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Interested in the future of work in the minerals industry?

Join us Saturday, February 29, from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. to explore how work in the minerals industry, from exploration through production and beyond closure, will change in the next 25 years.

This discussion will be facilitated by the experts at Watershed Partners who will guide participants through what these changes will mean for:

• environmental health and safety
• relationships among companies, communities and governments
• technological advancements
• the social license to operate

This highly interactive session will be held in meeting room 105 of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, just prior to the launch of PDAC 2020. Please note that registration is open; you do not need to be registered for PDAC to attend the Sustainability Forum.

Our goal is to foster discussion and shed light on solutions around the rapidly changing context spurred by technological change to ensure mining continues to support the sustainable development of communities and countries.

On the day of the event, the registration desk will open at 12:00 p.m. The main event will be held from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., with a networking reception from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Space is limited, so please register today. We look forward to seeing you there.

What will jobs in the minerals industry look like in 25 years?

With accelerating changes in political, economic, environmental, social and technological contexts, the nature of work has been transforming, and continues to transform, at ever faster rates and in increasingly unpredictable ways. Many of the jobs of today will look very different in 2045, and the nature of work in the minerals industry is no different.

Because these changes are complex and emergent, they require multiple and diverse perspectives to define and make sense of how potential futures might play out. 

Join us Saturday, February 29, from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. to explore how work in the minerals industry, from exploration through production and beyond closure, will change in the next 25 years.

This highly interactive session,  facilitated by the experts at Watershed Partners, will be built around a backcasting exercise, in which participants from government, the private sector, academia and civil society work together to think through how an idealized version of the future of work in mining will be achieved over the next 25 years. Participants will explore timely topics, including:

• environmental health and safety
• relationships among companies, communities and governments
• technological advancements
• the social licence to operate

The Forum will be held in meeting room 105 of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, just prior to the launch of PDAC 2020. Please note that registration is open; you do not need to be registered for PDAC to attend the Sustainability Forum.

On the day of the event, the registration desk will open at 12:00 p.m. The main event will be held from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., with a networking reception from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Space is limited, so please register today. We look forward to seeing you there.

Join us and register for this year’s IGF-PDAC-WEF Sustainability Forum, happening February 29, 2020, from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. in Toronto, Canada. This year’s forum focuses on The Future of Work in the Minerals Industry. This highly interactive session, facilitated by the experts at Watershed Partners, will ask participants to think through and discuss how the nature of work in the minerals industry, from exploration through production and beyond closure, will change over the next 25 years.

We are pleased to continue expanding our reach in Asia as we welcome Armenia as our 75th member.

Please read below for more information on our recent activity related to mine closure in Papua New Guinea and improving tax collection in Bogota.

IGF Secretariat

IGF-PDAC-WEF Sustainability Forum

Mine Rehabilitation and Closure Guidelines

As we prepare to bid farewell to 2020, thankfully some public health developments on the horizon bode well for 2021. The past year has been like no other and the IGF Secretariat wishes to thank you, our community, for your continued enthusiasm and participation during these challenging times. 

As a testament to this continued engagement, the past month saw the successful conclusion of IGF's Gender and Mining Governance virtual course, developed in partnership with the Environmental Governance Programme. The course attracted 1,390 participants from 90 countries, achieving a 31% completion rate and a 98.2% satisfaction rate. Graduates identified as 69.1% female and 29.1% male. Plans are underway to repeat the course in English, French, and Spanish in the second half of 2021.

In early December, IGF Director Greg Radford and Senior Policy Advisor Alec Crawford spoke during a four-session virtual event about how COVID-19 has hit artisanal and small-scale mining sectors and communities. Sessions focused on human capital, gender, supply chains, and future development. The event was organized by IGF, in partnership with the World Bank's Extractives Global Programmatic Support trust fund, Pact, and Delve. If you missed it, you can watch a recording.

For our Spanish speaking audience, we have now published the full Spanish translation of our latest Guidance for Governments: Improving Legal Frameworks for ESIA. And we are hosting a Spanish webinar on the topic this week, on Thursday December 17.

On the same topic, this is the last week to participate in our ESIA in Mining Dialogue on the Goxi platform. So far, the conversation has attracted a lot of attention. Don't miss your chance to join the discussion!

