Towards Sustainable Mining

Adopting the independently verified system reinforces the sector’s commitment to continualimprovement in safety, environmental and social governance (ESG).

TSM strengthens Enduring Value – the Australian minerals industry’s sustainable development framework – by providing a consistent approach to assess and communicate site level performance in a transparent and accountable way.

Understanding and communicating this performance consistently and transparently benefits local communities, government, investors, companies and customers, enhance trust and confidence in the industry’s management performance.

What is TSM?

Established in 2004 by the Mining Association of Canada , TSM provides protocols indicators to help companies responsibly manage ESG  performance and drive continual improvement.

The framework’s guiding principles and protocols cover two core areas:

• Communities and People: Indigenous and Community relationships, Safety and Health, Crisis Management and Communication Planning, Preventing Child and Forced Labour
• Environmental Stewardship: Biodiversity Conservation Management, Tailings Management, Water Stewardship, Climate Change

A consistent set of scoring indicators allows companies to benchmark performance against good practice and inform measurable and meaningful improvements over time.

Greater community confidence through accountability

TSM will help local communities to know more about mining site level where mining occurs and independently verified on a regular basis

• Transparency: Site performance is publicly reported against standardised protocols and indicators to enable measurable and meaningful results
• Credibility: TSM is overseen by a national Community of Interest (COI) Advisory Panel, an independent multi-stakeholder group to oversee and shape the program for continuous improvement.

How will TSM be implemented?

TSM in Australia will be administered by the MCA. Like Enduring Value, TSM will be a future expectation of MCA membership.

TSM is overseen by a national Community of Interest Advisory Panel (COI), comprising representatives from key stakeholder groups, including First Nations, communities, investors and non-government organisations, among others.

From 2025, members will be expected to assess and publicly report on their performance against TSM indicators. Independent verification will occur every three years, and the COI will review selected operations on a rotating basis. TSM protocols will be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure relevance and the evolution of good practice under the guidance of the COI.

Company reporting along with information on national industry performance will be made available on the MCA website.

Member support

This page will be updated as TSM resources are developed and/or adapted for Australian implementation and a COIis established to guide the program.

For further information, training or support contact tsm@minerals.org.au.