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Corporate Social Responsibility

Losing Your Social Licence – by Anthony Davis (Lexpert Special Edition: Mining – 2016/2017)

http://www.lexpert.ca/

The global mining sector is under crushing pressure to slash budgets for project development just to survive the current cycle of low metal prices. Yet, while some Canadian mining outfits operating domestically and abroad are touching the brakes on their corporate social responsibility programs, most realize completely stopping CSR programs to save money could be a death knell for current operations and future development when prices do bounce back.

Toronto environmental lawyer Adam Chamberlain hasn’t personally seen mining-sector clients or companies “pushing aside their CSR initiatives.” But, adds Chamberlain, National Leader of the Team North, Aboriginal Law and Climate Change Groups at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, with profits down in the sector there’s been a disincentive to move CSR initiatives ahead at the pace they once did.

“That has implications. Even if you still have every intention of doing all the great things you need to do to maintain your CSR commitments to the outside world, it’s going to look like you are doing less, even if you eventually do the same things you’ve always promised you’d do.”

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Vancouver mining magnate gives $4 million to museum – by Glen Korstrom (Business Vancouver – February 23, 2017)

https://www.biv.com/

Pan American Silver founder Ross Beaty donates to Canadian Museum of Nature

Vancouver mining magnate Ross Beaty is giving the Canadian Museum of Nature its largest ever philanthropic gift: a $4 million investment to enhance the museum’s national research and collections that are focused on species discovery, the Gatineau, Quebec-based museum announced February 23.

Beaty has founded and divested many companies through his 45 years as a geologist and resource entrepreneur but he may be best known for his current role as founder and chairman of Pan American Silver Corp.

He is also the founder and chairman of Alterra Power Corp., which is a mid-sized renewable energy company with solar, wind, hydro and geothermal power operations in B.C., Texas, Indiana and Iceland. His $4 million gift is expected to support three initiatives that are core to what will be known as the museum’s Beaty Centre for Species Discovery.

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Mining for Miracles Launches 2017 Diamond Draw and Completes $3 Million Commitment to CAUSES Research Clinic for BC Children’s Hospital

2016 Diamond Draw winner Pat Mitchell (centre right) with from left to right, Chad Pederson, Mining for Miracles Co-Chair Jeff Hanman, C3 Alliance Corp CEO Dan Jepson and Costen Catbalue Goldsmith + Design Owner and President Andrew Costen.

http://www.miningformiracles.org/

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwired – Jan. 24, 2017) – Mining for Miracles kicked off its 2017 Diamond Draw at the Mineral Exploration Roundup Conference today. Mining for Miracles is the BC mining community’s longstanding fundraising campaign for BC Children’s Hospital Foundation.

The Diamond Draw package, valued at over $16,000, includes a CANADAMARK Cushion cut 1.01 carat diamond in a gold designer setting, donated respectively by C3 Alliance Corp., Teck and Costen Catbalue Goldsmith + Design.

“Since 1988, BC’s mining industry has raised more than $26 million for the children and families who visit BC Children’s Hospital through Diamond Draw and other initiatives,” said Jeff Hanman, 2017 Co-Chair, Mining for Miracles. “100 per cent of the funds raised by Mining for Miracles go directly to support areas of need at the hospital,” said Joanne Klein, Co-Chair, Mining for Miracles.

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NEWS RELEASE: $20,000 DONATION TO THE NORTHEAST CANCER CENTRE CHEMOTHERAPY SUITES ANNOUNCED AT SIXTH ANNUAL MINERS FOR CANCER CHRISTMAS GALA

Members of Miners for Cancer alongside G-Rant from Newcap Radio’s Hot 93.5FM seen here holding a $20,000 cheque that will go towards renovating the chemotherapy suites at the Northeast Cancer Centre in Sudbury, Ontario.
Members of Miners for Cancer alongside G-Rant from Newcap Radio’s Hot 93.5FM seen here holding a $20,000 cheque that will go towards renovating the chemotherapy suites at the Northeast Cancer Centre in Sudbury, Ontario.

Sudbury, December 4th, 2016 – On Friday night, at the sixth annual Miners for Cancer Christmas Gala, local radio host and guest speaker G-Rant, from Newcap Radio’s Hot 93.5FM morning show, announced on behalf of Miners for Cancer a $20,000 donation towards the Northeast Cancer Centre’s Chemotherapy Suites.

In a bid to say thank you for bringing so much cancer awareness to the community through his willingness to share his own personal story, Miners for Cancer not only invited G-Rant to be the guest speaker at the sold out event, but also consulted with him on where the twenty thousand dollar donation should go.

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Editorial: A fresh look at mining’s CSR success stories – by John Cumming (Northern Miner – August 2, 2016)

http://www.northernminer.com/

Admittedly, our eyes tend to glaze over at the thought of reading a 74-page report on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in mining, but a newly released one by the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, the UN Development Programme, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the World Economic Forum balances the characteristic vagueness of so many CSR reports with interesting case studies of mining’s CSR success stories.