Wishing you a happy holiday season,

IGF Secretariat

ASM Survey Results Report Published

IGF has released a report on the results of our member survey about how COVID-19 has affected artisanal and small-scale mining sectors and communities across the globe. Representatives from 21 member states participated in the survey, offering unique insights on pandemic impacts and responses from governments. The report is available in English, French, and Spanish (coming soon).

BEPS in Mining Training Testimonials

The EU Conflict Minerals Regulation: Perspectives from producer countries

We wish IGF readers safety and strength during the unfolding pandemic, which continues to spread grief and uncertainty worldwide.

At IGF, we have pivoted to serve our community virtually through our ongoing COVID-19 Response Series which provides crisis-specific information and events to help mining countries through this unprecedented period.

We have recently published a brief guidance on force majeure, a delicate legal issue with increasing importance for governments amid the pandemic.

Earlier this month, we hosted a webinar where experts discussed how COVID-19 is impacting local supply chains in the mining sector. You can view the presentation and full recording online.

With our partner ATAF, we have published answers to questions arising from last month's webinar: Mining Tax Policy Responses to COVID-19. We have posted the answers, webinar recording and presentation. We will be co-hosting a similar webinar in Spanish on May 29 (details below) and French in the weeks to come.

Our core duties remain a priority at IGF, and we are happy to report we are weeks away from publishing our latest Guidance for Governments: Improving Legal Frameworks for Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and Management. Related virtual events will follow the launch.

The IGF wishes our members and colleagues good health and safety in these difficult times.

IGF Secretariat

IISD Becomes Member of EPRM

The COVID-19 health crisis continues to grip the planet, bringing human tragedy and disruption across the globe. We hope IGF readers are staying safe and engaging to curb the pandemic. At IGF, we are adapting our activities so we can continue to serve our members virtually.

As governments adopt drastic measures in response to virus, IGF has partnered with ATAF to help policy makers who may be considering giving tax relief to mining companies. Our experts are leading a webinar on the subject on Thursday, April 16. Register online today. On the same topic, we have also published a guide and key-points summary (French and Spanish here).

IGF is pleased to release our 2019 Annual Report which outlines an eventful year which included welcoming five new member countries, hosting more than 500 delegates at our Annual General Meeting and delivering several targeted workshops and training initiatives.

The IGF wishes our members and colleagues good health and safety in these difficult times.

IGF Secretariat

Forum at Mining Indaba Examines Transformation in Mining

Industry Leaders Look to the Future at PDAC

Promoting Sustainable Artisanal Gold Mining in West Africa

2020 has been a busy year so far.

Our Sustainability Forums at Indaba and PDAC hosted timely discussions about advancing sustainability in mining, and you can expect the meeting reports out shortly.

We have also continued expanding our global reach as we welcome Armenia and Sweden as our latest members.

Our work on taxation in mining continues to grow as well with work in Francophone Africa and an analysis of digital tax reforms.

In the coming months, which will be very challenging times for all, we will continue our work remotely the best we can. You can expect to see our annual report, a mine closure and financial assurance report, and more.

Most importantly, we wish all IGF readers good health now and in the future.

IGF Secretariat

Sweden Joins IGF as 76th Member, Commits to Responsible Mining

Sustainability by 2045

Mining and Global Digital Tax Reforms

The IGF Annual General Meeting is taking place next week from Tuesday, October 20, to Thursday, October 22. This year's theme is Mining and COVID-19: From Crisis to Sustainability. Our AGM Virtual Platform is now open, and registered participants can log on right now to watch video messages from members, explore the agenda, view the list of speakers, and more.

While delving into essential industry issues, such as gender equality and environmental management, this year''s AGM sessions will also examine how COVID-19 has hit various facets of the mining sector, including artisanal and small-scale mining, employment, new technologies, and climate change action.

So far, over 1,250 delegates from 108 countries have registered. We encourage you to visit our website to view the agenda and register today.

Amid the ongoing pandemic, we are continuing to serve our members virtually by hosting webinars on timely topics.

On October 8, we launched the full French translation of our latest Guidance for Governments: Improving Legal Frameworks for Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and Management. You can access a French recording of the webinar and presentations online.

On September 24, we explored programs for small- and medium-scale Latin American mining in a COVID-19 era. The English and Spanish recordings and presentations are online.

