News - Archive

From November 4–6, 2024, the annual meeting of the Global Battery Alliance (GBA) was held in Shanghai. Representatives from industry, government, civil society, and academia convened to discuss groundbreaking strategies for a transparent and sustainable battery production sector.

Voluntary sustainability standards are playing an increasingly important role in the extractive sector. The exchange with our partner countries shows that co-operation between standards and local authorities can be beneficial for resource governance on the ground.

Local procurement in the mining sector in mineral producing countries is essential for sustainable economic development. Supported by the GIZ Sector Program Extractives and Development, „Engineers Without Borders Canada“ has released a publicly accessible framework titled „Guidance for Disclosure on Human Rights Due Diligence in Mining Sector Procurement “ to promote transparency and access for local suppliers.

The Sector Programme „Extractives and Development“ (GIZ) attended the tenth Conference of the States Parties (CoSP) to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) that took place in Atlanta, USA, December 11 to 15, 2023. GIZ hosted a side event on „Critical Minerals and Corruption“ which examined the role of illicit financial flows and corruption in the exploitation of minerals.

Our new FAQ gives an overview of the corporate due diligence obligations set out in the EU Batteries Regulation.

In this new video published by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), we dive into mineral supply chains and explain how development cooperation works towards minimising the risks of the mining sector and realising its potential for local development.

The climate crisis requires a global energy transition away from fossil fuels. Coal still plays a significant role in developing countries' economies. A Just Energy Transition implies tackling all challenges that come with phasing out coal in a way that leaves no one behind. A new BMZ-commissioned study analyzes the perspectives for the Just Energy Transition in coal regions in Indonesia, Colombia, South Africa and Mozambique. The study was written by the United Nations University Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES).

The Sector Programme „Extractives and Development“ of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR (Externer Link)) invites the gold industry, civil society, academia and development cooperation to a workshop on the topic of „Illicit Gold Flows“ as part of the event series „Responsible Gold“. The workshop takes place on May 9, 2023 from 1-4 pm in German.

As the world focuses on the crucial role of renewable energy in combating the climate crisis, it is essential to consider the social dimensions of the energy transition. Women and marginalised groups are specifically affected by the negative impacts associated with mineral extraction. On the occasion of the International Day of Women in Mining on June 15, the intersection of women, mining, and the energy transition needs to be put into the spotlight.

The Sector Project „Extractives and Development“ (GIZ) hosted a Partner Session at the OECD Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains in Paris on 26 April 2023 in cooperation with the Sino-German Center for Sustainable Development (CSD) and the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals & Chemicals Importers & Exporters (CCCMC).

The BMZ is organising a High-Level Forum on „Mineral Supply Chains – Responsible Mining for the Just Transition“ on Thursday, 1 June 2023 at the BMZ in Berlin. The event addresses the geopolitical, social, environmental and governance dimensions of mineral supply chains and highlights the commitment of German Development Cooperation to responsible mining worldwide.

On November 24, GIZ sector programme Extractives for Development (X4D) together with the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals & Chemicals Importers & Exporters (CCCMC) and the Sino-German Center for Sustainable Development (CSD), organised a webinar on development cooperation perspectives regarding sustainability due diligence in mineral supply chains.

The study „China's role in supplying critical minerals for the global energy transition: what could the future hold?“ by the Brookings Institute and Results for Development was presented and discussed at an event hosted by the GIZ Sector Programme Extractives and Development on November 2, 2022.

The eight workshop of the series „Responsible Gold“ took place on November 8, 2022. The workshop focused on certification systems and standards in the gold sector. On behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Sector Programme „Extractives and Development“ of Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) organizes the event series since 2018.

The BGR's Sector Programme „Extractives and Development“ published a new report on enhancing a responsible construction raw materials sector. Based on best practice examples and interviews with experts, the report shares insights on governance and formalisation possibilities of the sector.

There have been some personnel changes in the Sector Programme recently. Who is new and who has left the Sector Programme?

The Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) invites the gold industry, civil society, academia and development cooperation to the event series „Responsible Gold“. The 8^th workshop of the series takes place on November 8, 2022 from 1-4 pm in German language and focuses on the topic of „Certifications and Standards in the Gold Sector“.

