As the U.S. member body to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) seeks comments by April 28, 2023, on a proposal for a new ISO technical committee on specialty metals and materials.
AFNOR, the French Standardization Association, submitted a proposal to ISO for the formation of a new ISO technical committee. According to the proposal, specialty metals and minerals are defined as commodities and commodity groups related to a broad range of existing and emerging technologies, renewable energy, and national security.
As the scope statement asserts, the technical committee would focus on standardization in the field of specialty metals and minerals, including terminology, classification, sampling, testing and chemical analysis methods, and delivery conditions. Furthermore, a list of specialty metals and minerals is included as follows: antimony, beryllium, cobalt, chromium, graphite, niobium, and platinum group metals.
In December 2022, the ISO Technical Management Board (TMB) Strategic Advisory Group (SAG) on Critical Minerals launched an international survey to identify the metals and minerals that ought to be considered as priorities for standardization. The results of this survey revealed a list of the most used chemical analysis methods and the highest-ranking minerals. Several stakeholders called for the creation of a new ISO Technical Committee dedicated to critical metals and minerals. This was discussed by the SAG in early 2023, which gave AFNOR the opportunity to get feedback from the group on the draft for the proposal.
The proposal also states that that there is active deliberation and discussion on the need to consolidate technical committees and their work programs relating to Critical Minerals. The outcomes of the consultation of this new work item will be examined in conjunction with the outcomes of the final report being prepared by the ISO TMB SAG.
Read the proposal and submit comments to Steven Cornish, ANSI senior director of international policy and strategy, [email protected], by close of business on Friday, April 28. Based on input received from U.S. stakeholders, ANSI will develop a recommended ANSI position and any comments for approval by the AIC before ISO’s voting deadline of June 3.