Our Principles

ICMM’s Mining Principles respond to evolving societal expectations of the mining and metals industry.

They set good practice environmental, social, and governance requirements for company members through a comprehensive set of performance expectations and related position statements. Their implementation supports global targets, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change. By incorporating robust site-level validation and credible assurance of corporate sustainability reports, our Mining Principles aim to maximise benefits for host communities while minimising negative impacts and addressing societal concerns.

These principles are not static, nor the limit of our ambition. We have continually advocated for higher standards of responsible mining. That’s why we co-convened the Global Tailings Management Institute (GTMI) with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) to oversee the implementation of and conformance with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM). It is also why we are working with The Copper Mark, Mining Association of Canada (MAC), and World Gold Council through the Consolidated Mining Standards Initiative (CMSI) to develop a global standard that builds on existing frameworks, reducing complexity and clarifying responsible practices for mining companies of all sizes, locations, and commodities.

Moving forward, no new ICMM commitments will be introduced, as the focus shifts to the finalisation, adoption, and implementation of the CMSI. The CMSI will evolve over time to keep pace with societal expectations for responsible mining.

Performance Expectations

Defining good practice environmental, social and governance requirements for the mining and metals industry.

Principle 01: Ethical Business

Apply ethical business practices and sound systems of corporate governance and transparency to support sustainable development.

Principle 02: Decision Making

Integrate sustainable development in corporate strategy and decision-making processes.

Principle 03: Human Rights

Respect human rights and the interests, cultures, customs, and values of workers and communities affected by our activities.

Principle 04: Risk Management

Implement effective risk-management strategies and systems based on sound science, and which account for stakeholder perceptions of risk.

Principle 05: Health and Safety

Pursue continual improvement in physical and psychological health and safety performance with the ultimate goal of zero harm.

Principle 06: Environmental Performance

Pursue continual improvement in environmental performance issues, such as water stewardship, energy use, and climate change.

Principle 07: Conservation of Biodiversity

Contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and integrated approaches to land-use planning.

Principle 08: Responsible Production

Facilitate and support the knowledge-base and systems for responsible design, use, re-use, recycling, and disposal of products containing metals and minerals.

Principle 09: Social Performance

Pursue continual improvement in social performance and contribute to the social, economic, and institutional development of host countries and communities.

Principle 10: Stakeholder Engagement

Proactively engage key stakeholders on sustainable development challenges and opportunities in an open and transparent manner, effectively report and independently verify progress and performance.

Mining Principles: Performance Expectations

ICMM’s Mining Principles define good practice environmental, social and governance requirements for the mining and metals industry.

Position Statements

Defining additional commitments that members must implement alongside the Performance Expectations.

Position Statement: Indigenous Peoples

Building positive relationships between mining companies and Indigenous Peoples through respect, meaningful engagement and mutual benefit.

Position Statement: Nature

Nature loss is a critical global challenge, placing the survival, health, wellbeing, and livelihoods of people, ecosystems, and our global economy at significant risk.

Position Statement: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Inclusive workplaces and communities foster the creativity, innovation and collaboration needed to solve today’s complex challenges and tackle tomorrow’s.

Position Statement: Transparency of Mineral Revenues

Promoting revenue transparency to enhance governance, combat corruption, and foster sustainable growth.

Position Statement: Climate Change

Responding to the need for an urgent global response to the threat of climate change, across all areas of society and the economy.

Position Statement: Water Stewardship

Promoting the use of water in ways that are socially equitable, environmentally sustainable, and economically beneficial.

Position Statement: Tailings Governance Framework

Enhancing focus on the key governance elements necessary for maintaining the integrity of tailings storage facilities (TSFs).

Position Statement: Mining Partnerships for Development

Ensuring that investments made in developing mineral resources enhance social and economic development locally and nationally.

Position Statement: Mercury Risk Management

Promoting the responsible management of mercury down the value chain.

Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management

On 25 January 2019, Brumadinho tailings dam disaster claimed 272 lives. This, along with other tailings facility failures, prompted decisive action by ICMM, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). Together, they co-convened the Global Tailings Review, which led to the development and publication of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM).

The Global Tailings Management Institute (GTMI) now oversees GISTM’s implementation and conformance.

Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management

Underpinned by an integrated approach to tailings management, the Standard aims to prevent catastrophic failure and enhance the safety of mine tailings facilities across the globe.

Conformance Protocols: Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management

Protocols to help operators and independent third parties assess the implementation of the requirements of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management, and ultimately demonstrate conformance.

Member Disclosures on Progress Towards Conformance with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management

We are pleased to share the considerable progress that ICMM members have made towards conformance with the Standard.

Assurance and Validation

Combining clearly articulated performance expectations with robust site-level validation.

Assurance and Validation Procedure

ICMM’s Assurance and Validation Procedure establishes company member requirements for independent assurance and validation.

Validation Guidance

Supplement to ICMM's Assurance and Validation Procedure providing explanatory information for the implementation and evaluation of ICMM's Mining Principles.

Social and Economic Reporting: Framework and Guidance

Providing a foundation for consistent reporting on a company’s contribution to social and economic development.

Equivalency Benchmarks

Sharing the objectives of improving environmental, social and governance practices at the operational level. We have pressed pause on any equivalency work against our Mining Principles as our focus at the moment is on the Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative (CMSI).

Previous equivalency benchmarks include:

Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) Performance Standard

The ASI Performance Standard defines environmental, social and governance principles and criteria that address sustainability issues in the aluminium value chain.

The Copper Mark

The Copper Mark is an assurance framework to demonstrate the copper industry’s responsible production practices and industry contribution to the United Nations SDGs.

World Gold Council's Responsible Gold Mining Principles (RGMPs)

The Responsible Gold Mining Principles is a framework that sets out clear expectations for consumers, investors and the downstream gold supply chain on responsible gold mining.

Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) Code of Practices (COP) 2019 Standard

The Code of Practices (COP) 2019 Standard defines the requirements for establishing responsible business practices throughout the jewellery supply chain, from mine to retail.

Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) Risk Readiness Assessment (RRA)

The Risk Readiness Assessment (RRA) is a self-assessment and self-reporting tool for minerals and metals producers and processors to communicate their environmental, social and governance performance.

Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM)

TSM requires the assessment and independent validation of distinct performance indicators addressing critical aspects of social and environmental mine, smelter and refinery site-level performance.

Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative

ICMM is a partner in the Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative (CMSI) alongside The Copper Mark, the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) and the World Gold Council (WGC). Together, we aim to create a unified global standard for responsible mining and metals that is accessible to companies of all sizes, across all locations and commodities, and committed to high environmental, social, and governance practices.

Our vision is a simplified standards landscape that sets a high bar for responsible mining and supports continuous improvement across the industry at scale. By bringing together the best attributes of four of the most widely used standards, we are developing the new consolidated standard with input from a wide and diverse group of stakeholders and rights holders, through global public consultations and advisory groups.