Submitted by the Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China (SAC), the ISO member body from China, the proposal includes an initial program of work which covers the following:
Formulation and revision of international standards on gold in the fields of the development, recovery, and recycling of gold ores, gold concentrates, gold alloys, gold compounds, gold materials, and gold will be launched covering three levels:
Level 1: The new Technical Committee (TC) will focus on basic standards covering gold terminology and standards on the packaging, labeling, transport, and storage of gold products.
Level II: This will cover testing and assaying standards, including the standards on the methods for chemical analysis and the standards on the physical properties test.
Level III: This level will cover product standards, including the standards on the development, recovery and recycling of gold ores, gold concentrates, gold alloys, gold compounds, gold materials, and gold, and the related safety, environmental protection, and occupational health issues.
According to the proposal, Level I and Level II would be the initial areas of focus, and globally recognized gold terminology will form the basis for developing other standards. The new TC would then turn to standards on key products and the environmental, health, and safety standards articulated as part of Level III.
SAC states in the proposal that there is TC or subcommittee (SC) in ISO or IEC that is focused on gold; therefore, any new work to be performed by the new TC is not in conflict or competing with established ISO committees and their work portfolios. If the proposal succeeds, China is willing to undertake the work of the new TC secretariat.
All interested stakeholders are invited to review the proposal, which includes related standards and a listing of relevant countries where the subject of the proposal is important to their national commercial interests. Please submit comments to Steve Cornish, ANSI senior director of international policy ([email protected]), by close of business on Friday, February 10, 2017.
Based on the input received, the ANSI ISO Council (AIC) will then be asked to approve an ANSI position and comments to be submitted to ISO before its March 16, 2017, deadline for voting on this proposal.
ANSI has published an explanatory information document outlining the process used to develop U.S. positions on issues and activities under consideration by ISO and IEC.