Newsletter: Early October 2025
The truth is rarely pure and never simple.
Folks,
It’s a bit early for mince pies and mistletoe, but I have that ‘night before Christmas’ feeling this week as the ICMM family starts to gather in London for our annual Responsible Mining Leadership Forum.
It’s the highlight of the year for me as we get to reconnect with colleagues, members and stakeholders from all corners of the globe – for a week of honest and open debate, and to ask some challenging questions.
The world does not need another mining conference. When we launched the Forum in 2022, it was for a specific purpose – to ask the difficult questions that others weren’t or couldn’t. Our hunch was that progress was being held back by not surfacing real tensions in and around mining and working through them.
The 2025 edition, like all previous years, is very oversubscribed and we have had a waiting list since July. That, combined with the real progress on issues we discussed previously, pushes us to keep going. And so, this year’s theme is ‘Truth’. What it is; why it can be so elusive, and ultimately, how we come to agree on it.
It’s tempting to take an academic approach to truth-seeking – generating reports and analyses on safety performance and tax payments, for example, which “prove” the claims we’re making – but if the numbers say one thing and someone’s lived experience says something else, which is true(r) – and can multiple truths exist?
The Forum gives us the space to explore these differences openly. To listen as much as we speak. To test our assumptions and ask whether our version of the truth is the only one that matters. To hear what’s uncomfortable, and ultimately to act on what we learn.
We look forward to seeing many of you there.
Until next time,
Warmly,
Ro
Features
Have your say on the future of responsible mining
ICMM and our CMSI Partners – The Copper Mark, Mining Association of Canada and World Gold Council – have now launched the second and final public consultation on the draft Consolidated Standard, Assurance Process and Claims Policy. We invite all interested stakeholders and rights-holders to review the revised drafts and share feedback via the consultation portal: https://feedback.miningstandardinitiative.org/
The final public consultation runs from 8 October–17 November 2025. The documents are available in eight languages . To support participation, public Explanatory Webinars will be held by the CMSI Partners later this month. Please register here:
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Session 1 - 08:00 – 09:15 GMT on Tuesday 28 October
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Session 2 - 16:00 – 17:15 GMT on Wednesday 29 October
In addition, engagements with key stakeholders and rights-holders, including Indigenous Peoples, investors, CSOs/NGOs, government representatives and policy makers, will take place throughout the consultation period. Details of these engagements will be shared on the CMSI website: https://miningstandardinitiative.org
Help us to shape the future of mining by participating in this second and final consultation.
Mining matters for economies, but so does good resource governance
As demand for metals and minerals rises alongside the low-carbon transition, understanding mining’s economic role is more important than ever. ICMM’s 7th Mining Contribution Index (MCI) ranks countries by the relative economic significance of their mining sectors, highlighting where mining drives growth and the importance of governance and sustainable practices.
The 2025 edition – built using 2022 data, capturing the post-COVID recovery of mining, rising commodity prices, and growing demand for energy transition minerals – shows that many low and lower-middle-income countries continue to rely heavily on mining. Yet dependence on the sector does not automatically lead to broader development outcomes, underscoring the need for stronger governance and sustainable practices.
The 7th MCI reinforces a critical insight: while mining can be a powerful economic driver, its contribution to sustainable development depends on responsible practices and robust governance. Learn more here.
Reflections from Sweden: Collaboration to advance cleaner, safer mining
ICMM recently hosted the third Innovation for Cleaner, Safer Vehicles (ICSV) GHG session in Sweden, bringing together industry leaders, innovators, and experts to accelerate progress toward zero-emission mining. Participants visited Volvo Construction Equipment’s sites near Eskilstuna to see how they are leading technological innovation, and Boliden’s Rävliden underground mine, home to the world’s longest underground battery trolley system.
The sessions showcased solutions for electrification, safety, and operational efficiency, including hydrogen systems, battery swapping, and dynamic in-motion charging. They also offered a platform for collaboration between industry and equipment manufacturers, sharing knowledge and exploring practical pathways toward sustainable mining.
Read ICMM Senior Programme Officer Tariq Kareemulla’s full reflections to learn more about how collaboration is shaping the future of mining. Read it here.
ICMM at FT Live Metal Mining Summit 2025
Let us commit with unwavering resolve to shaping a mining industry that is safer, fairer, and truly worthy of the future it is helping to build.
ICMM President & CEO Rohitesh Dhawan opened the FT Live Metal Mining Summit 2025 by reflecting on how far the mining industry has come in the last few years. Four key shifts he highlighted were:
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Governments worldwide are backing the sector, with nearly 100 countries now publishing critical mineral strategies.
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Investors are stepping up, with new sources of capital flowing into responsible mining projects.
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Public trust is improving, with communities, young people and countries seeing mining as part of a just, sustainable future.
His full speech is available here.
Ro also joined Turki Al-Babtain (Deputy Minister for Mining Development, Saudi Arabia), Daouda Diakite (Minister’s Senior Adviser to Ministry of Mines and Geology, Republic of Guinea), and Chipokota Mwanawasa (Policy Advisor to the President, Zambia) to discuss how countries with abundant natural resources can develop them in a way that balances environmental needs, community needs, political needs, and economic needs.
Connect With Us
EXPOSIBRAM 2025
Salvador, Bahia, Brazil • 29–30 October 2025
ICMM’s Ro Dhawan, will participate in a panel on the consolidation of global standards and deliver two keynote addresses across the two-day event.
More information can be found here.
Critical Minerals Innovation Forum
London, United Kingdom • 5–6 November 2025
ICMM’s Co-Chief Operating Officer, Aidan Davy, will speak on a panel examining supply gaps, surging demand, and political uncertainty – and what these trends mean for the future of critical minerals.
More information can be found here.
United Nations Climate Conference: COP30
Belém, Brazil • 12–18 November 2025
ICMM will participate in several sessions at COP30 in Belém, engaging in high-level discussions on responsible mining, transparency, and the role of standards in accelerating a just, sustainable energy transition.
A full summary of ICMM’s confirmed and anticipated engagements can be found here.
