MONTREAL – Members of the Quebec Mining Association are adopting the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative over a four-year period. TSM, a program to improve environmental and social practices among Canadian miners, was launched by the Mining Association of Canada in 2004.
The QMA becomes the second provincial mining organization to commit formally to TSM, following the Mining Association of British Columbia that embraced it in 2011.
The TSM initiative requires mining companies to annually assess their Canadian facilities' performance against 23 indicators in six areas, including tailings management; aboriginal and community outreach; biodiversity conservation management; energy use and greenhouse gas emissions management; safety and health; and crisis management planning. The results are then externally verified by trained third-party auditors every three years to ensure the reported results are accurate. All mine site results are published each year in annual TSM Progress Reports and are readily available to the public.
Members of the QMA that are not MAC members will undergo independent verification of their site results after four years. MAC members operating in Quebec already report their performance annually.
One of the key strengths of TSM is that mining companies are measured where the mining activity actually takes place – at the mine or mill site. The results, therefore, provide local communities with a meaningful view of how a nearby mine is performing.
"The QMA's main goal is to promote a responsible, committed and innovative Quebec mining industry. Our members' participation in the TSM initiative is directly aligned with our vision of mining development in Quebec. Our methods are recognized across the globe, and we are proud of our industry. The TSM initiative will allow mining companies active in Québec to always aim higher, while supporting a continuous improvement process, thanks to a precise set of performance indicators," said Josée Méthot, president and CEO of QMA.
Learn more about the TSM initiative at Mining.ca/towards-sustainable-mining.
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