US-led ‘partnership for ethical mining’ aims to protect communities, environment

Italy has become the latest country to join the US-led Mineral Security Partnership (MSP), announced in June last year, whose aim was to add ethical values to the entire critical minerals and batteries value chain.
The announcement was made by the US Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Jose Fernandez, during the Investing in African Mining Indaba conference in South Africa. Fernandez said members of the Mineral Security Partnership — which now include twelve countries and the European Union — will soon announce details of their environmental, social and governance principles. “We want to involve the communities affected by potential projects and the decision-making process,” he said and added that the MSP also wants to protect the environment.
“They won’t make investments in projects that destroy precious rain forests, that are not committed to the remediation of mines, that require pay-offs to government officials. They just won’t do it. Their shareholders won’t allow it. Their customers will reject them and our laws will punish such conduct,” he said. Fernandez said that’s why many companies, including Tesla, General Motors and Ford, have joined the United States Public Private Alliance on responsible minerals trading. He also added that since beginning its work less than a year ago, the MSP has looked at 200 projects and chosen 12 to work on. Ethical conduct in this sector is critical as the world races to make an energy transition to stop rapid global warming, Fernandez noted.