PRIZMA

In 1995, the Kyrgyz Republic established the Sary-Chat Ertash Reserve or Zapovednik (SCER/SCEZ) near Centerra Gold’s high altitude Kumtor gold mine. While inaccurate maps and politics seem to fuel misunderstandings about the SCER’s boundaries and Kumtor’s impacts, an important question deserves more attention: Is the SCER just another ‘paper park’ or is it generating biodiversity value? (more...)

Prizma's Mehrdad Nazari was engaged by White & Case to serve as an Expert Witness for Claimant in the case of Gold Reserve Inc. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela which is before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). According to its press release, Gold Reserve claims damages of approximately $2.1 billion arising from violations of provisions of the Canada-Venezuela bilateral investment treaty resulting in the effective expropriation of Gold Reserve's sizable investments in the Brisas gold/copper project and the Choco 5 property. (more...)

The Equtor Principles Association has recently co-launched the Biodiversity for Banks (B4B) program, with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Business and Biodiversity Offsets Program (BBOP). (more...)

The Consultancy Services Unit of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is conducting an outreach to US-based consultants in Chicago (Nov 30) and Washington DC (Dec 1).  (more...)

Articles: Prizma provided Expert Witness services on ICSID arbitration case, assisted Lundin Mining and Fulbright Academy to generate Sustainability Reports, and co-delivered four GRI-certified training courses. Access newsletter here.

There appears to be an increase in SEAs relating to the extractive/mining sector, including the Central Namib Uranium Rush study, which caught my eye.

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Greystar shareholders kicked out management and board as they did not secure permits and broad community support. Revisions of IFC Performance Standards and Equator Principles has a new case study to wrestle with. (more...)

The third and final phase of IFC’s consultation process for the Sustainability Framework Review and Update ended on March 4. Where do we go from here? (more...)

As noted earlier, GRI and ICMM launched the new GRI Metals and Mining Sector Supplement during the annual mining convention of PDAC in early March 2010. The new Sector Supplement integrated many references to the IFC Performance Standards and suggests increasing convergence amongst these internationally recognized guidelines. (more...)

The IFC Performance Standards on Social & Environmental Sustainability have emerged as the de facto benchmark for developing and financing responsible extractive projects in emerging markets. The Canadian government’s March 2009 CSR Strategy for the Canadian International Extractive Sector, Building the Canadian Advantage, also includes the IFC Performance Standards. In this article, I review the genesis, significance and key challenges associated with the IFC Performance Standards, using also input from participants of over 20 workshops and training courses delivered in Canada, China, Panama, Peru, UK and Venezuela since 2006. (more...)