ICMM - International Council on Mining & Metals

PROJECTS

Resource Endowment initiative - Phase 3

Phase 3 started in January 2006 and is currently ongoing.

Phase 2 - January - December 2005

Phase 1 - May - December 2004.

Action Learning through Partnerships

Phase 3 has involved workshops and pilot studies in Peru, Ghana and Tanzania in order to encourage uptake of the initiative's findings and recommendations among local cross-sector partnerships in the mining and metals sector.

Following stakeholder feedback there has also been a strengthened focus during this phase on mining taxation. A stand-alone report comparing different tax structures in mining jurisdictions, and a new tax supplement for the toolkit are currently in production.

Tanzania

The Government of Tanzania and ICMM hosted a two-day workshop on 6 and 7 December in Dar es Salaam to discuss the ICMM/UNCTAD/World Bank Report titled: Tanzania: The Challenge of Mineral Wealth, using resource endowments to foster sustainable development. The workshop provided an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss the findings and recommendations emerging from this country case study.

Paul Hollesen (AngloGold Ashanti and Chairman of the ICMM Task Force on Community and Social Development) presented the findings of the Tanzania case study to around 40 stakeholders including representatives from Governments, mining companies, NGOs including LEAT and multi-lateral organizations. Following the presentation, a session was conducted to discuss the findings and to obtain feedback on the recommendations made by the study.

On the second day of the workshop the ICMM/World Bank Community Development Toolkit was presented by Paul Hollesen. The presentation gave an introduction to the toolkit and discussed practical ways in which it could be used to move forward on some of the issues raised during the workshop on day one.

There was general agreement among attendees that the workshop was productive. The presence and participation of a wide array of key stakeholders was favourably remarked on. Feedback from the workshop will be used to enhance the initiative as it moves into the third phase of work.

Ghana

Well over the number of confirmed attendees gathered in Accra on 18 February in an event that was jointly hosted by the Government of Ghana and ICMM, and supported by the Ghana Chamber of Mines. ICMM’s Resource Endowment initiative has identified six key challenges in order to enhance mining’s contribution to social and economic development. These are: poverty reduction, revenue management, regional development, local content, social development and disputes resolution. 

The purpose of the partnership action learning workshop was to obtain feedback from participants on which of these six challenges they see as priorities in Ghana for partnership development, to present ongoing multi-stakeholder initiatives around these six themes in Ghana and to develop action plans around some priority partnerships to enhance further the benefits to local communities and to society, from mining.

Attendees, who numbered over 80, said it was surprising and encouraging to find such a wide variety of stakeholders sharing the event. Participants included senior government representatives –from the ministries of health, mining, treasury administrator of stool lands, environmental protection, top-level mining company executives, and a broad cross-section of civil society, from district representatives (including four paramount chiefs), NGOs and environment agencies, to academics.

The Vice Chancellor of Tarkwa University  has offered to host a follow up workshop in one year’s time to monitor progress on the six action items agreed by workshop participants.

Peru

Over 300 people attended a Natural Resources and Development Forum and Partnership Fair in Lima, Peru,  organized by Sociedad Nacional de Minería, Petróleo y Energía (SNMPE).

The main objectives of the widely attended workshop were to bring stakeholders together particularly from local mayors and regional governors  to explore the range of multi-stakeholder initiatives available in relation to the six themes of the Resource Endowment initiative.