OTTAWA — The progress report released last week by the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) reveals substantial progress in external outreach and crisis management planning for Canadian mining companies participating in Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM), MAC's corporate social responsibility initiative.
"I am pleased to report that over 75% of companies and facilities have crisis management plans developed and reviewed under TSM," noted Julie Gelfand, MAC VP of sustainable development. "Between 60 and 70% of Canadian facilities have now reached or exceeded good performance in dealing with their communities of interest."
The TSM progress report also highlighted ongoing efforts to improve results in other performance areas. To improve performance on energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, MAC has developed an "Energy and GHG Emissions Management Guidance Document" and held workshops with member companies. MAC will also release an updated "Guide to the Management of Tailings Facilities" and a new "Guide to Audit and Assessment of Tailings Facility Management" later this fall to help members continually improve their tailings management performance.
This was a year of progress for TSM with the development of four new performance elements: "Safety and Health", "Mining and Aboriginal Peoples", "Biodiversity" and "Mine Closure".
"After a year of consultation, both the TSM Aboriginal relations and mine closure frameworks were approved by the MAC board of directors and we have recently field-tested indicators on biodiversity conservation," noted Gordon R. Peeling, president and CEO of MAC. "Our goal is continuous improvement for our members and for MAC's work on TSM. We will therefore continue to better TSM so that it remains a leader in corporate social responsibility in Canada."
MAC also honoured a number of member companies and their facilities for their high levels of TSM performance in 2008. This year's winners include IamGold, Inmet Mining, and BHP Billiton Diamonds. A company's 2008 TSM results must have been externally verified for a facility to be eligible for this recognition.
The TSM progress report is available at www.Mining.ca or for further information contact Julie Gelfand at jgelfand@mining.ca or 613-233-9391 ext. 319.
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