Tag Archives: CSR

Newmont sets up global centre to promote meaningful engagement with Indigenous Peoples

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Newmont Corp has launched the Newmont Global Center for Indigenous Community Relations as a key part of the company’s aim to promote meaningful engagement with Indigenous Peoples.

The centre will be a resource for the company and the mining industry as a way to promote awareness, education and engagement between industry and Indigenous Peoples, the gold miner said.

Tom Palmer, President and Chief Executive Officer, explained: “Newmont recognises the special connection between Indigenous Peoples and the land, and that mining can affect this connection in some challenging ways. The entire industry has a great opportunity to learn and improve our practices.

“Through the centre, meaningful partnerships will be formed to create a space for dialogue and sharing with the aim of improving outcomes for Indigenous communities around our operations and act as a catalyst for improvement within the mining industry.”

The centre seeks to establish a respected source of dialogue, collective knowledge and experiences in order to improve the company’s practices and contribute in advancing the industry’s approach to engagement with Indigenous communities, Newmont said. It has identified three focus areas and a set of three-year strategic objectives to orient meaningful outcomes. These focus areas are:

  • Partnership and learning network;
  • Respect for customs and culture; and
  • Opportunities for Indigenous People.

Based in Vancouver, Canada, the centre will work collaboratively with the Advisory Council on Indigenous Community Relations, a group of external experts who advise the Safety and Sustainability Committee of the Board of Directors.

An internal working group comprised of diverse representatives from within Newmont will also share experiences, best practices and identify ways to improve collaboration. The centre will work across all of Newmont’s jurisdictions around the world, the miner said.

The ICMM publishes mining climate change report

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The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) has launched a report ‘Adapting to a Changing Climate: Building resilience in the mining and metals industry’ at WWF’s Water Summit 2019 in Frankfurt, Germany, today.

The report shares learnings from ICMM’s company members on how to build operational resilience and how to assess and manage the physical impacts of climate change at mine sites, it said. “It provides practical guidance that aims to help the mining and metals industry build climate resilience by enhancing the sustainability of communities and ecosystems, limiting future liabilities, safeguarding business continuity and making prudent investments,” the ICMM said.

ICMM company members recognise the need for an urgent global response to the threat of climate change across all areas of society and the economy, according to the ICMM. “They are committed to being part of the solution by mitigating CO2 emissions at site level and across the supply chain, building resilience to adequately respond to climate related risks and continuing to contribute to the sustainable production of commodities essential to the energy and mobility transitions.”

Earlier today, during a panel discussion at the Summit, Tom Butler, CEO of ICMM, said: “Our climate is changing, and this presents challenges for the mining and metals sector. Understanding this challenge, ICMM has collated insights and developed tools that can support our members and any responsible mining company to build resilience by identifying and properly managing these risks.

“Fundamental to the way ICMM operates is sharing knowledge and experience with each other and I am pleased today to share what we have learned so far with the publication of this report.”

IGF report delves into local content policies for resource-rich countries

Base metals, High tech minerals, Mineral commodities, Mineral exploration, Mining policy, Precious metals, Steel and iron ore, Sustainable mining,

A new publication developed by the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) is aiming to help resource-rich countries find more sustainable and inclusive economic solutions, fostering stronger linkages between mineral resources and the rest of the economy.

IGF Guidance for Governments focuses on local content policies, which are being used more often by governments, and strategies created by agencies requiring mining companies to use local goods and services when operating in another country. It also highlights how countries can move away from commodity dependency and diversify their economic base.

Greg Radford, Director of the IGF, said: “An estimated 90 % of resource-rich countries employ some sort of local content policy…In countries where there are only a few other strong sectors, the success of these policies is critical.”

Radford said it remained unclear which local content policies work best, produce results and minimise unintended consequences.

“Our IGF Guidance for Governments takes these on-the-ground realities into account.”

The IGF cautions there is no one-size-fits-all solution for local content policies.

“Each country has different resource endowments, different skills sets in their supply and labour force, and different infrastructure assets and investment environments,” it said.

Radford continued: “The success of these local content policies depends on the success of other policies and regulations, such as education, science and innovation, infrastructure and finance.”

The responsibility for these critical issues is spread across multiple ministries and requires effective coordination and coherence. The publication takes this into account by guiding policy-makers towards workable made-in-country solutions, the IGF said.

The guidance document also covers three cross-cutting themes:

  • Ensuring goals are achieved in a gender-equitable way
  • Exploring the relationship between local content policies and countries’ obligations under trade and investment law, and
  • Exploring the implications of technological advances on the success of local content policies.

The IGF, which receives its core funding from the federal government of Canada, is an international government forum that supports close to 70 nations committed to leveraging mining for sustainable development to ensure negative impacts are limited and financial benefits are shared.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development has served as Secretariat for the IGF since October 2015.

The full IGF Guidance for Governments is available here.