Warm wishes and best regards,

IGF Secretariat

Consultation on Environmental Management Continues

Free Online Course on Gender and Mining Governance

Vulnerable Workers Need Stronger Social Protections

Local Content Needs Data

Registration is open for the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development's (IGF) 16th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on October 20-22, 2020.

For the first time as a fully virtual event, this leading international forum on mining policy and sustainable development is not subject to the attendance constraints of past in-person events. All interested stakeholders are invited to register and attend! Most sessions will feature simultaneous interpretation for participants in English, French, and Spanish.

The theme for 2020 is Mining and COVID-19: From crisis to sustainability, and many sessions will examine mining sector trends and government responses stemming from the ongoing health and economic crisis.

The IGF invites you to join high-level representatives and top mining-sector experts from government, academia, industry, and non-governmental organizations at the event.

Agenda

Day 1 | Tuesday October 20

• Introduction and Opening Panel
• The Future of Mining Employment and Skills
• Building Resilient Communities: Can we leverage impact investing mechanisms?
• Global Standards for Environmental and Tailings Management
• Global Mine Closure Needs: Government and industry responses

Day 2 | Wednesday October 21

• Responding to COVID-19 in the ASM Sector
• COVID-19 and the Future of Responsible Sourcing
• Mining, Climate Change and COVID-19: How the pandemic has impacted climate action
• The Future of Resource Taxation
• Regional Sessions (in French and Spanish)

Day 3 | Thursday October 22

• Community Engagement
• Opportunities for Greater Gender Equality: Assessing gendered impacts of mining before project development
• Technological Innovation in a post-COVID era
• Clarifying the Role and Scope of Environmental and Social Impact Assessments
• Closing Remarks

The IGF's 16th Annual General Meeting is fast approaching (October 20-22) and this year's theme is Mining and COVID-19: From Crisis to Sustainability. For 2020, we are striving to deliver an enriching event and leverage the accessibility of virtual meetings to reach a large and diverse audience. So far, interest has exceeded expectations. Register today, if you haven't already, and visit our website to see the latest confirmed speakers and agenda details.

Earlier this month IGF hosted a webinar on an important and timely issue: New Technology and The Future of Mining in a COVID-19 Era. The event examined how the pandemic has intensified the importance and challenges related to new mining technologies. We have published the event''s presentation slides and recording. 

For another important issue for IGF - gender equality - we have created a new dedicated space to host our gender-related resources (with more to come).

Warm wishes and best regards,

IGF Secretariat

Consultations on Environmental Management, Gender Equality

IGF Provides Free Online Course on Gender Equality

Have you registered for the IGF''s 16th Annual General Meeting?

This year's theme is Mining and COVID-19: From Crisis to Sustainability. Many of the 17 one-hour sessions will examine how the pandemic has impacted various facets of the mining sector, including artisanal and small-scale mining, employment, new technologies, the future of resource taxation and more.

As a fully virtual event, the 2020 AGM is not subject to the capacity constraints of past in-person events. All interested stakeholders are invited to attend! 

The event runs for three days starting tomorrow (October 20-22), for three hours each day (8:30 to 11:30 EDT / 14:30 to 17:30 CEST).

Register for the event today and you can immediately access the virtual event space to view member videos, the speaker list, and more.

Visit our website for the agenda and more event information.

We hope to see you at the AGM!

IGF Secretariat

The past month was highlighted by the IGF''s 16th Annual General Meeting on the theme of  Mining and COVID-19: From Crisis to Sustainability. For the first time, we hosted the event virtually. It featured 75 speakers across 17 sessions which attracted more than 1,800 registrants from 110 countries. 

If you didn''t attend the AGM live you can find session recordings (in English, French, and Spanish), documents, presentations, and other related content on the AGM website (registration required). Session summaries and audio/video highlights are also available.

If you''re interested in ASM and the potential for local value addition you should read our guest blog by researcher Hannah Maul about a recent preliminary report from BGR and Levin Sources that looks at construction raw materials in two significant markets in India - home to an estimated 15 million ASM miners - and Indonesia. For more information on designing local policies on value addition see IGF''s guidance on the subject.

And there is still time to enroll and earn a certificate of completion for the IGF-UNDP virtual course on Gender and Mining Governance. The course is open until November 27 and is comprised of four modules that require three hours each to complete. 

