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Webinar:
Delivering measurable improvement in the ASM sector

Yet another successful Better Mining webinar was held on October 21st. The webinar focused on how Better Mining and its Partners drive due diligence uptake and improve conditions across ASM with speakers from CMOC, GIZ, Intel Corporations, the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), UNICEF, and Volvo Cars.

October 21st 2021. The webinar included updates from our Better Mining team on the ground, first-hand key insights from the group’s 2021 data report, and insights from several of the program’s partners, supporters, and users on why and how they support and use the program.

The RMI and RCS Global are fundraising to support the consolidation and scaling of Better Mining in 2022.
The goal is to support the 40+ ASM sites in 3TG, cobalt, and copper in 2022. Join us!

Contact to become a supporter:

RCS Global Group: Nicholas Garrett, [email protected]
Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI): Alex Cech, [email protected]

 

Speakers

Below is a short summary of each speaker session:

Daniella Savic from UNICEF gave insights to the multifaceted risks of child labour in ASM mining, UNICEF’s collaboration with RCS Global, and the need for an industry-wide, supply chain approach to eliminate child labor.

Alexandra Cech from the Responsible Minerals Initiative provided an industry context and the critical importance of Better Mining to the downstream and midstream industries’ responsible sourcing assurance efforts, including RMAP. Alex explained concisely why the RMI partners with Better Mining’s mineral agnostic program to drive uptake of due diligence practices in the upstream.

Iain Fraser from RCS Global turned the focus towards the downstream and illustrated how the downstream industry links to ASM in supply chain using RCS Global’s VINE supply mapping and ESG data management solution

Better Mining

Mattis Hennings and Armel Nganzi from RCS Global shared insights regarding the Better Mining methodology, key insights from the group’s 2021 data report, and next steps and goals for 2022.

Better Mining creates quantifiable and demonstrable improvement mineral-agnostically. By end of Q3, 2021 across all materials and all ASM sites in the program:

The Development Perspective

The webinar then turned the focus towards the industry perspective from Volvo Cars, Intel and CMOC

Linn Fortgens from Volvo Cars shared how Better Mining enables the auto sector to move the impact dial in the upstream segment of key battery material supply chains. Linn also talked about how the program works as a lever to drive uptake of OECD aligned due diligence in the ASM sector, which is critical.

Erin Mitchell from Intel continued the industry perspective by talking about Better Mining as an important tool for a downstream company. Erin shared how the ability to monitor trend analysis at the mine level provides insights to areas of needed capability building.

Julie Liang, 梁玮, from CMOC rounded off the industry perspectives by sharing why an industrial miner like CMOC supports Better Mining as a risk mitigation initiative that actively improves conditions in ASM. Julie shared how CMOC has seen the real changes in ESG performance of the deployed ASM site in Better Mining and underlined the importance of supporting a wide scale systematic approach to ASM improvement, as a principal reason for CMOC’s support to Better Mining.

The next Better Mining webinar will be held on November 17, 2021.

It will focus on:

  • Commodity traders and refiners: Why and how they work with Better Mining
  • Why electrical goods leader, TTI Industries supports Better Mining
  • Case study of Better Mining @ SMB, Africa’s largest tantalum mine
  • Gold: Better Mining’s 2021 first responsible ASM gold export (USAID funded)
  • Cobalt digital traceability deployment (US Department of Labor funded)