ICMM releases newsletter on mining’s contribution to sustainable development

(3BL Media) June 18, 2012 - This latest issue of the Good Practice newsletter: Rio+20: the new agenda is themed around mining’s contribution to sustainable development ahead of the on-going Rio+20 conference.

The newsletter highlights ICMM’s presence at the conference as well as focusing on sustainable development and the progress of the mining and metals sector in recent years.   ICMM President Anthony Hodge opens the newsletter with an analysis on mining’s contribution to sustainable development. The piece argues that mining can be a catalyst for wider socio-economic and therefore sustainable development.   A special report on sustainable business provides examples of ICMM member efforts in three key areas: human rights, the environment and the low carbon economy. This report covers diverse areas such as Inmet Mining’s dealings with Indigenous Peoples in Panama to the extensive biodiversity protection surrounding Xstrata’s Mount Owen mine in New South Wales.   The future challenges and the sector’s recent history of setting out to operate more sustainably are captured in an analysis piece by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)’s Steve Bass and Abbi Buxton.   In the 60 second profile, Luke Danielson, US attorney and Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD) Project Director, discusses how MMSD has helped change the sector and his thoughts on the progress made a decade later.   This issue also features news on other recent ICMM initiatives, including sustainability discussions and CEO panels at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) International Convention and the Investing in African Mining Indaba event both held earlier this year. The newsletter also covers the release of ICMM’s 2011 Annual Review and The Human Rights in the Mining and Metals Industry Guide.   To provide feedback or to request hard copies please contact info@icmm.com.