KITTILÄ, Finland, Nov. 3, 2015 /CNW/ - FinnMin, the Finnish Mining Association, today announced that it will adopt the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative, a corporate social responsibility (CSR) program developed by the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) to improve environmental and social practices in the mining industry. This is the first time TSM has been adopted by a mining association outside of Canada. The agreement was signed at the Fennoscandian Exploration and Mining Conference (FEM).

FinnMin and many of its member companies chose TSM, as it is the most advanced initiative in the mining industry. TSM will contribute to the transparency and accountability of the mining industry and will, therefore, enhance social acceptance among the different stakeholders in Finnish civil society.

"TSM has proven its effectiveness in Canada, and we at FinnMin believe it will be a useful tool for Finnish mining companies when the companies develop their sustainability reporting in the future," comments Markus Ekberg, Chairman of FinnMin.

FinnMin's adoption of TSM is part of a larger commitment of MAC's to freely share TSM with other countries seeking tools to improve the environmental and social performance of their mining industry, including engagement with civil society and enhanced transparency and accountability.

"We are very pleased that FinnMin has, after a three-year multi-stakeholder process of its own that explored options for improving its mining sector's performance, has chosen TSM," said Pierre Gratton, President and CEO, MAC. "This is a significant milestone for TSM, and could be the start of it becoming a global standard." 

"The adoption of the TSM framework in Finland presents a great opportunity to share the many lessons learned from over a decade of building standards in Canada, and no doubt we will also be able to learn from their implementation experiences," said Alan Young, member of MAC's Community of Interest Advisory Panel.

Finland has already taken a key step in the implementation of TSM with the creation of the Finnish Network for Sustainable Mining.

"The agreement between FinnMin and MAC is very good news for the Finnish Network for Sustainable Mining. It represents the first step in the implementation of a new sustainability standard in the Finnish mining sector. I trust that most mining companies will join the standard within the next few years," says Eero Yrjö-Koskinen, Secretary General of the network.

For further information about TSM in Finland, please visit www.kaivosvastuu.fi, in Canada, please visit www.mining.ca.

Backgrounder: 
MAC-FinnMin Licensing Agreement for TSM Adoption

About FinnMin
The Finnish Mining Association, FinnMin, promotes the Finnish mining and exploration industry and technology companies in the field. FinnMin also promotes knowledge of the environment and safety of its members, organizes research and represent its members in international organizations. The association has 45 members, which employ a total of five thousand employees. www.prokaivos.fi

About MAC
The Mining Association of Canada is the national organization for the Canadian mining industry.  Its members account for most of Canada's production of base and precious metals, uranium, diamonds, metallurgical coal, mined oil sands and industrial minerals and are actively engaged in mineral exploration, mining, smelting, refining and semi-fabrication. Please visit www.mining.ca. 

About TSM
The Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative is the CSR standard developed by the Mining Association of Canada. The Finnish version of TSM contains eight protocols (stakeholder involvement, conservation of biodiversity, tailings management, water management, CO₂ reduction and energy efficiency, safety and health, crisis management, and mine closure), which have been divided into different performance levels (similar in structure to the credit rating system). Mining companies are expected to report regularly on the implementation of each protocol. In addition, their activities will be evaluated by an external auditor every three years.

SOURCE Mining Association of Canada (MAC)