The long-term impact of finite mining operations in focus
“‘The council wants to discuss tough issues, where mining companies could benefit from hearing diverse voices’
A major focus of the 18th annual Investing in African Mining Indaba will be the link between a mining company’s corporate strategy and sustainable development issues.
With about 6 500 professionals, representing more than 1000 international companies and about 45 African and other government delegations from all the major mining countries of the world, Mining Indaba is the sector’s largest gathering of influential decision-makers, financiers, investors, stakeholders, mining professionals and governments.
Delegations representing 100 countries across four continents will be at the Mining Indaba at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from February 6 to 9.
How do the environmental and social challenges mining companies face in Africa feed into devising a successful business strategy? This question will be at the heart of the CEO panel hosted by the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) during the main programme of the Mining Indaba on February 7. Chief executive officers – including Mark Cutifani (AngloGold Ashanti) and Nick Holland (Goldfields) – will share their insight with 750 delegates.
In addition, the ICMM will host a half-day session on February 9 to examine the future of multi-stakeholder initiatives such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and the Voluntary Principles for Human Rights, as well as collaboration between mining companies and environmental organisations.
Mamphela Ramphele, chairwoman of Gold Fields and executive chairwoman of Letsema Circle, will open proceedings on February 9 with a keynote speech on mining’s contribution to sustainable development.
Over 400 mining-company executives, policymakers and civil society representatives are expected to attend the Thursday session. Speakers include key representatives from Rio Tinto, the World Wide Fund SA, Anglo American, the EITI, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and UNEP’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre, among others.
“The ICMM wants to discuss tough issues for which the road map for success has not yet been written, where mining companies could benefit from hearing diverse voices, and where it is clear we can be a significant part of the solution,” says Anthony Hodge, president of ICMM.
“The quality and diversity of the speakers confirmed demonstrates that commitment,” he adds.
The ICMM is a membership organisation devoted to improving sustainable development performance in the mining and metals industry.
According to the ICMM, its 21 member companies strive to integrate the challenges of sustainability into their core business practices, as sustainability is an issue of growing importance in the industry.
In fact, the ICMM came into being in 2001 out of a global dialogue involving some tens of thousands of people with an interest in mining’s contribution to sustainability. However, its conception can be dated to two years earlier, when the global mining firms accepted at the highest level that their sector was facing significant problems in reputation, sustaining profits, access to new assets, and maintaining investor and employee confidence.
Initiatives such as the UK’s EITI and US’s Voluntary Principles for Human Rights and Security also gained prominence in the 1990s and have become increasingly important.
Data from the Global Reporting Initiative in 2010 reveals a 12% increase (from 103 to 115) in reporting among mining and metals companies from the previous year, which also reflects the growing importance that sustainability issues are taken in the industry. More than half of these reports now follow the sector-specific guidelines.
According to the Chamber of Mines of South Africa, its commitment to health and safety is what inspires the chamber and its executives to collaborate with organised labour and the government to find successful interventions that will improve safety in the mines.
In the Chamber’s 2011 annual report, chief executive Bheki Sibiya states it is the Chamber’s conviction that working together towards the common goal of “going home unharmed every day”, lives will be saved and injuries inhibited.
This commitment also saw chief executives of chamber member companies set aside several days in the last week of August 2011 to devote their undivided attention to the issue of safety on South Africa’s mines, according to Sibiya.
The chamber’s annual report notes the 24% reduction in fatalities in 2010 was the biggest reduction in the industry’s history, and was a result of the close cooperation among the tripartite structures to achieve a world-class performance by 2013.
“To this end, the chamber works to ensure the implementation of the Tripartite Action Plan on Health and Safety, agreed to by the industry leaders in 2008 and now part of the Mining Charter. Since the agreement of the 2013 milestones on health and safety in 2003, there has been a 54% reduction in fatalities in the mining environment.”
The chamber’s annual report says that the fatality frequency rate improved by 20% from 0.15 in 2009 to 0.12 in 2010. However, it points out that the performance of the gold and non-gold sectors against the milestones are not being achieved and the chamber is intensifying its efforts to accelerate reductions in fatalities.
Care for the environment is also an integral aspect of a responsible mining and minerals industry.
According to the chamber’s environmental adviser, Stephinah Mudau, mining companies in South Africa are subjected to very strict requirements in terms of the environmental regulatory regime.
She says the new and evolving environmental regulatory regime in South Africa requires mining companies to put in place systems of management, mitigation and control of environmental risks until mine closure and at post-closure, in order to ensure that there is environmental sustainability throughout the life of a mine.
According to the chamber’s 2011annual report, it participates in policy issues on mining and sustainable development.
“Sustainability is, for instance, a key theme in the revised Mining Charter. The chamber commented on the Integrated Reporting Guidelines published by a committee chaired by Dr Mervyn King. Ways to improve stakeholder engagement on reporting are also being considered.
“The chamber contributes globally to mining and sustainable development issues, and is an association member of the ICMM. The chamber is involved in all ICMM work programmes and in the development of position statements on climate change, water, safety, health and other matters.”
The ICMM says members have committed to develop greenhouse-gas emission-reduction strategies and implement economic emissions reductions opportunities; ensure efficient use of natural resources; support research and development of low greenhouse-gas emission technologies; measure progress; and report results.
The ICMM recognises that a consistent and stable global climate change regime is an important long-term goal and supports interim measures that work towards achieving this goal.
According to Mudau, the mining industry in South Africa acknowledges that climate change is a key challenge, and recognises the need to take meaningful action towards reducing greenhouse-gas emissions while addressing its causes.
“As a result, the mining industry has set a goal of achieving the maximum economically sustainable energy in spite of the fact that the world will continue to demand mineral commodities, and the low carbon economy not being able to exist without metals.”
She says most of the chamber members have also defined environmental performance standards that cover key environmental management areas (like water, air, and biodiversity), and there is ongoing monitoring, reporting and verification of these issues to various stakeholders, such as government, communities, share-holders and unions.
“Over and above the regulatory requirements, most of the mining companies have adopted quite a number of best practices as far as most of the environmental aspects are concerned, with a view to optimise environmental performance in the mining industry.
“The mining industry has also adopted environmental-management systems, through ISO 14001, which improves environmental performance through formally defining and establishing structure, practices, procedures, processes and resources necessary to ensure sustained regulatory compliance and continuous improvement in environmental performance, and assists mining companies to identify their responsibilities beyond simple compliance.”
Mudau says the chamber’s view is that there has been remarkable effort by the mining industry to ensure environmental sustainability and outstanding environmental performance, through robust environmental auditing and performance, compliance with the relevant commitments in terms of the law, sufficient financial provision, execution of a closure plan, concurrent rehabilitation, and diligent day-to-day environmental management.
The ICMM points out that mining operations are finite. If the industry is to act responsibly, the closure of sites must be planned as carefully as their opening.
What happens at a site after it is closed is what ultimately defines its long-term environmental impact, and contribution to an area’s social, economic and institutional development.
http://www.businesslive.co.za/southafrica/sa_markets/2012/01/21/after-the-gold-runs-out-…