in Mines Convention. The rights of women, related to the mining sector, are acknowledged in the Iroco Declaration.

These subjects are further dealt with on the issue page on human rights and on the issue page on labour.

Industry specific standards

For the mining industry and some specific minerals and sub-sectors, specific standards are being developed:

• The International Council on Mining and Minerals (ICMM) is an industry group that addresses key priorities and emerging issues within the sector. In May 2003, ICMM committed corporate members to implement and measure their performance against 10 principles. The principles are based upon the issues identified in the Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development project - a two-year consultation process with stakeholders to identify the issues relating to sustainable development in the mining and minerals sector. It includes an analysis comparing the principles with relevant conventions and guidelines, such as the Rio Declaration, the Global Compact and OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises.
• The role of the diamond industry in armed conflicts has led to the development of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. The scheme requires governments to certify rough diamonds that are free from conflict diamonds. The certification process is a useful first step, but still lacks independent monitoring mechanisms.
• Under the auspices of the Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices (CRJP), companies from all segments of the gold and diamond jewellery supply chain have developed a certification process similar to Kimberley. In December 2008, the CRJP published the second version of the Principles and Code of Practice, accompanied by the necessary certification manuals and assessment guides.
• Since August 2006, the Madison Dialogue, a cross-sector multi-stakeholder initiative, has sought to encourage best practices, sustainable economic development and verified sources of responsible gold, diamonds and other minerals.
• The Roundtable of Sustainable Platinum Group Metals aims to find agreement on strategic questions related to PGM, as a basis for concrete actions towards more sustainable PGM that can be endorsed by relevant stakeholders.

The following elements should be incorporated in the banks' mining policy:

The bank will only invest in companies that:

• Phase out the mining of polluting and dangerous energy minerals as coal and uranium;
• Undertake efforts to increase the recycling of minerals and secondary mining;
• Do not undertake extraction activities in protected areas or areas with a High Conservation Value (see the issue page on Biodiversity)
• Minimize their waste products, in particular their tailings and other toxic or potentially polluting materials, and avoid the disposal of waste in rivers, lakes and oceans.
• Publicly disclose all exploration and production contracts and a full description of all revenues paid to the government of each country (see the issue page on Taxation);
• Are not engaged in corruption, illegal activities and do not invest in conflict regions (see the issue page on Corruption and in on the issue page on Operation in conflict zones);
• Respect the sovereignty of resources of the producing country, by promoting public-private joint ventures as the most appropriate model for development;
• Respect the (land) rights of local communities and indigenous peoples; (see the isue page on Indigenous peoples);
• Respect basic human rights, including the rights of women (see the issue page on Human rights).

The bank will only invest in companies that:

• Are active in countries where governance is adequate;
• Commit to appropriate decommissioning plans - including a financial guarantee for rehabilitation and clean-up, restoration and ongoing monitoring of the natural environment - for all their operations.

The bank will:

• Favor artisanal and small-scale mining over large-scale mining, while making sure that these mining operations safeguard biodiversity and the natural environment;
• Favor companies that use best available mining and ore processing technologies, to limit the impact on biodiversity, the environment and public health.