Summary
The Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) continued discussions at the third and final day of its AGM on Thursday at UN Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The IGF General Council met in a closed meeting in the morning.
Sessions convened on local content policies, women and artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), good governance for biodiversity in mining, and financial benefit optimization. Participants discussed the value of financial modeling and the use of various tools and strategies, including the Local Procurement Reporting Mechanism presented by Engineers Without Borders Canada, and the Global Inventory of Biodiversity Offset Policies presented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Sheila Logan, Minamata Convention Secretariat, briefed participants on the provisions of the Convention with regard to managing mercury use in ASGM.
On women in ASM, speakers noted the disparity between the extent of women’s involvement and their low representation among mining license holders. They emphasized the need to improve women miners’ access to finance, geological data, lapidary training, and technology.
At lunchtime, the Minerals and Energy for Development Alliance and IGF co-organized a side event on ‘Financing Women in Mining’, and the African Development Bank, with the data publisher Open Oil, launched a report, ‘Running the Numbers: How African Governments Model Extractive Projects.’
The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) led the final session, highlighting their research on assessing commodity-dependence, and the positive and negative interactions between extractive industries and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yanchun Zhang, Chief, Commodity Policy Implementation and Outreach Section, Special Unit on Commodities, UNCTAD, commended the role of IGF in addressing ASM, noting that small-scale miners are often ignored and marginalized.
Greg Radford, Director, IGF Secretariat, expressed appreciation for delegates’ engagement in peer learning during the week, and thanked all delegates for their participation, noting that the intergovernmental workshop on Monday had been the largest gathering of IGF member countries to date. Medina gaveled the meeting to a close at 6.16 pm.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary report from AGM 2017. The summary report is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB+ | Sean Wu
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page.
Session 14: Local Content Policies in the Mining Sector: Lessons,
Challenges and New Tools
(L-R) Aaron Cosbey, IISD; Isabelle Ramdoo, African Minerals Development Centre/United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA); Richard Morgan, Head of Government Relations, Anglo American; Jane Korinek, Economist and Trade Policy Analyst, The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Somine Dolo, Kanaga Consulting; and Jeff Geipel, Venture Leader for Mining Shared Value, Engineers Without
Borders Canada
Isabelle Ramdoo, African Minerals Development Centre/UNECA
Aaron Cosbey, IISD
IISD/RS team taking notes
Richard Morgan, Head of Government Relations, Anglo American
Jane Korinek, OECD
Somine Dolo, Kanaga Consulting
Jeff Geipel, Venture Leader for Mining Shared Value, Engineers Without
Borders Canada
Session 15: Women and ASM
Amina Tahiru, Zenon Group, Ghana
Fitsum Weldegiorgis, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
(L-R) Gabriela Flores, IIED; Fitsum Weldegiorgis, IIED; Caroline Ngonze, UN Development Programme; Amina Tahiru, Zenon Group, Ghana; Shamsa Diwani, Executive Director, Gemstyles Company Limited; Harivao Fenosoa Razanakolona Rajaonarisoa, Madagascar
Session 16: Achieving Good Governance for Biodiversity in the Mining Sector
(L-R) Stephen Edwards, IUCN; Eugenie Regan, The Biodiversity Consultancy; Annelisa Grigg, UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre; and Alec Crawford, IGF Secretariat
Session 17: ASGM
Kirsten Dales, Canadian International Resources and Development Institute (CIRDI)
Sheila Logan, Minamata Convention Secretariat
(L-R) Alec Crawford, IGF Secretariat; Kirsten Dales, CIRDI; Roger Gunson, Mineral Resources Authority, Papua New Guinea; Euliene Watson, Ministry of Natural Resources, Guyana; Gregory Kituku, Ministry of Mining, Kenya; and Sheila Logan, Minamata Convention Secretariat
Session 18: Financial Benefit Optimization
(L-R) Matthew Bliss, IGF Secretariat; Pietro Toigo, African Development Bank; Rokhaya Samba, Ministry of Industry and Mines, Senegal; Ousmane Cisse, Ministry of Industry and Mines, Senegal; and
Anton Mélard de Feuardent, Fair Links
Pietro Toigo, Chief Macroeconomist, African Development Bank; and Rokhaya Samba, Ministry of Industry and Mines, Senegal
Ousmane Cisse, Ministry of Industry and Mines, Senegal
Session 19: Closing Plenary
(L-R) Taro Boel, UNCTAD; Orlands Kofi Tetteh, Minerals Commission, Ghana; Yanchun Zhang, UNCTAD; Romain Perez, UNCTAD; Alexandra Laurent, UNCTAD; and Glenn Gemerts, Ministry of Natural Resources, Suriname
Alexandra Laurent, UNCTAD
Romain Perez, UNCTAD
Closing Remarks
Yanchun Zhang, UNCTAD
At the close of the meeting, panelists watch video footage captured during the AGM.
Side Event: Minerals and Energy for Development Alliance (MEfDA) and
IGF: Financing Women in Mining
Side Event: AfDB and Open Oil Report Launch: Running the Numbers: How African Governments Model Extractive Projects
Around the Venue
