Our Governance and Finance
Governance Committee
The Governance Committee makes high level decisions on the direction of the Programme, including approving or suspending mines or companies from membership, as well as suggesting improvements to procedures or due diligence of companies. The Committee is made up of representatives of organisations of the mineral sectors currently in scope of ITSCI who have no commercial or conflicting interests; normally from an industry association. The current Governance Committee of the International Tin Association Ltd and Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center are both not-for-profit global associations.
Our Funding
The vast majority of our funding comes from the upstream supply chain and typically represents 80% or more of annual funding, while contributions from the downstream sector represent less than 1%. We also occasionally benefit from partial donor funding, particularly directed at achieving specific aims in specific locations. From 2017, ITSCI has been sustainably funded by upstream mineral sector without any donor support.
Levies contributed by the upstream sector which relate to mineral type and trading volumes are our most important source of funds. These are collected at an appropriate point in the supply chain depending on commercial agreements, business structures and trade financing.
Full member joining and annual fees is another type of funding contributed by the upstream sector although these are kept low to ensure inclusivity and provide the opportunity for everyone to participate without any financial barrier.
Initial fixed payments are sometimes invested by upstream mineral trading companies to enable set-up of ITSCI in new mining areas
Associate member annual fees paid by downstream member companies to receive timely information on the supply chain, or towards special field projects, also contribute to ITSCI’s operational costs.
ITSCI has set a target to seek contributions from downstream metal users and product manufacturers of 10% of each year’s annual budget in order to share due diligence costs through the supply chain.
ITSCI is not a legal entity but is a collaborative joint industry consortium project managed on a not-for-profit basis. All funds received by the International Tin Association as the Secretariat are ring-fenced within a legal trust to ensure that those funds are used solely for the implementation of ITSCI. The programme has its own accounts ledgers, separate bank accounts, and is subject to annual independent financial audit. Any surplus funds collected in any one year are maintained in the ITSCI account balance reserve for later use, for example, in times of blocked exports or similar challenges.
Our Expenses
The vast majority of our funds, around 80%, are expended in the mining areas to provide much needed technical expertise, transport and communication. Another 10% is essential to implement traceability while the remaining 10% of our expenses relate to a combination of administrative, evaluation, auditing and governance activities.
Field implementation expenses are incurred by the field teams and their local offices who also require other essentials such as tags, transport, data transfer and communication equipment and services. Risk identification and management, whistleblowing hotlines and other costs are also budgeted in the field.
Around 50% of the field budget is needed for employment of staff in local mining areas, and around 85% of the field budget is spent in those regions. In a single year, ITSCI typically contributes US$400,000 to US$500,000 to local government via payment of labour taxes, excluding additional payment of VAT and import taxes on other project expenses.
Traceability and data collection, verification and management expenditure enables reporting of mineral sources to smelters, as well as identification of anomalies and the need for improved procedures. Digital data systems and online storage require continual updating and investment.
Evaluation and auditing expenses reflect travel to our members in all locations of the world.
ITSCI management and governance includes all administration, financing, legal, translation, membership management and similar activities.
All ITSCI activities and expenses are driven by the expectations of activities and expectations set out in the OECD Guidance. We also carry out extensive training and capacity building work that would more typically be funded as donor programming.
Our Reporting and Finances
Our audited funding and expense figures are published each year. In the download folders below you can find a review of the first 5 years of ITSCI, more recent annual financial reports, as well as a summary of funding, expenses and on-going cash reserve by year.