The Sector Pogramme „Extractives and Development“ has just published a new study on the improper disposal of drill cuttings in the course of oil and natural gas drillings. This study is now available on this website.

On October 6, the Sector Programme „Extractives and Development“ organised the 6th Workshop „Responsible Gold in Germany“

The NGO RESOLVE has, supported by the „Sector Programme Extractives and Development“, developed a new open-source tool: the Climate Smart Widget Tool. The widget (a type of supplementary module) assesses current standards for reporting GHG emissions in the mining sector against various norms

On the 21^st of September 2021, the Sector Programme „Extractives for Development“ organized an event on local value creation in cooperation with Mining Shared Value initiative.

The new report of the New Tech New Deal project by the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) is has just been published. The report is the result of a two-year research project supported by the „Extractives for Development“ Sector Programme on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The Sector Programme „Extractives and Development“ took part at the IAA Mobility and organised an event on raw material supply chains and tried to draw attention to the development potential of responibly mined raw materials specifically for E-mobility.

The Sector Programme „Extractives and Development“ invites to join the multi-stakeholder conference „The EU Conflicts Minerals Regulation: Perspectives from Producer Countries“ which is convened by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) on January 13-14, 2021.

As part of the China International Forum on Sustainable Mineral Supply Chains, GIZ's program Extractives and Development , with support from the Sino-German Center for Sustainable Development, hosted an online session on the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation. The session provided an overview of the EU Regulation and explored its impact on companies and other stakeholders from China and around the world.

The Sector Programme „Extractives and Development“ of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) hosted a workshop on responsible gold for the fifth time on the 5th of May. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the workshop was held virtually as a webinar. In total, 52 participants from business, civil society and academia discussed lively in the virtual space.

Did you know that Singapore has enlarged its territory by about 20 percent through sand fills? During the technical discussion „Built on sand?“, held on 20 October 2020, various stakeholders jointly discussed the issues around the resource sand. The online event was organized by the Stuttgart office of Engagement Global as part of their program „Development-related education in Germany“ (EBD). The aim of the expert discussion was to exchange views across disciplinary boundaries and to figure out how the topic of sand can be introduced into development education work and how to address a wider public.

As part of its work related to local content in developing and emerging countries, the Sector Programme „Extractives and Development“ of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) is conducting a market study and potential analysis of construction raw materials in India and Indonesia. The first part of the study work has now been published, while the completion of the second part is still on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic

In cooperation with the German Development Institute (DIE), both the Sector Programme „Extractives and Development“ and the „Policy Consultation on Groundwater“ of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) organized the 10th Dialogue on Water on October 8th and 9th 2020. During the event, international participants from various disciplines discussed current topics of development cooperation on the subject of „Governing water sustainability in mining and post-mining landscapes“.

New publication of the High-Grade Media Interview Video series entitled „Gender Equality in Mining“. In the current series, women and men from different areas are interviewed about their experiences on gender equality in the mining sector. The aim is to raise gender awareness in the industry in order to close the gender gap.

LION (Local Investment Opportunities in Natural Resource Projects), a tool for modelling the markets for procurement products in the mining sector, has had a successful first year. Presentations at international events were met with keen interest. The modelling results available online were accessed more than 2,500 times. New countries were added to the gold procurement modelling in West Africa.

At the third workshop for „Responsible Gold in Germany“, 19 participants from civil society, academia, industry (especially the jewelry sector) discussed solutions for responsible supply chains from artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in developing countries.

The illegal mining of raw materials in the DR Congo does not only take place under inhumane conditions, but contributes significantly to the financing of bloody conflicts on the ground. At the Missio conference, in November in Berlin, ways were discussed to curb the illegal mining and trade of conflict minerals. High-ranking guests of the conference were, among others, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate of 2018, Dr. Denis Mukwege.

Numerous initiatives pursue the goal of better governance of the extractives sector. The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, with the support of the Sector Programme Extractives and Development, has taken a closer look at nine of the major good governance initiatives in the extractives sector. The result of the analysis provides information on each instrument and may facilitate selection of the appropriate measure in a specific context.

