Driving Responsible Mining through Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration - On the Rocks with IRMA

In this episode, host Emily King explores responsible mining practices through a compelling discussion with Aimee Boulanger, the executive director of the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA). They trace IRMA’s origins in early multi-stakeholder collaboration efforts beginning around 2006, discuss why credible independent assurance processes matter, and outline the organization’s innovative standards-based approach centered on feasible best practices, continuous improvement pathways tailored to local contexts, and reinventing mining’s value proposition by verifying performance gains. Along the way, they acknowledge lingering tensions around extraction tradeoffs while spotlighting win-win opportunities for communities, companies, customers and investors alike to lift industry standards over time through open dialog and shared value creation.