COMP greenlights adoption of Canada’s responsible mining standards

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) agreed on Tuesday to follow the mining practices called “Towards Sustainable Mining” (TSM) developed by the Mining Association of Canada (MAC).

According to COMP chair and Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) president Gerard Brimo, MAC’s standards complements Duterte’s ambitious plans for the industry, in fact, the initiative to embrace the western country’s extractive standards came from the President himself.

“President Duterte once said if we follow Australia[n] and Canadian standard[s], we’re okay … This is our reply,” Brimo said.

The Philippines is the first country in the Southeast Asia region to adopt the TSM initiative, following Finland, Argentina, and Botswana.

“The adoption of TSM by members of the Chamber of Mines is intended to institutionalize practices that secure these contributions for the long term,” Brimo continued, adding that they are planning to form an advisory body to provide oversight to the industry.

TSM would also aid to generate mining benefits “optimized by the industry while maintaining the best practices,” MAC president and CEO Pierre Gratton said.

Established in 2004, the TSM initiative of Canada requires mining companies to assess their performance annually in specific areas such as tailings management, community outreach, safety and health, biodiversity conservation, crisis management, and energy use and greenhouse gas emission management.

Once the assessment bears its results, it will be readily made available to the public and be externally verified every three years, the Chamber said.

“It is our privilege to share our tools and expertise in sustainable mining practices. We applaud the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines for taking this important step forward as it works to enhance its industry’s environmental and social performance,” Gratton said.

Earlier, Duterte has called on the mining industry to adhere to strict international standards, noting that of Australia’s and Canada’s sustainable mining methods in order to preserve the environment.