ICMM Performance Expectations: The 39 Commitments That Shape Member Inspections

The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) launched its Mining Principles in 2020. The Principles consolidated and replaced earlier ICMM commitments, and they are mandatory for ICMM member companies, which include most of the world's largest mining houses.

The Mining Principles are organised around 10 principles covering ethics, decision-making, human rights, risk management, health and safety, environment, conservation of biodiversity, community impact, project life cycle planning, and stakeholder engagement. Underneath these are 39 Performance Expectations, concrete commitments that members must implement.

Several Performance Expectations directly drive inspection activity. The health and safety expectations require risk-based inspection regimes for principal hazards. The environment expectations require water, air, and biodiversity monitoring. The tailings expectations now reference GISTM conformance.

ICMM member companies must subject themselves to third-party validation of their conformance with the Performance Expectations. This means inspection records and supporting evidence are exposed to external scrutiny on a regular cycle.

For contractors and suppliers working with ICMM members, the same expectations effectively flow down. A contractor whose own inspection records cannot satisfy an ICMM auditor will struggle to win or retain work with major members. Digital, audit-ready inspection systems are increasingly a precondition for contracting with the majors.