The report, entitled “Mapping mining to the sustainable development goals: an atlas” (though there’s no mapping and it isn’t actually an atlas), sets out to define mining’s relationship to the UN’s wider Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2015–2030, updating the ones that had been laid out in 2000.

Large-scale mining is a global industry with 6,000 companies employing 2.5 million people, and the report’s authors recognize that, when managed appropriately, mining “can create jobs, spur innovation and bring investment and infrastructure at a game-changing scale over long time horizons.”

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NEWS RELEASE: Goldcorp releases 2015 Sustainability Report

Click here for the report: http://csr.goldcorp.com/2015/

VANCOUVER, June 27, 2016 /CNW/ – GOLDCORP INC. (TSX: G, NYSE: GG) has published its latest Sustainability Report, which provides a detailed insight into the company’s economic, environmental, and social performance, as well as its commitment to responsible mining and sustainability excellence.

The report is independently assured, and follows the requirements of the G4 Global Reporting Initiative, the United Nations Global Compact, and the International Council on Mining and Metals.

“Our annual Sustainability Report offers Goldcorp a valuable opportunity to engage our stakeholders and further focus and prioritize our sustainability and corporate social responsibility activities,” said Mr. Brent Bergeron, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability.

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Barrick Gold takes home Social Responsibility Award – by Jim Middlemiss (Financial Post – June 9, 2016)

http://business.financialpost.com/

Building a mine in a foreign jurisdiction is no easy task, but one thing that needs to be high on any lawyer’s agenda is affirming locally the company’s social licence to operate, said Jonathan Drimmer, deputy general counsel at Barrick Gold Corp., this year’s recipient of the Social Responsibility award.

“I think we are seeing a slow, gradual change with lawyers becoming more involved in issues related to the social license to operate,” Drimmer said.

He should know. Prior to joining Barrick in 2011 to help oversee its social responsibility efforts, Drimmer was a private practitioner and law professor, teaching courses on humanitarian law and business. He once prosecuted war criminals for the U.S. Department of Justice. “I came to Barrick because of the company’s commitment to enhance its existing program,” he said.

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Goldcorp donations top $5-million mark – by Thomas Perry (Timmins Daily Press – June 13, 2016)

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – Goldcorp Porcupine Gold Mines has a rich history of giving back to the community that has seen it donate more than $5 million to worthy causes in the past 10-plus years.

“We understand the importance of contributing to our local community which is why we support initiatives contributing to areas such as health, education, community development and arts/culture.” said sustainability manager Bryan Neeley.

“When making decisions to support initiatives, we review each request to ensure it supports sustainable development within the community.” Goldcorp Porcupine Gold Mines is carrying on a tradition that was started in the early days of the Porcupine camp that saw the large mines literally build the communities in which they operated.

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NEWS RELEASE: Tata Steel’s Sukinda Chromite Mine to help conserve indigenous tasar silkworm breed Sukinda Ecorace

For more information, please visit : http://www.tata.com

May 23, 2016 – While celebrating the International Day of Biological Diversity here, today, the Sukinda Chromite Mine (SCM) of Tata Steel located at Sukinda block of Jajpur district in Odisha, has come forward to take steps to conserve the indigenous silkworm breed Sukinda Ecorace in line with this year’s theme ‘Mainstreaming biodiversity; sustaining people and their livelihoods’.

Out of the eight breeds of silkworms available in Odisha, hundreds of farmers in the region depend on tasar farming of Sukinda Ecorace for their livelihood. However, since 2007, when Tasar Rearers’ Cooperative Society of Sukinda started rearing the Sukinda Ecorace breed, it was noticed that the breed is rarely cultivated with another breed Daba TV , which gives better yields almost replacing it.

The natural habitat of superior Sukinda Ecorace breed is the Sukinda region where the forest type is tropical moist deciduous and the soil type is red loamy.

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NEWS RELEASE: Mining Community Raises $1.2 Million for BC Children’s Hospital at the Teck Celebrity Pie Throw

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwired – May 12, 2016) – Mining for Miracles, the BC mining community’s longstanding fundraising campaign for BC Children’s Hospital, raised $1,206,704 on May 12 at its signature event – the Teck Celebrity Pie Throw. Participants raised funds by volunteering to take a pie in the face and asking friends, family and colleagues to pledge their support.

This year, representatives from Amec Foster Wheeler, Ausenco, AMEBC, BC Children’s Hospital, CIM, CP Rail, Fluor, Finning, Goldcorp, Golder Associates, Hatch, Kaminak, MABC, McMillan, New Gold, OceanaGold, Oxygen Capital, PDAC, Sandstorm Gold, Teck and Westshore Terminals participated in the Pie Throw.

“The BC mining sector has a proud tradition of giving back to communities and I’d like to congratulate all the participants, volunteers and donors from across the industry for raising these funds in support of child health in BC,” said Bill Bennett, Minister of Energy and Mines.

