Companies representing more than half of the total market capitalization of listed mining firms have signed up to an investor-led safety initiative, although ESG concerns remain for the sector.
The information was shared at an event held on the fifth anniversary of the 2019 Brumadinho dam disaster, in which a tailings dam at an iron ore mine collapsed in Brazil, killing 270 people. The disaster sparked the investor-led Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management. The group of investors represent a total $25 trillion in assets and includes the Church of England Pensions Board, London.
More than 75 mining firms have committed to implementing the GISM, which looks to improve safety in mining through increased disclosure and implementation of global industry standards.
While large mining firms such as Dundee Precious Metals and Anglo Asian Mining have signed up to the standard, firms that have declined include Orosur Mining, which has extensive projects in South America including Brazil, and the Peruvian Compañia de Minas Buenaventura, according to a list published by the Church of England Pensions Board.
GISM was created in collaboration with the International Council on Mining and Metal, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the Principles for Responsible Investment. Further institutional investors behind the GISM include the UK-based Border to Coast Pension Partnership, Environment Agency Pension Fund, and the Lothian Pension Fund, and the Swedish funds AP2, AP4, and AP7.
