Glencore

The following excerpt by Xstrata Chief Executive Officer Mick Davis is from the
2009 Xstrata Sustainability Report. The full report is available at:
Xstrata Sustainability Report 2009

Chief Executive’s Report

“Xstrata’s objective is to create value for its shareholders in a sustainable
manner, minimising our environmental impact, working in collaboration
with communities and other groups and prioritising the health and safety
of our workforce over production or profits.” – Xstrata CEO Mick Davis

At Xstrata, we have always recognised that our long-term success
depends on our ability to demonstrate that we are responsible stewards
of the natural resources we mine and use in our operations and of the
broader environment in which we operate. We must equally demonstrate
to communities and host nations that our presence delivers sustainable
benefits that extend beyond simply providing jobs or paying taxes. If we
can achieve this, we will continue to secure access to new resources and
sources of capital, employ and retain the best people, manage risk,
reduce costs and create and seize business opportunities.

Our strategy of growth to create sustainable value for our owners has
been primarily delivered through a series of major and bolt-on acquisitions
in recent years, followed in each case by the rapid integration of acquired
operations and a focus on improving their performance. Our Statement
of Business Principles and Sustainable Development policy and assurance
programme ensure that, within a decentralised business, every operation
and project is managed to consistent international standards.

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The fundamentals underpinning the positive secular trend for our sector remain intact.
Urbanisation and industrialisation of one third of the world’s population in populous
developing countries such as China, India, Brazil and Indonesia, continues apace despite
the financial crisis and the slow but ongoing recovery underway in the OECD.- Xstrata
CEO, Mick Davis, May 11, 2010

An accompanying slide deck is available here: http://www.xstrata.com/content/assets/pdf/x_speech_201005111_boaml.pdf

Good morning ladies and gentlemen.

At the outset I would like to record my thanks to our hosts Bank of America Merrill Lynch
for their invitation and for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts on the state
of the mining industry and Xstrata today.

It seems that each time I stand here before you the industry is buffeted by a set of
forces which, apart from keeping boredom at bay, are increasing the level of complexity
for investors and management alike. Interestingly, the majority of these forces have
their source in some kind of government or political initiative. But such is the law of
unintended consequences that these government interventions often result in a poor
outcome for all.

Let us not forget, for example, that while bankers are quite rightly criticised for their
role in the global financial crisis, some of the roots of the crisis lay in a politically
inspired intervention designed to broaden home ownership and sub-prime mortgage
provision was encouraged and for some mandated. I have no doubt the US
politicians had not the faintest inkling that their well-intended intervention in the supply
of credit to the housing market would be a key factor in the deepest global recession
since the Great Depression, the after-effects of which we will experience for many years
to come.

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The following excerpt by Xstrata Nickel Chief Executive Officer Ian Pearce is from the 2010 Xstrata Nickel sustainability report. The full report is available at: Our Approach to Sustainability-Xstrata Nickel

DEAR STAKEHOLDERS,

At Xstrata Nickel, we recognize sustainability as fundamental to our long-term success and connected to everything we do. We believe that we must take a principled approach to doing business and continually balance economic, social and environmental considerations in order to create value today and for generations to come. To this end, we have clearly defined Xstrata Nickel’s Vision and Values, as well as a set of Behaviours and Leadership Traits, to guide our actions in all circumstances and through all business cycles.

These guiding principles shaped our responses during the global economic crisis of the past couple of years, as customer demand collapsed. We made some bold decisions in placing sites on care and maintenance and deferring certain growth projects in order to ensure that Xstrata Nickel remained financially robust while preparing for the future. As a result, the organization now operates from a much lower cost base. We are also developing and optimizing a leading growth portfolio through projects such as Nickel Rim South and Koniambo, and have attractive future growth options at Kabanga, Fraser Morgan, Sinclair and other projects.

As we restructured our business, our first priority was to ensure that displaced employees were treated fairly and respectfully. In places such as the Dominican Republic, we stepped up our tree-planting program and were able to offer many employees jobs planting trees instead of mining. In Sudbury, we offered early retirement incentive programs to lessen the impact of moving high cost, end-of-life mines to care and maintenance.

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Marilyn Scales is a field editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. She is one of Canada’s most senior mining commentators.

“Xstrata Nickel today [Feb. 9, 2009] announces plans to restructure its Sudbury operations in response to ongoing challenging market conditions.” With those words the Swiss mining giant axed 686 jobs in Sudbury, Ont., and touched off a firestorm of protest from residents and union leaders.

Some of the closures were expected. In November 2008, Xstrata said it would accelerate closure of the Craig and Thayer Lindsley mines that were near the end of their productive lifespans. Operations there ceased with this month’s announcement.

The Fraser mine complex will be placed on care-and-maintenance, and the Strathcona mill will run with two work shifts rather than four due to the reduction in feed tonnage. The smelter is expected to operate at a level similar to 2008 thanks to concentrates from the new Nickel Rim south mine and Xstrata Nickel Australasia. Concentrates from the Montcalm and Raglan mines, as well as third-party feed, will also be treated.

Not all the news is bad, just the loss of 686 jobs.

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Toronto, 9 February 2009

Xstrata Nickel today announces plans to restructure its Sudbury operations in response to ongoing challenging market conditions.  The restructuring follows the announcement in November 2008 of the accelerated closure of the end-of-life Craig and Thayer-Lindsley operations at Sudbury, both of which will cease operations with immediate effect.

As a result of the restructuring, the Fraser Mine Complex will be placed on care and maintenance and associated support and administrative functions will be reorganized. The Strathcona Mill, with annual capacity of 2.7 million tonnes of ore, will be reduced to two work shifts from four as a result of reduced feed. In addition, the Fraser Morgan development project will be deferred. This project will be evaluated on an ongoing basis and may be re-initiated when economic conditions allow.

Today’s announcement does not impact the world-class Nickel Rim South project in the Sudbury basin.  The project remains on schedule to ramp up to 60% of its ultimate 1.25 million tonne per annum production capacity in 2009, equivalent to approximately 7,400 tonnes of nickel.  Nickel Rim South will become a low-cost, cornerstone operation in Sudbury, generating annual production of approximately 18,000 tonnes of recoverable nickel by early 2010. 

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