On Tuesday, March 25, the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), hosted by Eramet, organized an unprecedented forum on responsible mining at Eramet’s headquarters in Paris. This morning of discussions brought together experts from the mining sector, IRMA and French institutional representatives, investors, start-ups, and NGOs.
After the session was opened by Benjamin Gallezot, the Interministerial Delegate for Strategic Minerals and Metals Supply (DIAMMS), the first panel, moderated by Louis Maréchal from the OECD, focused on the place of responsible mining in today’s world from the perspective of French stakeholders. It featured Virginie de Chassey, Director of Sustainable Development and Corporate Engagement at Eramet, Luc Pez, Chief Operating Officer of Viridian Lithium, Laurie Chesné, Head of Green & Sustainable Financing & Advisory at Natixis, and Caroline Avan, Senior Advisor on Business and Human Rights at the NGO Business & Human Rights Resource Center (BHRRC).
The goal of this first discussion was to highlight how different actors in the mining ecosystem and civil society – mining companies, investors, NGOs – approach and act on the need for responsible sourcing, especially at a time when business and regulatory environments are changing.
The second panel, moderated by Catherine Corriveau at EIT Raw Materials, focused on the role of innovation in promoting more responsible practices. Participants included Victorien Delangue, Founder & CEO of the start-up Rosa Earth, which developed an interactive map based on satellite images analyzed by AI. This tool is used to characterize biodiversity on mining sites as well as to inform and raise public awareness about the impacts of mining. It is essential for maintaining commitments and audit transparency over time – a point that was also highlighted by Pierre Petit-de Pasquale of IRMA when discussing the importance of transparency with traceability and IRMA’s Chain of Custody Standard.
This panel also emphasized the need to look at innovation also from a societal angle such as how stakeholders need to continue dialogue throughout the mining life cycle, not just during permitting, as the mining company Imerys, represented by Daniela Liebetegger highlighted. Perrine Fournier, Forest Campaign Manager at the NGO FERN, discussed how technology is only part of the solution and that information must be verified in consultations with communities and rightsholders, as it is done in the IRMA system.
Through this event, the Eramet group reaffirms its commitment to participate, within the IRMA process, in respectful and constructive dialogue with all stakeholders to jointly develop the mining industry of tomorrow: a responsible industry that respects people and the environment.
