Beyond derisking: new approaches for mobilizing responsible finance for minerals

To some, ‘derisking’ means making a risky investment viable while, to others, it means avoiding perceived risks altogether. Both paradigms are proving increasingly inadequate as governments look to channel investment into minerals critical to the global economy. Rigid approaches to managing—or, avoiding—risks have fallen short for enabling finance to flow where it is needed. This is not only shortchanging projects, but entire sectors crucial for diversifying investment into traditional mineral producing countries keen to climb up the value chain and making global mineral supply chains more resilient. Instead, more active engagement by investors in the minerals value chain is needed. 
This session will examine new approaches for channeling responsible finance to the minerals sector, in particular how investors, financial institutions, traders and companies sourcing minerals are using responsible business conduct to enable investment in complex settings. A key question at stake will be how to refine emerging approaches in public and development finance to serve as a bridge to private finance. For this to happen, all indications are that investors will need to use active stewardship of projects to achieve sustained improvements in transparency and governance in the mining sector, including by building on existing due diligence systems.