Modern Mining April 2025

MINING INDABA REVIEW

Fast-evolving mining standards being embraced in DRC, China As expected, the recently initiated Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative (CMSI) stimulated discussion at this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town – with SRK Consulting’s professional teams from Africa and China on hand to offer their insights.

Standards in mining are constantly evolving, whether they relate to tailings management, ESG or resource and reserve reporting.

A ccording to Dominique Sambwa, chairman of SRK Congo, mining players in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are responding to the fast-evolving environmental, social and governance (ESG) landscape. “Having moved quite quickly from a state controlled mining industry to one that encouraged private investment, the DRC has been developing its local legislation,” said Sambwa. “At the same time, larger global companies operating in the DRC have been driving global standards – and the prospect of a consolidated mining standard in the future is raising considerable interest.” DRC-China-SA collaboration He noted that the presence of many China-based mining companies in the DRC had led to concerted collaboration between SRK teams in China, the DRC and South Africa since 2022 – helping Chinese clients to comply with local legislation and global standards. Frank Li, principal geologist in SRK’s Beijing practice, travels extensively to the DRC as part of this collaboration. Li explained that SRK’s role in the DRC has expanded well beyond its technical services and into international standards compliance. “Many of our clients find themselves in a situation where their financiers want them to comply with one standard, while their supply

chain might prefer another,” he said.

Unified mining standard The work of the CMSI, he said, is therefore an exciting development – as many companies would favour a more streamlined focus on a single set of requirements. The CMSI aims to bring together the best aspects of four well-established standards: the Copper Mark; the Mining Association of Canada’s Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) standard; the World Gold Council’s Responsible Gold Mining Principles; and the ICMM’s Mining Principles. The intention is to arrive at one global standard that reduces complexity and clarifies responsible practices for mining companies of all sizes, and across all locations and commodities. “SRK is fully supportive of this direction, and is engaging closely with the process of developing the CMSI, to ensure that we are fully up to date with this new standard as it evolves – up to the point where it is published and can be applied,” said Li. “We are also ideally positioned to assist companies in transitioning to this new standard, as we have already worked extensively with clients across the range of other mining standards and regulatory compliance.” Focus on ESG Anne Gimonet, principal consultant in ESG and land contamination in SRK China, noted the

Dominique Sambwa, chairman of SRK Congo.

Vis Reddy - Chairman of SRK Consulting South Africa

16  MODERN MINING  www.modernminingmagazine.co.za | APRIL 2025