ICMM - International Council on Mining & Metals

WORK PROGRAMS

Mining Partnerships for Development Themes

Research carried out in the context of the Research Endowment initiative has indicated that where governance is lacking, partnerships involving companies and other stakeholders such as governments, donor agencies and civil society, can be a powerful way to tackle development challenges.

ICMM member companies have committed to seek partnerships among companies, governments, NGOs, donors and international organizations, across six priority areas:

1. Poverty reduction

Refers to activities that seek to promote growth and reduce the level of poverty in a community a group of people or country, through economic and social policies and programs – where possible (and where quantifiable) in line with the Millennium Development Goals.

2. Revenue management

Refers to steps that companies can proactively take to ensure effective use of mining revenues, particularly at a sub-national level. This may involve support for government capacity building and technical assistance projects, or revenue transparency projects.

3. Regional development planning

Refers to public planning that supports longer-term economic diversification at a sub-national level.

4. Local content

In the context of large-scale mining, refers to the sourcing of labour, materials, goods and services from small businesses and communities close to a mine site (where the exact geographical area constituting ‘local’ is agreed on a site-by-site basis in consultation with communities).

5. Social investment

Refers to the provision and use of finance to generate social and economic returns in the local community, typically in the area of health, education or housing.

6. Dispute resolution

Refers to the development of accountability mechanisms for resolving complaints, disputes and grievances between communities and companies.