IRMA is a multi-sector initiative that offers independent, third-party auditing and transparency at mine sites using its 400+ page standard.
Modern mines are enormous operations that leave behind scarred landscapes, polluted water and damaged communities. Hardrock mining, the extraction of metals such as gold, silver and copper, can cause significant impacts on the environment, potentially affecting ground and surface waters, aquatic life, vegetation, soils, air, wildlife, and human health.
The 1872 Mining Law, which governs hardrock mining on 350 million acres of federal public lands, is out of touch and out of scale with modern industrial mining, and desperately needs to be updated.
Abandoned and inactive mines are one of the main contributors to mining pollution in the western United States.
See a list of abandoned mines by state.
Acid mine drainage is one of mining’s most serious threats to water. A mine draining acid can devastate rivers, streams, and aquatic life for hundreds, and under the “right” conditions, thousands of years.
Acidizing is used in aging wells that are in the final stages of production. It primarily uses hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acids, which companies have been increasingly using higher concentrations of, putting communities at risk.
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