[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_4,1_4″ _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_heading title=”2021: 1st Year of the Modified TSM Cycle” admin_label=”2021: 1st Year of the Modified TSM Cycle” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” title_font=”||||||||” title_text_align=”left” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_heading][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/chamberofmines.com.ph\/beta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/tsm_logo.png” title_text=”tsm_logo” align=”right” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”For the first year of implementation” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
For the first year of implementation of the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) Program under the Modified Cycle, member-firms of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) with operating mines were required to (1) identify gaps between their current systems and processes on one hand, and the TSM Protocols and Indicators on the other; and, (2) design and implement programs to address those gaps.\u00a0 These firms were also encouraged to voluntarily submit their self-assessment reports to COMP, which reports were not yet to be made public.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, COMP was tasked to identify candidates for Verification Service Providers (VSPs or External Verifiers) and to submit their names to the Community of Interest Advisory (COI) Panel for approval.<\/p>\n
COMP has established a process of External Verification for ensuring that COMP member companies\u2019 reporting on TSM performance indicators is consistent, accurate and transparent.<\/p>\n
Before embarking on the search for VSPs, COMP finalized, and secured the approval of the COI Panel for, the Terms of Reference (ToR) for VSPs.\u00a0 The ToR was developed to ensure that:<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_tabs _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_tab title=”VSP Requirements ” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Individuals who wish to provide verification services to a COMP member must meet, among others, the following requirements, at a minimum:<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_tab][et_pb_tab title=”The VSP Candidates” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Like the COI Panelists, the VSP candidates identified by COMP are well-respected individuals who are acknowledged experts in the technical, environmental, and social development fields.\u00a0 A partial list of candidates was submitted to the COI Panel during their first meeting in 2021 on July 1, and the full list, during their second on November 25.\u00a0 The entire list was approved during the second meeting.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_tab][\/et_pb_tabs][et_pb_text admin_label=”The VSP Candidates are as follows:” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/chamberofmines.com.ph\/beta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/vsp_candidates.png” title_text=”vsp_candidates” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” width=”80%” border_radii=”on|10px|10px|10px|10px” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/chamberofmines.com.ph\/beta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/vsp_candidates1.png” title_text=”vsp_candidates1″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” width=”90%” border_radii=”on|10px|10px|10px|10px” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/chamberofmines.com.ph\/beta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/vsp_candidates2.png” title_text=”vsp_candidates2″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” width=”90%” border_radii=”on|10px|10px|10px|10px” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/chamberofmines.com.ph\/beta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/vsp_candidates3.png” title_text=”vsp_candidates3″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” width=”90%” border_radii=”on|10px|10px|10px|10px” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”VSP Training” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
The Canadian government, through the Canada Embassy Trade Mission, in an expression of support for the Philippines to succeed in its TSM journey, announced that it will subsidize the funding for the VSP training, scheduled in the first quarter of 2022 and to be conducted by the Mining Association of Canada (MAC).<\/p>\n
The Global Tailings Review (GTC) \u2013 consisting of the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Council on Mining and Metals, and the Principles for Responsible Investment \u2013\u00a0 issued the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (the Standard) about a year after the dam collapse at Vale\u2019s Corrego de Feijao Mine in Brumadinho, Brazil.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/chamberofmines.com.ph\/beta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/dr_bruno_oberle.png” title_text=”dr_bruno_oberle” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” width=”80%” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”(Some 270 people died as a result of the collapse” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
(Some 270 people died as a result of the collapse that happened in January 2019.\u00a0 <\/sup>According to experts, the\u00a0dam failure released around 12 million cubic meters of tailings that could pollute over 300 kilometers of river. Vale \u2013 the owner of the mine \u2013 had to payout a total of US$7 billion to the victims\u2019 families.\u00a0 Vale\u2019s stock price fell 24%, losing the equivalent of US$19 billion in market capitalization, the biggest single day loss in the history of the Brazilian stock market)<\/p>\n The Standard is directed at Operators and applies to tailings facilities, both existing and to-be-built. It makes clear that extreme consequences to people and the environment from catastrophic tailings facility failures are unacceptable.<\/p>\n Operators must have zero tolerance for human fatalities and strive for zero harm to people and the environment from the earliest phases of project conception.<\/p>\n To be compliant with the Standard, Operators must use spe\u00adci\u00adfied measures to prevent the catastrophic failure of tailings facilities and to implement best practices in planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, monitoring, closure and post closure activities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In response to the GTC\u2019s call, MAC sought to align TSM with the Standard, an undertaking that took MAC about a year to complete \u2013 in April 2021.<\/p>\n A line-by-line equivalency analysis reveals that TSM meets and exceeds the Standard in several respects:<\/p>\n Good governance, including a management systems approach, plays an essential role in responsible tailings management and preventing catastrophic failures. TSM addresses tailings management governance in a much more detailed and comprehensive manner than the Standard, providing a more thorough foundation to help ensure good governance and informed decision-making throughout the life cycle.