Best regards,

IGF Secretariat

ESIA in Mining Dialogue on Goxi

Environmental Management Consultation and Webinars

ASM and Covid-19: Responding to the pandemic

Future of Resource Taxation Roadmap

We're Hiring

The IGF is seeking to fill two roles: a full time Policy Advisor - Tax, and Extractive Industries, and a short-term position to work on a consultation in South Africa. Interested candidates should apply soon!

The IGF team supports gender equality and environmental management in mining and aims to further the multistakeholder dialogue with government, civil society, and industry to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

To do so, we are launching two consultations on Goxi, running from September 21 to October 2, 2020, to explore:

• approaches, tools, and examples to assess the gendered impacts of mining before project development; and
• the government's role in mining governance and to receive input on IGF's newly drafted Guidance for Governments: Environmental Management and Mining Governance.

Preparation is well underway for IGF''s 16th Annual General Meeting on October 20-22, 2020. Due to the global pandemic, the event will be held virtually for the first time and focus on the theme: Mining and COVID-19: From Crisis to Sustainability. We will be opening registration and releasing the agenda in the weeks ahead. 

In the past four weeks, IGF''s tax base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) team has delivered a series of virtual trainings, with partners ATAF, OECD, and WATAF. In total, the sessions reached more than 180 participants from 16 countries in Africa and South America. The trainings centred on identifying and addressing BEPS risks in the mining sector, with some focused sessions on commodity and mining license valuation and international tax treaties. Any IGF member country can request this kind of technical support. 

Late last month, IGF partnered with the Mines Ministries of the Americas Conference (CAMMA) to organize a webinar on Mining in the Americas and Economic Recovery Post-COVID-19. The event featured high-level speakers and attendees from across the Americas. You can watch the recording in English and Spanish and view the presentation.

Also in July, IGF hosted a webinar on the topic of Downstream Beneficiation and Developing Value Chains in Mining. You can view the recording (in French) and presentation (English and French). 

Best wishes and warm regards,

IGF Secretariat

Webinar: New Technology and the Future of Mining in a COVID-19 Era

Zambia Case Study Released: Tax Base Erosion and Profit Shifting

Guest Blog: Mineworkers, Unions, and COVID-19

Opportunity: Extractive Sector Taxation Consultant

Amid the unsettling global pandemic, we at IGF have tried to stay focused on our members by offering timely research and virtual events as part of our COVID-19 Response Series.

In the past month we blogged about three lessons learned from our webinar series on Mining Tax Policy Responses to COVID-19. And, in partnership with the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations, we published responses (in English and Spanish) to questions raised during our Spanish webinar on the topic.

We also hosted two webinars following the release of our new Guidance for Governments: Improving Legal Frameworks for ESIA and Management. The first event was designed for member countries (recording), while the second served a wider audience and included presenters from the Netherlands Commission for Environmental Assessment and Transparency International (recording). We will host additional webinars in French and Spanish on this topic, following the full translation of the guidance in the weeks ahead.

Finally, we are hiring two Mining Expert Consultants to assist with in-country consultations in Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The application deadline is July 22.

Best wishes and kind regards,

IGF Secretariat

Project Launch: The Future of Resource Taxation

Jamaica: Mining Policy Framework Assessment Completed

?Hablas Espa?ol?

Guest Blog: Tax Trends in Africa

2020 IGF Annual General Meeting

Webinar: Downstream Beneficiation and Developing Value Chains in Mining

CAMMA-IGF Webinar: Mining in the Americas and Economic Recovery Post-COVID-19

At IGF we have continued to deliver crisis-specific material and events to serve our community in this challenging time through our COVID-19 Response Series. In the past month we focused on the pandemic's impact on employment in the mining sector by publishing a briefing note, summary and hosting a webinar on the topic.

Following on our initial English webinar on Mining Tax Policy Responses to COVID-19, we co-hosted similar events in French and Spanish and published responses to questions that arose during the French session.

We also partnered with UEMOA to host a webinar on force majeure and COVID-19 for countries in Francophone Africa. The event was well attended and featured a vibrant discussion about this complex legal issue, which was the subject of an earlier IGF briefing note.

The IGF wishes our members and colleagues good health and safety in these difficult times.

IGF Secretariat
 

IGF Releases ESIA Guidance for Governments

Mongolia Receives Training on Coal Pricing and Valuation

Tax Incentives Resources Now Available in French

Webinar: ESIA Guidance for Governments