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NOHFC grant boosts LU bio-mining research – by Harold Carmichael (Sudbury Star – May 10, 2016)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

It’s in the early stages at the Vale Living with Lakes Centre, but a made-in-the-North bacteria could one day replace smelters to remove valuable metals such as nickel and copper from ore and mine waste.

“It’s time to hand over the job to another generation of technology,” said the centre’s director John Gunn at a press conference Monday announcing $630,000 in Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation funding for a new five-year industrial research chair in bio-mining, bio-remediation and science communication at Laurentian University.

“This marks the start of a clean-tech industry for Sudbury that will initially create hundreds if not thousands of jobs,” he said.

According to Gunn, the centre is working on developing a cold-climate composite of bacteria that can help to pull metals out of mined ore and it is now in the testing stages.

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[Revegetation: Moonscape to Greenscape] ‘The Sudbury story is very important’ – by Mary Katherine Keown (Sudbury Star – May 10, 2016)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

The videos show a hideous, scarred topography that looks post-napalm or post-war. The images are reminiscent of Mad Max, so barren and parched is the landscape. But no, it is not some kind of horror fantasy film, it is Sudbury in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, its rock rendered barren and black from sulphur dioxide and mining processes.

A large crowd gathered at the Vale Living with Lakes Centre on Monday for the launch of the Protocol conference, which will tell the story of Sudbury, from its moonscape past to its verdant, forested present. The Sudbury Protocol is a practice, born and bred in the Nickel City, to regreen the former moonscape for which the city had been known.

“A lot of the innovation and impetus to start changing things happened in the early 70s, when people realized we couldn’t live with the acid rain and the degraded landscape anymore – there needed to be a change,” Nadia Mykytczuk, a research scientist at the Living with Lakes Centre, said. “So, a lot of the pioneers banded together and by 1978 it was the start of the land reclamation program.

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[Barrick Gold] This Earth Day, trees and remediation take center stage (Barrick Beyond Borders – April 21, 2016)

http://barrickbeyondborders.com/

For a mining company, remediation is a process of returning the environment of a mine site to a stable condition that is similar to — if not better than — before the mine opened.

Today is the 46th World Earth Day, a day in which people around the world focus on environmental stewardship. This year’s Earth Day theme is trees for the Earth. The Earth Day Network, the non-profit which coordinates World Earth Day, has established the global goal of planting 7.8 billion trees — one for every person on the planet — in the next five years.

Barrick is contributing to this goal through its remediation work at its mines around the world. Remediation is a process that mining companies undertake to return the environment to a stable condition that is similar to, if not better than, what it was before the mine operated.

This process starts long before a mine closes.

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Peter Munk to donate $1-million to Fort McMurray relief effort – by Kathryn Blaze Baum and Daniel LeBlanc (Globe and Mail – May 6, 2016)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

TORONTO and OTTAWA — Mining magnate Peter Munk is donating $1-million to the Canadian Red Cross to help the thousands of people who have been displaced by the wildfires in the Fort McMurray area – a crisis that the philanthropist said reminds him of his own past as a refugee and marks an opportunity for Canadians to unite.

The Peter and Melanie Munk Charitable Foundation will on Friday announce the pledge, which will build on the roughly $11-million in donations that have flowed to the Red Cross fund dedicated to supporting those affected by the fire. The federal government announced Thursday that it will match all charitable donations to the organization, including those that had already been made.

Jean-Philippe Tizi, vice-president of emergency management at the Red Cross, said the money will be used to meet the immediate physical and psychological needs of affected citizens. But he added that the donations will also be used to help people rebuild their lives. “It’s going to take four or five years, but we’ll be there as long as it takes,” he said.

In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Mr. Munk said the footage of residents fleeing a burning city conjured thoughts of his own parents escaping a besieged Budapest during the Second World War.

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NEWS RELEASE: Glencore sweeps the 2016 TSM Excellence Awards (May 03, 2016)

Glencore’s Kidd Operations and Raglan Mine get top nods for innovative environmental and community engagement projects

For their innovative projects that raise the bar for corporate responsibility in the Canadian mining sector, Glencore’s Kidd Operations and Raglan Mine were recognized with 2016 Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) Excellence Awards yesterday at the CIM Awards Gala in Vancouver.

The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) awarded Glencore’s Raglan Mine with the 2016 TSM Environmental Excellence Award for its successful use of renewable energy with its wind turbine and accompanying storage facility in northern Quebec, the largest in the province. Glencore’s Kidd Operations was recognized with the 2016 TSM Community Engagement Excellence Award for helping local non-profits secure long-term sustainability through its Community Partnerships program in Timmins, Ontario.

“We congratulate Glencore’s Raglan Mine and Kidd Operations for sweeping this year’s TSM Excellence Awards. The awards recognize the company’s leadership in taking emerging environmental technologies and social practices and successfully implementing them at the site-level, paving the way for the wider industry,” said Pierre Gratton, President and CEO, MAC.

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