<\/p>\n It was also determined that the\u00a0TSM Tailings Management Protocol<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0TSM Indigenous and Community Relationships Protocol<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0TSM Water Stewardship Protocol<\/em><\/a>\u00a0are very closely aligned with the Standard in all aspects related to governance, community relationships and water stewardship.<\/p>\n Some refinements to TSM were made and these are now captured in the latest version of\u00a0A Guide to the Management of Tailings Facilities<\/em>.<\/p>\n MAC has approved a new TSM Climate Change Protocol that includes requirements related to climate change adaptation, and a new Guide on Climate Change Adaptation for the Mining Sector. This new protocol and guide will further improve TSM alignment with those requirements in the Standard that refer to the potential impacts of climate change.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Given that COMP\u2019s TSM Protocols and Indicators are patterned after MAC\u2019s, COMP had to ensure that the Philippines follows suit.\u00a0 COMP formed the Tailings Management Protocol Technical Working Group —\u00a0 composed of technical and environment experts from 12 COMP member companies \u2013 and convened on June 17, 2021.<\/p>\n Following the refinements undertaken by MAC to align TSM with the Standard, COMP\u2019s Technical Working Group was split into two teams to work on two Action items.<\/p>\n The first team was tasked to review the Chamber\u2019s Tailings and OMS Guides as well as Table of Conformance, while the second team was tasked to review and Filipinize the (1) Climate Change Protocol, and its supporting document, the (2) Guide on Climate Change Adaptation for the Mining Sector.<\/p>\n Both Technical Groups presented their recommendations to the COI Panel on November 25, 2021, and the Panel approved the following recommendations:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 2020, COMP did not adopt the Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Management Protocol \u2013 the foundation for MAC\u2019s new Climate Change Protocol \u2013 because the Review Teams that Filipinized the MAC Protocols agreed that the Philippines does not have clear-cut measurements on carbon emissions.\u00a0 Pierre Gratton, MAC president, strongly recommended COMP\u2019s adoption of the Climate Change Protocol and Guide as this will further improve\u00a0TSM\u2019s alignment with those requirements in the Standard that refer to the potential impacts of mining on climate change \u2013 a topic that has been in the headlines in recent years.\u00a0 The recommendation enjoys the full supported of the Philippine COI Panel.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/chamberofmines.com.ph\/beta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/comps8thprotocol-980×481-1.png” title_text=”comps8thprotocol-980×481″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” width=”80%” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”COMP\u2019s adoption of the Climate Change Protocol” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n COMP\u2019s adoption of the Climate Change Protocol not only supports the alignment with the Standard of COMP members with tailings\u00a0facilities.\u00a0 It also supports the alignment of nickel producers with other environment, social, and governance (ESG) standards, such as Responsible Steel.<\/p>\n Moreover, the Guide is the only mine-related reference that provides methods or procedures on incorporating climate change considerations in the operator\u2019s decision-making process.<\/p>\n The Filipinized version includes local policies, compliances, and obligations related to Climate Change.\u00a0 It also incorporates changes in terms (e.g., \u201cfacilities\u201d to \u201cmine site\u201d, and \u201clocal community of interest\u201d to \u201cstakeholders\u201d), as well as in definition of terms to align with other Filipinized Protocols.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The COI Panel had only one meeting in 2020 shortly before the pandemic lockdowns.\u00a0 The members had two meetings \u2013 both via Zoom \u2013 in 2021 During their first meeting on July 1 they were presented with a partial list of VSP candidates and apprised on developments on the TSM Program.\u00a0 Their second meeting was on November 25 during which the Panel approved all 13 VSP candidates, as well as the recommendations of the COMP Technical Working Group on the revisions to the Tailings Management Protocol, and the adoption of the Filipinized Climate Change Protocol.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/chamberofmines.com.ph\/beta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/coi_panel_meeting.png” title_text=”coi_panel_meeting” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” width=”90%” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Webinar on TSM Experiences and Best Practices” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n To sustain the awareness of TSM among our members, COMP conducted a webinar on July 2021.<\/p>\n The webinar was again a joint undertaking between COMP, MAC, and the Canadian Embassy.<\/p>\n Some 120 representatives from COMP member companies participated in the webinar, which featured four presenters from Canada and Australia who shared case studies on experiences and best practices of mining companies that have been implementing TSM in other parts of the globe.\u00a0 The expertise and deep involvement of these presenters in the topics covering four of the seven TSM Protocols COMP had adopted at that point proved to be of great value to COMP members as they prepare for the full implementation of TSM.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/chamberofmines.com.ph\/beta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/webinar1.png” title_text=”webinar1″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” width=”90%” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/chamberofmines.com.ph\/beta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/webinar2.png” title_text=”webinar2″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” width=”90%” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For the first year of implementation of the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) Program under the Modified Cycle, member-firms of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) with operating mines were required to (1) identify gaps between their current systems and processes on one hand, and the TSM Protocols and Indicators on the other; and, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":4803,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4984","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n\u00a0<\/strong>TSM Alignment with the Standard<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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COMP Technical Working Group<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Climate Change: COMP\u2019s 8th<\/sup> Protocol<\/strong><\/h4>\n
COI Panel Meetings<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\u00a0<\/h4>\n
\u00a0<\/h4>\n
Webinar on TSM Experiences and Best Practices<\/strong><\/h4>\n