Stakeholder Newsletter: December 2024

"Imagine all the people, living life in peace." – John Lennon

Folks,

I’m truly awful at singing, yet music is so often a source of inspiration and meaning for work and life.  

Last week, in a speech at Resourcing Tomorrow I reflected on David Bowie’s Heroes and its powerful reminder of how transformative it can be to let others into our echo chambers.

This week, as we embrace the season of goodwill, I find myself drawn to another 70s classic: John Lennon’s Imagine. It’s a timeless vision of a world where dignity, respect, and equality guide everything we do. I firmly believe this is a world we can help build together.

At ICMM, we are committed to enhancing the contribution of mining and metals to sustainable development. Already this year, our members have made significant strides in promoting positive action across the industry on nature, respecting Indigenous Peoples, circularity, and standards. I am proud to be able to share that we can add human rights; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); and health to this list.  

For us, human rights are non-negotiable. They are fundamental to responsible operations in our industry—safeguarding workers, empowering communities to have a voice in decisions that affect them and protecting individuals from harm. To support this, we’ve recently launched a suite of new resources and commitments, including:

• A new performance expectation to safeguard workers' health from exposure to diesel particulate matter (DPM) emissions, accompanied by guidance to bridge gaps and drive consistent, effective practices across the industry.
• Strengthened commitments to respect and recognise the role of human rights defenders, ensuring their voices are heard and protected.
• Three new human rights due diligence tools to help members identify, address, and mitigate risks effectively.
• Collective goal to drive more diverse, safe, and inclusive workplaces by establishing a benchmark on gender representation and equality. Progress towards the goal will be reported in a biennial performance report commencing 2026.
• DEI tools, fostering workplaces where everyone feels safe, valued and included.

As we look to the future, and with a new 2025+ Strategy in development, we can draw inspiration from Lennon’s vision of a world where everyone can live with dignity, hope, and harmony. This vision drives our efforts to advance the Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative—work that depends on collaboration and shared commitment.

Here’s where your role is vital—the public consultation is open for 4 more days, until 16 December. I encourage you to visit the website and share your feedback on the Standard, its Assurance process, and Governance.  

This is my last message to you of 2024, and of ICMM’s current strategy cycle. I’m so grateful to each of you; whether you were involved a lot or a little, you have brought our vision closer of a safe, just and sustainable world enabled by responsibly produced metals and minerals. I’m so excited to share our 2025+ Strategy with you in the new year.

Until then, wishing you and your families a safe and joyful holiday, and a Merry Christmas to those celebrating.

Until next time,
Ro

Features

Boosting support for human rights defenders

At the UN Annual Forum on Business and Human Rights, ICMM announced strengthened commitments to respect and recognise the important role of human rights defenders. We also launched three new human rights due diligence tools to support companies in respecting human rights defenders, integrating human rights across their businesses and to build awareness of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.  

ICMM’s updated commitments reaffirm its belief that every individual deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, and that mining companies, regardless of location, have a responsibility to uphold human rights. ICMM was the first industry body to adopt the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights through the ICMM Mining Principles in 2018, and today’s announcement represents a further evolution of this commitment.

Through this work, ICMM remains dedicated to advancing responsible mining practices and supporting an energy transition that puts human rights at its centre. Learn more about the tools and commitments here.

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Advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in mining

Last week, ICMM announced a collective goal to drive more diverse, safe and inclusive mining workplaces by establishing a benchmark on gender representation and equality in the industry.

Progress towards the goal will be reported in a biennial performance report commencing 2026. ICMM has also published a set of practical tools to support improved performance on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and a roadmap to help accelerate meaningful progress across the wider industry. Learn more about the goal and guidance here.

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Combatting the impact of diesel emissions in underground mines

Yesterday, ICMM members committed to reducing diesel particulate matter (DPM) exposure in underground mines by expanding our commitment to pursue continual improvement in physical and psychological health and safety performance. Diesel emissions can cause serious health issues with exposure to high concentrations over time, making effective DPM management crucial.

To accelerate industry progress, ICMM has published a DPM Good Practice Guide, outlining control measures like advanced ventilation, protective equipment, low-sulphur fuels, and transitioning to zero-emission vehicles. This initiative builds on ICMM’s Innovation for Cleaner, Safer Vehicles (ICSV) programme launched in 2018. The ICSV initiative has driven collaboration between ICMM member companies, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and technology suppliers to develop next-generation mining vehicles and improve existing fleets.

We are now anticipating the availability of zero emission haul trucks before 2030—a shift from the previous expectation of 2040—reflecting significant progress. Learn more about the commitment and guide here.

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Breaking out of the echo chamber @ Resourcing Tomorrow

David Bowie’s Heroes inspired ICMM CEO Rohitesh Dhawan’s call for mining to rethink “echo chambers.” Echo chambers aren’t the problem—it’s about opening them to diverse voices and ideas.

To address critical challenges, we need collaborative spaces to:

1. Maximise local benefits by bridging perception and reality about mining’s contributions.
2. Balance the industry’s footprint on deforestation and water use through transparent, fact-based dialogue.
3. Speed up mine permitting by building trust between companies and regulators without cutting corners.
4. Tackle legacy impacts through collective solutions for abandoned mines.

Read the speech in full here.

Update from the Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative

Thank you to everyone who has already submitted feedback through the public consultation – your contributions are invaluable. This is a reminder that we have four days until the public consultation closes on 16 December, so there is still plenty of time to provide feedback through the portal here.

The next steps will be to produce the consultation report which will summarise the feedback received. The Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative will disclose, with the permission of those consulted, the individual consultation responses submitted through the portal.

To learn more about the Standard, watch the second in a series of explanatory webinars with ICMM’s Aidan Davy and partners here:

Connect With Us

Future Minerals Forum
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia • 15-16 January 2025

ICMM will be present at the Future Minerals Forum in Saudi Arabia mid-January. Updates on our activities will be provided here.

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Mining Indaba 2025
Cape Town, South Africa • 3 February-6 February 2025

ICMM will participate in Mining Indaba 2025, contributing to insightful discussions on the conference theme, “Future-proofing African Mining, Today!”. In a panel on land, ICMM’s CEO Rohitesh Dhawan will be joined by Rio Tinto’s Froydis Cameron, Elder and Former Minister in President Mandela’s Cabinet, Jay Naidoo and Environmental Geology Researcher Phumudzo to discuss the relationship between mining and land. As more information becomes available, we will provide updates on our activities here.