Mining in South Africa needs to achieve the same “widely accepted concept of zero harm and so become part of our mining DNA and the way we behave as professionals”, industry executive Gordon Smith told a webinar hosted by the SA Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM).
This is in keeping with current international safety standards and the burgeoning global focus on Environment, Social Governance and Sustainability (ESGS), the former president of the institute said.
Chairing the webinar intended to highlight responsible mining, Smith said the principals of ESGS were not new to individuals or the industry.
“But they have assumed a new level of importance to business and society in the wake of climate change, ever-widening inequality, global uncertainty, and increasing economic risk.”
Still serving on the SAIMM’s council, Smith emphasised that it had become imperative to perform a progressive role in promoting ESGS principals.
“As an institute we see it as our mandate to inform, to educate, and to convene our members through dialogue and debate on these critical issues.”
It is for this reason that the Institute has approved and established an ESGS Committee, said Smith, who also served as a founding member of the committee.
Delving deeper, he said the mandate of the committee was to “guide, educate and inform our members of the pillars, the tenets, and dynamics of ESGS mining and to be seen as thought leaders in its progressive evolution for our mining sector.”
Perhaps most critical, in order to engender a keener sense for the implementation of ESGS principals by miners and mining houses, the SAIMM has agreed to make full membership available to the industry’s practitioners of responsible mining.
In addition to promoting ESGS through initiatives such as full membership offers, Smith said the institute would be proceeding with similar webinars by incorporating relevant content in the SAIMM’s monthly journal, and rolling out responsible mining themes along with normal conferencing activities.
