Nature Positive Role of the Mining and Metals Sector

Avoid exploring or mining in biodiversity hotspots, and strengthen biodiversity assessment, planning and management For all new mines, companies should: –Not explore or mine in IUCN categories Ia and Ib Protected Areas,173 Alliance for Zero Extinction sites,174 World Heritage Sites175 and other designated critical habitats where mining is not permitted. –Avoid exploring or mining in critical habitats as defined by IFC PS6,176 IUCN categories II-IV Protected Areas,177 other KBAs,178 and areas of high ecological, cultural or community significance. Exceptions can be considered only where mining operations will support positive climate, environmental or social outcomes at local scales. Where exceptions are made, safeguards should be put in place to minimize negative impacts (e.g. requiring avoidance and protection of key habitats or species population management). For sites in critical habitats, companies should align the implementation of the mitigation hierarchy with a BNG goal and endeavour to do the same for the other priority areas outlined above. For sites with existing approvals or operations, companies should map and classify areas of high ecological, cultural or community significance (in line with IFC Performance Standard 6179). Then, implement safeguards to both avoid and minimize negative impacts, including through the project activity design and infrastructure siting, prioritizing actions at the identified significant areas. Companies should also assess the trade-offs between the impacts of expanding existing sites compared to establishing new mines. Avoidance and minimization of impacts may be iterative as companies learn more about their areas of influence throughout project development. Overall, companies can collaborate with governments to delineate no-go areas from mining areas and establish safeguards to minimize negative nature impacts (see section 3.5). In addition, companies should conduct biodiversity assessments such as species monitoring for all sites, including operational and non-operational lands, evaluate dependencies on critical ecosystem services, and develop biodiversity management plans aligned to the mitigation hierarchy.180 A range of methods, including innovative new technologies, are available to support biodiversity assessment. For example, Anglo American and Rio Tinto are using environmental DNA (eDNA) data to assess biodiversity at their sites.181 Alongside the nature-related considerations outlined above, for both new and existing sites, companies should conduct meaningful consultations to evaluate social impacts and identify local ecological, community and cultural values, perform participatory planning and project design, respect the right to self-determination and FPIC of tribal and traditional communities and Indigenous Peoples with collective land and resource rights, throughout all stages of exploration and extraction (see Box 6), and conduct ongoing participatory monitoring of impacts. FPIC also encompasses the right of Indigenous Peoples to withhold consent. Nature Positive: Role of the Mining and Metals Sector 33