Supporting ASEAN Cooperation for Sustainable Minerals Development

Since 2020, researchers from the Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) have supported The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to attract more investment in minerals exploration, mining and processing, increase output, contribute to supply chains and achieve sustainable minerals development.

SMI first conducted a review of effectiveness of current inter-government cooperation within ASEAN and assessed the effectiveness of the ASEAN minerals database information system. SMI made comprehensive recommendations for reform of policy, regulation and systems to achieve ""policy prospectivity"", and scoped an enhanced mineral information system to support geological prospectivity. 

The second part of the project involved working closely with all ASEAN nations and the ASEAN Secretariat to develop the ASEAN Minerals Development Vision and the next five-year ASEAN Minerals Cooperation Action Plan. These were launched in late 2025, along with the SMI-developed ASEAN Principles for Sustainable Minerals Development.

In 2025, other SMI staff were engaged by the World Bank to conduct detailed minerals policy needs assessment of five ASEAN nations, followed in 2026 by a regional diagnostic to assess capacity-building required to attract responsible minerals investment and deliver sustainable outcomes.

As the projects move to implementation phase during 2026, SMI will continue to support ASEAN’s aspirations for sustainable minerals development.