Antofagasta chief Arriagada reclaims role as as ICMM chair

[Ben Graham]

The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) has re-appointed Iván Arriagada, chief executive officer of Chilean miner Antofagasta Plc, as its chair, effective immediately over a two-year term.

He will succeed Tom Palmer, who became chair in October 2024 but is retiring from his role as CEO of Newmont, the world’s largest gold mining company, at the end of this year.

ICMM is governed by its council comprising the CEOs of its 26 member companies. The chair is appointed from within this group and serves in the position for approximately two years. Arriagada previously served this role between 2022 and 2024.

Arriagada’s return will bring continuity and experience to the role, ICMM said in a statement on Thursday.

“I am delighted to welcome Iván back as ICMM chair. His previous leadership left a strong legacy, with important progress on several industry performance and sustainability initiatives,” said Rohitesh Dhawan, president and CEO of ICMM, referencing Arriagada’s key role in establishing the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management and supporting the Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative (CMSI).

“I have no doubt that Iván will continue to provide strong leadership as we deliver our 2025+ strategy,” Dhawan added.

“I am pleased to chair ICMM again for another two years. During my previous term, from 2022 to 2024, we achieved major progress in several areas, including the standards for implementing best practices in the management of and reporting on mine tailings facilities, as well as the initiative aimed at agreeing on common standards for the responsible development of the industry,” Arriagada said.