{"id":35646,"date":"2024-05-31T16:42:17","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T14:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipisresearch.be\/?p=35646"},"modified":"2024-06-06T08:24:49","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T06:24:49","slug":"highlights-from-the-oecd-forum-on-responsible-minerals-supply-chains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipisresearch.be\/nl\/highlights-from-the-oecd-forum-on-responsible-minerals-supply-chains\/","title":{"rendered":"Highlights from the OECD Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last week, representatives of civil society, industry, and governments gathered at the\u00a02024 OECD Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains<\/a>\u00a0in Paris. Members of the IPIS team attended to stress the need for investments in artisanal mining in producer countries, reflected on what strategic mineral partnerships should look like, and underlined the importance of better monitoring the impacts of mining operations and their security arrangements. Here are some of their takeaways from the discussions:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Critical minerals:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While in its early days, the OECD Minerals Forum focused on respect for human rights when sourcing minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas,\u00a0critical raw materials<\/a>, and the rising mineral demand linked to the energy transition are now also central to the discussions.\u00a0\u00a0Although the narrative on critical minerals remains very centered on states\u2019 ability to secure and diversify the supply of minerals for the digital and energy transition, many sessions of the Forum highlighted the\u00a0human rights and environmental risks<\/strong>\u00a0of their extraction. The\u00a0Transition Minerals Tracker<\/a> and recent work conducted by\u00a0SOMO<\/a>\u00a0on the EU policy on raw materials provided inputs to the conversation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Calls for investments in artisanal mining and the central role of civil society:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Throughout the week, many actors called for larger investments in producer countries. The private sector emphasized the extraction costs and the financial risks they take to solicit public investment. Officials from producer countries seek investors for processing and refining minerals on their soil to\u00a0move up the value chain<\/strong>. For IPIS\u2019 researcher Guillaume de Brier, the private sector, and countries willing to diversify their supply chain, should invest in artisanal mining. He encouraged them to consider this sector as a real business case. ASM contributes to local development, household incomes, and local economies more broadly. Hence, it is\u00a0crucial not to disengage<\/strong>\u00a0and continue sourcing from ASM.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An example of the private sector investing in artisanal mining in a high-risk context was discussed in a session organized by the Madini project together with gold exporter Society Artisanal. The panel dived into the promises and challenges of implementing the ‘blue mine<\/a><\/strong>‘ as a new status for qualifying mines in the DRC and the operationalization of a pilot artisanal gold site in South Kivu province.\u00a0The Blue status allows a registered mine site\u00a0to exploit and export minerals while officially awaiting its qualification\/validation as a green or yellow mine<\/strong>.\u00a0They emphasized the potential of empowering private sector actors by putting the private sector back at the center of the due diligence of its supply chain and the\u00a0essential support to civil society\u00a0<\/strong>which needs to be involved in natural resource governance and plays a central role in monitoring and solving mining-related risks and incidents.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a panel on\u00a0due diligence control points<\/a>, IMPACT\u2019s Director Joanne Lebert underlined the necessity to leverage local knowledge but also to\u00a0recognize and fund the risk assessment and data collection that frontline civil society actors conduct<\/strong>. Accurate information, on which due diligence relies, should be shared on a two-way street and this requires trust between mining communities and actors up the supply chain.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Challenges around industrial mines:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

IPIS further advocated that engagement with ASM is a prerequisite to obtaining the social license to operate in large-scale mining operations. This was also highlighted in another exchange on the challenging coexistence of LSM and ASM<\/strong> by Solidaridad, EPRM, and the World Gold Council, discussing the inadequacy of traditional strategies to deal with artisanal miners on large-scale mining concessions that focus on law enforcement, often involving violence from security agents, destruction of machinery, fencing, or lengthy administrative procedures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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During a\u00a0recorded<\/a>\u00a0session on preventing conflict with communities around industrial mines, IPIS\u2019 researcher Hans Merket stressed the importance of\u00a0better monitoring the impacts of mining operations and their security arrangements<\/strong>.\u00a0Mines are often situated in remote and impoverished areas where communities often do not have the means or capacity to report incidents to the mine owners, authorities, or civil society. This issue is exacerbated when no grievance mechanism is in place or when it is inaccessible. Environmental and social governance\u00a0(ESG) ratings should be approached with greater caution<\/strong>, as they can lead to the dismissal of legitimate claims that do not align with or pose a risk to the rating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Strategic partnerships:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To secure a sufficient supply of minerals needed for the energy transition, countries and the EU develop strategic partnerships with producer countries. Although they often do not include many details, these partnerships and their announcement convey strong messages. IPIS advocated that civil society organizations from sourcing and producing countries<\/strong> receive a seat at the negotiation table<\/strong> of the strategic projects and partnerships that the EU intends to sign and fund. The Zimbabwean Environmental Law Association (ZELA) made other key points <\/strong>on what strategic partnerships should be based on. These include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n