Two Anglo American mines are first African iron ore operations audited against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining Kolomela and Sishen achieve IRMA 75 UPDATED 5 April with recording of 4 April webinar 27 March 2024 – Today the Initiative for Responsible Mining (IRMA) released the audits of Kumba Iron Ore’s Kolomela and Sishen iron ore operations against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining. Independent audit firm ERM-CVS assessed both operations at IRMA 75 when measuring their performance against the Standard’s best practice social and environmental criteria. Kumba Iron Ore is an Angl ..read more

Share Your Experience: ISO Workshop on “Sustainable Critical Minerals Supply Chains” 16-17 April, New York City RSVP with ISO for Virtual or In-Person Participation IRMA is participating in a series of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) International Workshop Agreement (IWA) 45 sessions focused on “sustainable critical minerals supply chains.” ISO welcomes you to share your experience at the second session of IWA 45 this 16-17 April. The series, hosted by Standards Australia, explores sustainability tools, guides, and frameworks available to “assist in improving an organizati ..read more

Two Anglo American mines are first African iron ore operations audited against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining Kolomela and Sishen achieve IRMA 75 Register for 4 April webinar to discuss results 27 March 2024 – Today the Initiative for Responsible Mining (IRMA) released the audits of Kumba Iron Ore’s Kolomela and Sishen iron ore operations against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining. Independent audit firm ERM-CVS assessed both operations at IRMA 75 when measuring their performance against the Standard’s best practice social and environmental criteria. Kumba Iron Ore is an Anglo ..read more

You may have noticed that IRMA no longer uses* the words certification or certified in its programs and materials.  Instead, we refer to independent assessment and IRMA achievement (e.g. IRMA 75). This is intentional. In our view, “certification” conveys the certifying institution’s approval of the audited company, site or product. Many view certification labels as intended to assure the buyer or end-consumer that they’re buying something which has been approved. While this approach is simple to understand, widely used, and has a long history in the marketplace, we believe it’s not an app ..read more

IRMA would like to warmly thank all the people who have participated in the public-comment period that ended on 26 January to inform the revision of our Standards. Through our live consultation webinars, our online platform, and direct engagement, we have collected about 2,000 individual lines of comments, submitted by more than 80 organizations spread across all continents (Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe, and Australia). Building upon 5 years of implementation, learning, and continuous stakeholder engagement on the Standard, the IRMA Secretariat is now consolidating and pr ..read more

Thirty investment institutions with over US$2.7 trillion in assets under management have endorsed a statement calling for responsible mining practices in the nickel supply chains of the electric vehicle industry, with new signatories still joining after the initial February 20 launch.    Led by the Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO) and Rainforest Foundation Norway, the statement uniquely specifies the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) as key to advancing responsible nickel mining.  Consistent with the IRMA Standard, the state ..read more

As the ISO takes on important work on responsible mining, IRMA restates the importance of inclusive and meaningful multi-stakeholder engagement On 15-16 February 2024 in Tokyo, Japan, IRMA participated in the first working session of the ISO IWA 45, an international working agreement on “sustainable critical mineral supply chains.” This project is led by Standards Australia (Australia’s national standardization body) under the auspices of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and is tasked to “understand the range of sustainability tools/guides/frameworks available which wil ..read more

Two Anglo American mines are first South African operations audited against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining Amandelbult and Mototolo achieve IRMA 50 and IRMA 75, respectively Register for the 27 Feb webinar Q&A to discuss the audits 16 Feb 2024 – Today the Initiative for Responsible Mining (IRMA) released the audits of Anglo American’s Amandelbult and Mototolo PGM operations against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining. Independent audit firm ERM-CVS assessed Amandelbult at IRMA 50 and Mototolo at IRMA 75 when measuring their performance against the Standard’s best practice so ..read more

Anglo American’s Barro Alto, Minas-Rio operations in Brazil audited against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining First nickel, iron mines to complete IRMA audits, both Barro Alto and Minas-Rio achieve IRMA 75 07 Feb 2024 – Today the Initiative for Responsible Mining (IRMA) released the results of independent audits of Anglo American’s Barro Alto nickel and Minas-Rio iron ore operations against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining. The mines achieved IRMA 75 when two independent audit firms measured their performance on concrete social and environmental impact criteria. IRMA oversees th ..read more

The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) is pleased to announce that ArcelorMittal has committed to the third-party independent assessment of its Andrade iron operation in Brasil’s State of Minas Gerais against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining. SCS Global, an IRMA-approved independent audit firm, will be carrying out the assessment, which includes a desk review (stage 1) followed by an onsite audit (stage 2). After the SCS draft audit report is reviewed by IRMA and ArcelorMittal, the company may release the report or has the option to take up to twelve months to impl ..read more