On 31st March 2021, EGC released its ‘EGC Responsible Sourcing Standard to support the establishment and maintenance of safe and strictly controlled artisanal cobalt mining zones in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The EGC Standard, which was developed following extensive collaboration with Trafigura and non-profit organisation Pact, amongst others, will be updated systematically to reflect evolving risks and stakeholder perspectives. The implementation of the EGC Standard on the ground will be supported by Pact through the capacity-building training of local stakeholders, including EGC and the mining cooperatives. Pact will also conduct ongoing monitoring while supporting and providing guidance to local stakeholders for the assessment and mitigations of identified risks. The EGC Standard will apply to all sites overseen by EGC and has been designed to complement, and indeed go beyond, regulatory compliance as determined by the Agency for Regulation and Control of the Strategic Mineral Substance Markets ARECOMS which has regulatory oversight over EGC. The EGC Standard aligns with DRC law, the DRC mining regulations as well as the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas. External standards benchmarked as part of the development process for the EGC Standard included Certified Trading Chains, the Craft Code, Amnesty International’s Principles and the Responsible Minerals Initiative's Risk Readiness Assessment. Following their appointment by EGC’s Technical Committee, international due diligence experts ‘Kumi’ will conduct quarterly assurance reviews against the EGC Standard at every EGC site.
On 31st March 2021, EGC released its ‘EGC Responsible Sourcing Standard to support the establishment and maintenance of safe and strictly controlled artisanal cobalt mining zones in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The EGC Standard, which was developed following extensive collaboration with Trafigura and non-profit organisation Pact, amongst others, will be updated systematically to reflect evolving risks and stakeholder perspectives. The implementation of the EGC Standard on the ground will be supported by Pact through the capacity-building training of local stakeholders, including EGC and the mining cooperatives. Pact will also conduct ongoing monitoring while supporting and providing guidance to local stakeholders for the assessment and mitigations of identified risks. The EGC Standard will apply to all sites overseen by EGC and has been designed to complement, and indeed go beyond, regulatory compliance as determined by the Agency for Regulation and Control of the Strategic Mineral Substance Markets ARECOMS which has regulatory oversight over EGC. The EGC Standard aligns with DRC law, the DRC mining regulations as well as the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas. External standards benchmarked as part of the development process for the EGC Standard included Certified Trading Chains, the Craft Code, Amnesty International’s Principles and the Responsible Minerals Initiative's Risk Readiness Assessment. Following their appointment by EGC’s Technical Committee, international due diligence experts ‘Kumi’ will conduct quarterly assurance reviews against the EGC Standard at every EGC site.
