Against the backdrop of mounting global concern over the environmental risks and other worrying health & safety loopholes in the gold mining sector, the World Gold Council, (WGC), the market development organisation for the gold industry, has released the Exposure Draft of its Responsible Gold Mining Principles that creates a new framework setting out expectations for investors and downstream users as to what constitutes responsible gold mining.
In what is now its imminent finalisation, the existing draft will place delinquent countries under greater pressure to bring their mining practices, notably those that relate to safety and health and acceptable environmental standards, in line with what is agreed between the WGC and the major global players in the sector.
The Principles, which the Council says addresses the key environmental, social and governance issues for the gold mining sector have evolved out of consultations between itself and its members, the world’s leading gold mining companies. The issues covered include ethical conduct, health & safety, human rights, labour rights, working with communities, environmental stewardship, the use of water, energy & climate change, supply chain & transparency, engagement and accountability. These, the WGC says, are intended to be a credible, comprehensive and widely-recognised framework through which gold mining companies can provide confidence that their gold has been produced responsibly.
The first draft of the Responsible Gold Mining Principles was issued for consultation in 2018 and incorporated feedback from a broad range of stakeholders, including governments, civil society, supply chain participants and investors. The WGC is now seeking further input before the final version is published.
Upon the finalisation of the Principles, implementing companies and other gold mining interests will be expected to disclose their conformance with the Responsible Gold Mining Principles.
The WGC takes the position that the Principles are intended to reinforce trust in gold and gold mining by allowing stakeholders to know, with confidence, how their gold has been produced. It says that in releasing this Exposure Draft and the accompanying Assurance Framework, it is seeking further input to ensure that the Principles meet this goal and that stakeholders understand how credible independent assurance will be conducted.
The consultation process for both the Responsible Gold Mining Principles and the accompanying Assurance Framework was expected to run until a week ago and anticipates inputs from a wide range of stakeholders.
The Council says that the Responsible Gold Mining Principles set out clear expectations for investors and downstream users as to what constitutes responsible gold mining. It says that working with its members, the world’s leading gold mining companies, and underpinned by existing widely-respected standards and codes, it has set out the principles that it believes addresses the key environmental, social and governance issues for the gold mining sector.
The Principles, the Council says, are designed to, among other things, address the needs of refiners and to reflect the commitment of the leading companies in the gold supply chain to responsible sourcing.
A first draft of the Principles was published for consultation in June last year during which, the Council says, more than 150 gold-related organisations and experts submitted comments through an on-line questionnaire, direct bilateral contacts and three multi-stakeholder roundtables. The roundtables were independently hosted and facilitated, and the accounts of the roundtable discussions summarised by their host organisations including the European Centre for Development Policy Management, the World Bank and the South African Institute for International Affairs.
Once the new Principles are embraced by the mainstream global gold sector, gold mining countries challenged by health & safety and environmental infractions in their gold recovery and processing operations are likely to come under increasing pressure to bring their mining practices up to the standards set out in those principles.
