Responsible Mining: The Key to Profitable Resource Development

Better mining corporations want to adopt Responsible Mining. This paper outlines the essentials of responsible mining and offers a guide to corporations who want become responsible. Eight principles are discussed: (1) Social and environmental assessment, (2) Transparency, (3) Acceptance by stakeholders, (4) Food production trumps questionable mining, (5) Compliance with international standards, (6) Corporate prequalification, (7) Insurance and performance bonds, and (8) Royalties, taxes and fees. These principles are followed by a discussion of No-Go Zones to mining: why some types of sites should be off-limits to all mining. The Annex on Compensatory Offsets suggests that, on occasion, there may be exceptions to a No-Go Zone.