Update from Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative

Dear Friend,

Thank you for your interest in being kept informed of the progress of the Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative. I am pleased to share this first update with you.

Earlier this month, the Partners and members of the Stakeholder Advisory Group and Industry Advisory Group came together in New York. It was a very productive couple of days of constructively challenging conversations focused on advancing the design of the assurance process for the standard, the principles for a multistakeholder governance model, and working through feedback on the ambition and requirements of the 24 performance areas within the draft consolidated standard.

We also discussed the upcoming public consultation and the groups have collectively decided to take more time to continue to work on these elements together before we launch the first consultation around October of this year. The first consultation will be open for a minimum of 60 days, and the second will be for a minimum of 30 days, in accordance with the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Sustainability Systems.

Whilst more work remains, it was encouraging to see the commitment to the process, and a shared sense that it is necessary and timely. We look forward to reconvening these groups in a couple of months to continue this collaborative engagement ahead of the public consultation.

OECD Forum on Responsible Minerals Supply Chains

Several of the partners, Stakeholder and Industry Advisory Group members will be at the OECD Forum on Responsible Minerals Supply Chains in Paris between 21 – 24 May. We’d love to connect with you there and invite you to join our side event on simplifying the responsible mining standards landscape with Michèle Brülhart, Executive Director of The Copper Mark; Stephen Barrie, Deputy Director of Ethics and Engagement at the Church of England Pension Board; Vicky Bowman, Senior Advisor to the Institute for Human Rights and Business; Andrew Jacob, Manager, ESG Standards & Due Diligence at BHP; Terry Heymann, CFO at the World Gold Council; and Ben Chalmers, Senior Vice President at Mining Association of Canada.

Further details below and on the OECD website, here.

We look forward to staying in touch and keeping you informed of progress.

Thank you for your support,

Antonia Mihaylova

On behalf of The Copper Mark, World Gold Council, Mining Association of Canada and ICMM