Newsletter: July 2025

Folks,

In mining – where the stakes are high and the consequences real – data is not optional. It’s the difference between guesswork and informed action. At ICMM, we believe that accurate, timely and transparent data – particularly on safety – is not just a technical requirement. It’s a moral imperative.

Why? Because people’s lives depend on it.

Since 2012, ICMM has been publishing data on members’ safety performance to drive transparency, learning, and continual improvement across the industry. This data, compiled using ICMM’s Guidance on Health and Safety Performance Indicators, has become a cornerstone of how we understand – and improve – safety practices in mining.

Yet the data in our latest report is a sobering reminder that we are still far from where we need to be. In 2024, 42 people from ICMM company members lost their lives at work – up from 36 in 2023 and 33 in 2022. This marks the second consecutive year that fatalities have risen, interrupting a previous long-term decline. Each number is a name, a family, a future cut short. No one should have to risk their life to do their job. That remains our irrevocable starting point – our standard and our shared responsibility.

Too often, safety metrics are only treated as internal KPIs, not powerful tools for industry-wide learning. But when we report transparently, we create the conditions for genuine improvement. We see where risks are concentrated. We identify where progress is happening – and where it isn’t. Data holds us accountable, and more importantly, it enables us to do better.

That’s why we’re not standing still. In collaboration with our members, we are revising our guidance on critical control management to better reflect today’s risks and realities. And we are strengthening our focus on psychological health and safety – a vital but often overlooked dimension of creating a culture where everyone goes home safe and well.

But accurate reporting is only part of the story. We must go further – actively seeking new sources of insight. From real-time monitoring technologies to feedback from frontline workers and communities, these aren’t just datapoints. They are essential signals that challenge assumptions, close blind spots, and help us fight misinformation with facts.

By publishing meaningful data – and constantly improving how we collect, interpret, and act on it – we don’t just report performance. We build credibility. We save lives. And we push the industry forward.

Warmly,
Ro

Features

Rethinking mine tailings

With demand for critical minerals surging, managing 16 billion tonnes of tailings each year poses growing environmental and social risks for the mining industry. At the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Global Summit on Mine Tailings Innovation, co-hosted with ICMM, experts outlined three key strategies to tackle this challenge:

• Reduce tailings using technologies like hydraulic dewatered stacking.
• Re-use tailings as construction materials and metal sources.
• Re-imagine mining with bold approaches to minimise or eliminate tailings altogether.

Collaboration, policy reform, and innovation are essential to turning tailings from a risk into a valuable resource—and a step toward a sustainable future. For detailed insights and case studies on accelerating tailings innovation, read the follow-up paper here.

Fostering sustainability through circularity in mining batteries

As ICMM’s Senior Programme Officer for Innovation, Tariq Kareemulla argues in an article for Engineering & Mining Journal, circularity initiatives can be found in the most unexpected of places. Large haul-truck batteries, even after their first life, retain substantial energy. Repurposing them – to power site infrastructure, store renewable energy, or provide backup for local communities – transforms waste into value. This not only reduces environmental impact, but also lowers costs and creates new revenue streams, especially where critical materials can be recovered for reuse.

Tariq also highlights that circularity is more than a technical contribution – it’s a strategic opportunity. Circular battery solutions can reduce reliance on volatile fuel markets, stimulate local jobs, and embed social value in clean energy transitions. But to unlock these benefits, industry must work together with other stakeholders, particularly customers and governments, to overcome barriers like infrastructure gaps and regulatory constraints.

Read the article in full here.

Fatalities rise across ICMM company members in 2024

The health and safety of workers is paramount to ICMM members. While zero harm is the ultimate goal, the immediate focus must be zero fatalities.

In 2024, 42 people lost their lives working at ICMM member companies. This marks the second consecutive year of rising fatalities, signalling a critical moment for the mining and metals industry. The increase is a clear call to action: the industry must do better, and it must do so now.

To respond, ICMM is intensifying efforts to build stronger safety cultures and implement practical solutions, including:

• Updating critical control management guidance to reflect current risks.
• Accelerating adoption of safer vehicle technology through the Innovation for Cleaner, Safer Vehicles (ICSV) initiative.
• Strengthening focus on psychological health alongside physical safety.
• Enhancing peer learning and transparency to share lessons from fatal incidents.

Read the report in full here.

Empathy and compassion: Making responsible mining the norm

At London Indaba, Ro Dhawan used his keynote speech to urge the mining industry to confront its toughest challenges not just with standards and sanctions – but with empathy. Drawing on examples from South Africa, Indonesia and Brazil, he highlighted how irresponsible and illegal mining practices often stem from systemic failures. As such, the industry should develop smarter, more sustainable responses – from regional development programmes to traceable supply chains and global performance standards.

Ro also reminded participants that responsibility doesn’t end at legal compliance. From reviving uranium mine sites for public use to preserving the Amazon through integrated land stewardship, ICMM members are proving that mining can be a force for environmental and social good. But progress depends on honest reflection. Making responsible mining the norm demands a shift in mindset – one grounded in humility, ambition, and the moral courage to act differently.

Read Ro’s speech in full here.

ICMM in the News

This month, developments in the geopolitical landscape around critical minerals enabled Ro to share insights across mainstream media outlets.

In his interview with CNBC, Ro commented on the U.S.-Ukraine resource deal. Its widespread syndication underscored the strong relevance and impact of geopolitical commentary.

In a podcast episode of Business Daily on BBC Sounds and at the FT Live webinar on securing India’s energy supply chains, Ro discussed the future of critical minerals and what it will take to build responsible, resilient supply chains. The podcast also highlighted mining’s economic contributions to countries. Finally, Ro was interviewed by BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, in which he reflected on the emerging outcome of U.S.-China trade talks and what they could mean for the future of rare earths.

Connect With Us

ICOLD Young Professionals Webinar
Virtual • 21 July 2025

Emma Gagen will speak about the Global Tailings Management Institute and its role in supporting responsible tailings management.

AusIMM Life of Mine Conference
Brisbane, Australia • 29 July 2025

Emma will also deliver a keynote on the first day of the conference on the progress of the Critical Minerals Stewardship Initiative (CMSI). More information here, including an interview with Emma.

AusIMM Future Positive Mining
London, UK • 2 September 2025

ICMM’s Co-Chief Operating Officer, Aidan Davy, will deliver a keynote on the role of knowledge, standards, and leadership in advancing positive mining at a special AusIMM event at the Natural History Museum. Details TBC.

Tailings 2025
Santiago, Chile • 4 September 2025

ICMM’s Tabatha Chavez Matus will deliver a keynote on developments and best practices in tailings storage facilities. Details TBC.