16th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF)
Mining and COVID-19: From Crisis to Sustainability
20-22 October 2020 | Online
Highlights for Tuesday, 20 October 2020
The impacts of COVID-19 on the mining industry are a major focus of this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF). The 16th AGM opened today and is the first to take place in a virtual format, due to travel restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 crisis. In meeting polls, many welcomed the virtual format as enabling many more participants to engage in the deliberations.
Isabelle Ramdoo, Deputy Director, IGF, opened the meeting, saying this year’s theme aims to bring a diverse range of perspectives on how the mining sector is navigating the COVID-19 crisis, and how governments are responding to the challenge.
Aissatou Sophie Gladima, Minister of Mines and Geology, Senegal, outlined the difficulties COVID-19 has posed to the Senegalese mining sector, including the decreased mobility of workers, health and safety concerns, and potential large-scale downsizing.
Norbert Barthle, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), said that the pandemic presents an opportunity to transition to a more sustainable global economy, with sustainable supply chains being central to this.
Luis Miguel Incháustegui Zevallos, Minister of Energy and Mines, Peru, underscored that mining activities require the trust and buy-in of local communities, and that the sector also needs to improve its competitiveness.
Daniel Kaufmann, President Emeritus, Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), outlined global challenges including: the COVID-19 pandemic; a global economic downturn; climate change; and increasing natural resource demand. He cited integrated resource planning as a way to address these challenges.
Participants discussed the future of mining employment and skills, noting the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimate of the number of working hours lost to COVID-19 equates to 500 million full-time jobs. Other topics addressed were building resilient communities, current work on a global tailings management standard, and mine closure policy.
The Council on Ethics, Swedish National Pension Funds and the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) presented on work that was done to develop and consult widely on a new Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management, following the tragic collapse of the Brumandinho tailings dam in Brazil in January 2019, killing 270 people. The global standard was published in August 2020.
Participants discussed mine closure policies, and the need for financial assurance to support closure. They considered the experiences of regulators in Papua New Guinea, Namibia and Argentina, highlighting the need to consider closure as an integral part of the mining life-cycle.
Participants will continue their discussions over the next two days, and the IGF Council will also meet in a closed session.
Images from the Meeting
Videos from the Session
IGF Resources
- 16th AGM of the IGF Website
- 16th AGM of the IGF Agenda
- IGF Website
- History of IGF
- IGF Mining Policy Framework
IISD/ENB Meeting Coverage
- 15th AGM of the IGF, 7-10 October 2019, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
- 14th AGM of the IGF, 15-18 October 2018, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
- 13rd AGM of the IGF, 16-20 October 2017, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
- 12nd AGM of the IGF, 24-28 October 2016, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
IISD Resources
- Subscription Page for ENB Update, SDG Update, and Peer-to-Peer Community Mailing Lists (including SDG News, Climate News, Biodiversity News, Ocean News, Trade and Sustainable Development News, and Regional Updates)
- SDG Update Newsletter - A compilation of news, commentary and upcoming events published on the SDG Knowledge Hub
- SDG Knowledge Hub - An Online Resource Center for News and Commentary Regarding the Implementation of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)