Botswana Chamber of Mines Chief Executive Officer, “Charles Siwawa, says they have adopted the Towards Mining (TSM) initiative as a way of improving environmental and social practices in the mining industry.
Speaking of the newly adopted practice, Siwawa said it will help the industry demonstrate adherence to sound and sustainable minerals development practices.
According to Siwawa, BCM members subscribe to the principles of responsible mining and extraction of minerals from the earth. The adoption of TSM will enable the industry to demonstrate adherence to sound and HYPERLINK “http://www.miningweekly.com/topic/sustainable”sustainable minerals development practices and strive towards continual improvement.”
This new development means BCM becomes the first African mining association to adopt the TSM programme and the third mining association to do such. Siwawa also said as part of its implementation, HYPERLINK “http://www.miningweekly.com/topic/bcm”BCM will implement a multi-interest advisory body to provide this valuable oversight function.
Mining associations which subscribe to the TSM must annually assess their facilities’ performance a health and safety, biodiversity conservation, crisis management and energy use and green house-gas emissions management.
The results are freely available to the public and are externally verified every three years to ensure the accuracy of what has been reported.
Siwawa also mentioned that BCM will tailor its performance areas so that they reflect the unique aspects of its domestic mining sector.
