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ICMM in 2007

The mining and metals industry has undergone an unprecedented period of transformation; of rapid growth, geographic diversification and an increase in the complexity of issues companies must address. For many companies it has been a time of impressive financial performance. But with such success comes considerable responsibility.

The work of ICMM began in 2001 when leading companies came together with the aims of distinguishing industry leaders, and making a contribution to raising standards and promoting good practice across the industry as a whole. During the past year, ICMM has been building on the significant progress it has made in this direction.

In 2007 the ICMM published a report with feedback on ICMM's draft position statement on Mining and Indigenous Peoples issues. This was a direct result of its ongoing dialogue with IUCN – The World Conservation Union. Other outputs from this productive dialogue in 2007 included dissemination of ICMM's Good Practice Guidance for Mining and Biodiversity publication, further discussion of IUCN's protected areas categories system, and the launch of a new project related to mining legacy sites.

ICMM also began work on two pieces for publication in 2008: a toolkit for companies to use as a practical aid to improve their approach to integrated closure planning, and a good practice guidance publication on the management of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria in mining communities. Consistent with its goal to promote greater clarity and consistency in the setting of occupational exposure limits (OELs) across the globe, ICMM held a multi-stakeholder workshop on the subject with representatives of the major OEL-setting bodies, and published a report, The Setting and Use of Occupational Exposure Limits - Current Practice in conjunction with the UK's Institute of Environment and Health (IEH).

2007 also saw the publication of MERAG, metals environmental risk assessment guidance, and HERAG, health risk assessment guidance. ICMM’s intention is that both publications will provide a solid basis for regulators and scientists to make improvements in risk assessment guidance for metals. A document outlining ICMM's position in the mercury stewardship debate was published, as well as Materials Stewardship, Eco-efficiency and Product Policy, which explores how these three concepts fit together to help the mining and metals industry, downstream users of minerals and metals and regulatory authorities maximize the benefit of these materials' properties.

An essential part of ICMM's role is communicating and engaging with a broad range of stakeholders. A good example is its engagement at the highest level with home and host governments. In September 2007, ICMM attended the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development in Geneva, where it presented an update on its Resource Endowment initiative to the forum's 38 national government members. The aim of this important initiative is to identify the practical steps that can be taken to ensure countries benefit from substantial resource endowments and avoid the so-called resource curse. ICMM also held workshops in Chile, Peru and Tanzania to discuss its findings and recommendations with government, companies, donor agencies and civil society. And, at the G8 conference held at Heiligendamm, Germany, in June 2007, the work of ICMM was acknowledged in the conference's communiqué – a sign of the growing recognition of the importance its activities.

Notwithstanding the considerable progress made in a productive year, there remain significant challenges, not least in bringing together different levels of government, multilateral institutions, donor agencies, and local communities, as well as companies in the sector. ICMM look forward to making significant inroads in 2008.

ICMM's recently released Annual Review 2007: Essential materials, produced responsibly has details on all of these initiatives and more – available via www.icmm.com.