CYANIDE CODE

Voluntary Industry Code for Cyanide Management in Gold Mining

Information Document #2

This is the second in a series of updates by UNEP and ICME to assist people and groups to communicate more broadly with their constituents on the Cyanide Code Development Project. The first Information Document is still available on this site.

BACKGROUND

Improving cyanide management should reduce the number and severity of accidents associated with gold mining, thereby helping to address community and political concerns about its use.

The tailings spill from the Aurul mine in Baia Mare, Romania, early in 2000, focussed public attention on the risks associated with the use of cyanide. UNEP and ICME convened an international workshop in Paris in May 2000, which agreed that an initiative to develop a voluntary Cyanide Code should be taken. The industry was supportive and the Gold Institute in Washington helped to spread the word on a global basis and to organise resources plus an Industry Advisory Group to be one source of input to the process. Other stakeholders agreed to participate, and UNEP and ICME invited a diverse group of high level people to form a multi-stakeholder Steering Committee to oversee the process. A Code Manager was recruited from a strong field of candidates, and the process of Code development is now underway in earnest…

FIRST STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING

The first meeting of the Steering Committee was held December 4-5, 2000 in Washington, DC. The 12 Steering Committee members are drawn from different countries and organisations and bring different perspectives to the issue. They are from large and small gold producers, NGOs, the chemical industry, the World Bank (IFC) and the governments of developing and developed nations. The Committee reviewed its own membership and decided that its coverage should be broadened in two areas C labour and the cyanide manufacturing industry.

The Committee agreed that its deliberations should be as open as possible to interested people and has decided to make its minutes available for that reason. They will be posted on this site.

The initial meeting was very productive and there was a strong sense of the Steering Committee coming together to produce an effective cyanide Code of Practice for the industry.

CHAIR AND CODE MANAGER APPOINTED

The Steering Committee elected Harold Barnes as its chairman. Harold also serves as Director Environment, Health, Safety and Government Affairs for Homestake Mining. Against agreed criteria for the role, it reviewed candidates for Code Manager, and the services of Norm Greenwald were secured. With more than 20 years experience in mining, engineering and environmental issues, Greenwald has advised state governments, mining companies, and associations on regulatory, permitting, compliance, and auditing matters.

As Code Manager, Greenwald will conduct research and collect information on cyanide issues, concerns and existing cyanide Codes and practices, under the direction of the Steering Committee. Based on this information and in consultation with all affected stakeholders, Greenwald will draft a voluntary industry Code for the safe and effective management of cyanide in gold mining. The Code will be subject to the review and approval of the Steering Committee.

TIMELINE AND RESOURCES

The timeline for the project is 2001, with elements including not only the development of the Code, but also a program of roll-out, communication and outreach. A "review group" of experts from different backgrounds will be asked to review drafts of the Code as developed and to provide advice to the Steering Committee. UNEP and ICME will remain active in the process by serving as the Secretariat to the Committee. Gold mining companies, through the Gold Institute, have agreed to provide the necessary funds to support the project. The Code will benefit from related work under way by AngloGold and the South African Chamber of Mines, which will be made available for the Project.

ELEMENTS OF THE CODE

There were preliminary discussions within the Steering Committee on which possible elements the Code should contain, including: performance standards, tailings and water management, emergency response, community relations, chemical stewardship, pipelines and storage systems, and auditing and reporting. There was agreement on the need for performance standards with broad stakeholder support, an auditing process (possibly third-party accredited), the ability to appeal (by either side) the results of audits, and for the process to be transparent.

There was also discussion on the need to find mechanisms to give smaller companies a "leg up" because of the difficulty for many of them to comply with higher targets. As part of the Code development process, there will need to be a plan to foster the adoption of the Code by smaller companies, and thought given to how to assist them to comply with its provisions.

There was a discussion on application of the Code to non-gold mining, and it was agreed that the focus should first be on the gold industry, with a review later of what might be involved in extending the Code to other mining uses of cyanide. It was also agreed that the Code would cover cyanide transport to mine sites. There was discussion on the boundary between this Code and tailings codes and guidelines. It was agreed that, to the extent to which tailings management issues are being adequately addressed in other Codes or through other initiatives, non-cyanide aspects of tailings management should not be addressed.

The need for verification and accountability were also discussed. There was consensus that this would be an important component of the process, and suitable models will need to be identified. The role of internal and third-party audits will need to be considered, and an audit "score sheet" against the Code may be developed. There was preliminary discussion on how to deal with Code non-compliance. Options mentioned were decertification, governments= use of the code for regulation, issuance of provisional certificates, and rating scales.

There was considerable discussion on the need for an institutional "home" for the Code for the long term in order to ensure its ongoing influence and dynamism.

NEXT STEPS

The Steering Committee will meet next in San Francisco on March 1-2, 2001.

The Industry Advisory Group has been asked by the Steering Committee to do work in specific areas to gather information on existing practices or guidelines as well as to do research to put options on the table for discussion.

Norm Greenwald has commenced his consultations and research, including meeting with a wide range of players in South Africa and Australia.

UNEP and ICME will continue to use this site to communicate with interested people. If you have comments or input to make, we would encourage you to use the discussion forum on cyanide on this site.

22 January 2001