GENEVA, Switzerland, May 6, 2002 (ENS) - Some of the world's largest mining companies are looking at what sustainable minerals development would entail. An independent survey of opportunities for the global mining industry to move towards sustainability launched Saturday by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) said mining companies should pledge a declaration of sustainability backed by a complaints and dispute resolution mechanism.

The report is based on two years of research and consultations carried out on WBCSD's behalf by the independent International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). A nonprofit organization based in London, the IIED promotes sustainable patterns of world development through collaborative research, policy studies, networking and education.

Sir Robert Wilson, chairman of Rio Tinto plc, one of the 10 large mining companies involved in the survey, said, “From the industry perspective, taking part in this project was a risky business. It was nevertheless an essential step, not least for business reasons. The industry realized it is difficult to do well as a business when you belong to an industry that has a bad reputation."

The Rio Tinto gold mine on Lihir Island, Papua New Guinea is one of the world's largest sources of gold in the world outside South Africa. (Photo courtesy Rio Tinto)

The goal of the IIED survey was to unearth the most controversial problems of minerals development and its impacts on poverty, human well being, the environment and other factors key to sustainable development.

The IIED report, "Breaking New Ground: Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development," acknowledges a variety of illicit activities on the part of mining companies, such as "bribery to obtain licences and permits; to get preferential access to prospects, assets, or credit; or to sway judicial decisions."

But taking part in the survey process has not removed the bad reputations of the large mining companies, including Rio Tinto. The Minerals Policy Institute (MPI), an Australian mining watchdog organization is critical of Rio Tinto's explorations for gold within the boundaries of a protected forest reserve in Indonesia.

The company, "plans to develop a gold mine there despite community opposition and environmental concerns," MPI charges.

Poboya-Paneki Forest Park (Tahura) is a protected conservation reserve near to the city of Palu in central Sulawesi, which is being traditionally managed by local communities. It is a valuable nature reserve and is crucial as a water catchment area, contributing to Palu's drinking water supply.

The gold project, officially named 'The Palu Prospect' is being developed by PT Citra Palu Minerals which is a 90 percent owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto Indonesia. It is in the exploration phase, with at least 14 drill holes having been made.

"Rio Tinto is dismissive of opposition and admits lobbying the government to move the boundary of the reserve to excise the project area," the Minerals Policy Institute says.

The mining industry's global umbrella body, the International Council on Metals and the Environment, which includes BHP, Placer Dome, Western Mining Corporation and Pasminco as members, is pressing the IUCN-World Conservation Union to allow mining and mineral exploration in existing World Heritage areas, the MPI warns.

"The mining and minerals industry faces some of the most difficult challenges of any industrial sector – and is currently distrusted by many of the people it deals with day to day," the IIED report acknowledges.

Richards Bay Minerals mines and processes the heavy minerals which occur in the coastal dunes of South Africa's KwaZulu Natal province. Mined out areas are reformed into dunes and re-vegetated with one third indigenous forest and two thirds commercial plantation as authorities require. (Photo courtesy Rio Tinto)

To bring the industry along towards respect for the Earth that bears the minerals they seek, and the people who inhabit those lands, all metals and minerals mining firms should develop a sustainable development policy, the IIED advises. The sector as a whole should make a declaration on sustainable development, starting from an existing charter produced by the International Council on Mining and Metals.

The declaration should be backed by a complaints and dispute resolution mechanism and include a programme for integrated materials management and product stewardship. Stakeholders, including governments and NGOs, are also urged to participate, for example by supporting a future industry sustainability code that includes legalization of artisanal and small-scale mining.

"There is no other initiative of this magnitude, or which is trying to come up with a consensus view," according to WBCSD's Björn Stigson. "Industry is now discussing what actions need to be taken."

Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development project coordinator Richard Sandbrook said, “This attempt to surface the issues that affect the sector has resulted in an enormous agenda for work to be done now. The best performers are already doing many of these, but the worst have far to go to catch up. If we cannot get this sector collectively to contribute more positively to sustainable development, they will not deserve the license to operate,” Sandbrook said.

Recognizing that the mining and minerals industry needed to become more engaged in sustainable development, of the world's largest mining companies, all members of the WBCSD, established the Global Mining Initiative (GMI) in 1999.

The Global Mining Initiative was originally led by the 10 companies which make up the Mining and Minerals Working Group of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. They are: Anglo American, BHP, Billiton, Codelco, Newmont, Noranda, Phelps Dodge, Placer Dome, Rio Tinto, and WMC.

The project ultimately attracted support from more than 40 commercial and noncommercial sponsors such as the World Bank, UNEP, IUCN-World Conservation Union, universities and other institutions, but two of the original 10 companies are no longer involved.

The GMI commissioned the institute to conduct an analysis on the full mineral cycle, from mine to waste and re-use, in order to identify the opportunities and challenges for the industry to become more sustainable.

Project conclusions are based on four regional processes, over 175 commissioned studies, 23 global workshops and experts meetings, and a seven week public review of preliminary conclusions.

BHP's OK Tedi mine is a target for environmental criticism. The waste laden Ok Tedi River runs down the mountain in Papua New Guinea then joins the larger Fly River where the waste settles, diverting the course of the river and choking living creatures. The waste has killed up to 90 percent of the fish. (Photo courtesy Minerals Policy Institute)

About mining in protected areas, the IIED urged that "both the local stake in the success of protected areas and the resources available to manage them need to be increased. Minerals development could in principle help fill these gaps, but there is profound suspicion of any proposal to mine in or near protected areas," the report says.

"A lack of successful examples where this principle has been concretely demonstrated is a major obstacle to progress. Environmental, mining, and other interests should be considered in conjunction with those of the often poor and politically marginalized peoples who commonly live in these areas," the IIED advises.

On the issue of mining on indigenous lands, the IIED report says, "companies should act as if consent to gain access to the traditional land of indigenous people were required even when the law does not demand this. Decision making processes appropriate to the cultural circumstances of indigenous peoples must be respected."

Where resettlement takes place, the IIED recommends that companies ensure that living standards are not diminished, that community and social ties are preserved, and that they provide fair compensation for loss of assets and economic opportunity.

Yolanda Kakabadse, president of IUCN, said, “MMSD is a project covering a new, different and challenging topic that brings us into a discussion which might have been avoided in the past. The process that will follow the report will be something to look forward to."