Climate change is one of humanity's biggest challenges and affects mining in all areas. To what extent can the negative impacts of mining on the climate be reduced and how can mining make a positive contribution to combating climate change? These and many other questions were discussed intensively at this year's Annual General Meeting of the IGF in early October in Geneva. Amongst the participants was the BMZ as well as the sector program extractives and development.

The Renewable Power of the Mine – Launch of the most comprehensive and up-to date report on how mining companies have integrated renewables in their mining operations, the roadblocks that still exist, and the future trends that are likely to further drive the roll-out of renewables to supply electricity to mine sites.

Sustainability and mining - how does it fit together? On November 19th, state representatives met with civil society and the private sector in Lima to find solutions on how mining can be designed to lead to sustainable and inclusive development in producer countries given to the fact that mining is a starting point to source the raw materials needed to change our energy and transportation systems.

Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) skirt the copperbelt, the largest copper mining area in Africa. Cobalt is a byproduct of copper mining and recently witnessed a threefold price-increase resulting from the ascend of the market for electric vehicles. The BGR travelled both countries in mid-October to unearth market potential for local suppliers. The BGR Tableau local procurement tool offers information to policy-makers to fine-tune their local content policies.

On October 17, the GIZ Berlin Representation hosted a workshop entitled „From Mine to Car: Towards Greater Participation, Impact and Interoperability of Supply Chain Standards for Minerals and Metals“. Experts of relevant sustainability initiatives exchanged views and discussed with the German automotive industry, international NGOs, research institutions and development cooperation actors.

On July 6, the forum for Sustainable Mining in the Andean countries took place in the GIZ representative office in Berlin. Following the Agenda 2030, requirements and opportunities for more sustainability in the mining sector were discussed. Main questions were how to make supply chains more sustainable and to extract the, for the transport and energy transition required, raw materials in a socially and environmentally friendly manner.

The Revenue Development Foundation and BMZ/GIZ embarked on a joint project that aims to tackle illicit financial flows in the trade of minerals. The project established a portal in which customs officers from importing countries can verify the validity of mineral export permits. The portal will become an essential tool for customs agencies worldwide in addressing the smuggling of minerals and related illicit financial flows.

The relationship between climate change and extractive industries is a challenging one. While especially fossil fuels are a major contributor to climate change and need to be left in the ground eventually, minerals and metals are essential primary raw materials for green technologies that are needed for the global energy and mobility transition. This video aims at explaining these two sides of the coin and to give an account of statements made at the COP23 side event „Climate Change – Extractive Industries – Resource Efficiency“ which took place on November 8th 2017.

The sector programme Extractives and Development released two new studies discussing possible actions of German Development Cooperation in the field of Gas Flaring reduction. The countries Peru, Ecuador and Cameroon serve as an example of how to design a potential German engagement.

The event, organized on behalf of BMZ and BMUB on the occasion of COP23, was a complete success. On November 8^th in Bonn, almost 100 participants on site as well as several hundred others in the virtual space discussed positive and negative impacts of the raw materials sector to climate change as well as mitigation potentials of resource efficiency.

The sector programme Extractives and Development published the study ‘From Riches to Rags? - Stranded Assets and the Governance Implications for the Fossil Fuel Sector‘, which looks into the subject of stranded assets in the fossil fuel sector. In this paper, assets primarily refer to fossil fuel resources (oil, gas and coal) that need to stay in the ground because otherwise the 2-degree target would be jeopardised. The paper addresses the strong implications this might have for developing countries and proposes entry points for international cooperation.

The sector programme Extractives and Development cordially invites you to the event „Climate Change – Extractive Industries – Resource Efficiency @COP23“. The event will initiate an in-depth debate about the role of extractives industries and the potential of resource efficiency in combating climate change. Issues covered will be the (1) Role of Minerals and Metals for a Low-Carbon Future, (2) Stranded Assets and their Impact on Resource Governance and (3) Resource Efficiency Potentials for Mitigating Climate Change.

New Publication: The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) and the sector programme Extractives and Development just released the new „Toolkit for Transfer Pricing Risk Assessment for the African Mining Industry“. Its application will curb transfer mispricing and strengthen domestic resource mobilization in resource-rich developing countries in Africa.