Mining
Interview with Saifoulaye Balde: Matching small suppliers and big buyers in Guinea’s mining sector
In 2018, the IFC team partnered with the Guinea Ministry of Mines to create an online platform, called the Supplier and Partnership Marketplace—or Bourse de Sous-Traitance et de Partenariats (BSTP), which gives local SMEs access to the supply chains of large mining projects. The work was enabled by a multifaceted Canada-IFC program that supports local economic development linked to energy and mining investment in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, and Kenya. In May 2023, IFC interviewed Saifoulaye Balde, BSTP Executive Director. Here are excerpts from the conversation.
In Ghana and Guinea, building institutions, building entrepreneurs’ businesses
Concerned that her children were consuming too many sugary deserts, Rita Aku-Shika Diabah developed a recipe for low and zero-sugar ice creams and started making them on the back porch of her home in Takoradi, Ghana. And in Guinea, a love of trucks and a desire to own her own business drew Lynn Kaba Touré to start a small logistics company.
Digging Net Zero pathways for mining green tech metals with IFC
Solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and batteries, all these innovations – and with it, the extraction of minerals and metals – will need to scale if we want to meet the climate goals of the Paris Agreement and reach Net Zero. Click to read the full blog by The Carbon Trust.
Metals and Mining Hold the Key to the Energy Transition. Gender-smart Businesses Can Be the Driver.
The shift to a low-carbon future will rely on critical minerals such as graphite, lithium and cobalt, and mining will be key to making the transition a reality. To meet these needs in sustainable ways, mining companies will have to become not only more climate-responsive but also equitable, including increasing women in the workforce, on […]
“A powerful path towards reconciliation”: How Indigenous voices can be heard in mining governance
Shareholders are increasingly aware of Indigenous rights as part of a wider push towards more environmentally and socially responsible mining. The industry has a dark history associated with the treatment of land traditionally inhabited by Indigenous communities, and involvement of Indigenous communities in mining governance could be a meaningful route to partial reconciliation. How can […]
Clean, inclusive, and green: ESG underpins mining’s net-zero pathways
We begin with an intriguing question: Can the mining industry produce the minerals and metals that are essential to clean energy technologies, in green and inclusive ways? The short answer: Not yet. In fact, the mining industry is responsible for 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, including smelting and refining activities. Primary production of […]
The climate movement needs to engage with Big Mining as never before
The energy transition will require vast amounts of additional mineral extraction… Environmental activists need to ramp up engagement and collaboration with the mining industry if the energy transition is to be secured, however uncomfortable it makes them, argues Daniel Litvin. … He highlights five points to encourage a constructive conversation. Read the full article by […]
Equality to Safeguard the Environment: How Women Improve the Environmental Performance of the Minerals Sector
Mining companies and stakeholders in the mining sector are increasingly acknowledging the tremendous potential and essential role of women in the minerals industry. The same trend is visible in the international discourse on climate change. This blog explores how women are disproportionately affected by climate change and environmental degradation. It looks at how important it […]
Predictions and protection: can software and data improve ESG in mining?
The mining industry remains one of the world’s biggest polluters, yet it remains a cornerstone of the world’s industries. Digital and data will play a key role in supporting miners to execute sustainability roadmaps, including through providing greater visibility across asset performance and operations, and better monitoring of energy and water consumption. Giles Crosse investigates […]
Pedal to the Metal: Decarbonization Pathways for Copper and Nickel
Here’s a sobering truth: To meet the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, the world needs to rapidly transition towards a low-carbon economy. But the question is: How is this going to be accomplished? It will mean doubling down on everything from electric vehicles (EV) to renewable energy sources like wind […]
