Barrick Gold Corp is establishing a development partnership with the government of the Dominican Republic, where the company operates the Pueblo Viejo gold mine as a joint venture with Newmont. Barrick Gold Corp is requiring every functional area at the mine (community relations, government relations, environment, human resources, supply chain, legal, etc.) to review each initiative they are responsible for, to identify the conceptual links with the objectives outlined in the National Development Strategy. The purpose is to identify opportunities for collaboration and propose concrete action plans to the relevant government institutions, to collaboratively advance the Strategy in education, local procurement, local employment, infrastructure development, environmental stewardship, or other areas.

Since 2015, Glencore's subsidiary Prodeco has worked in partnership with Colombia's State Department for Social Prosperity (DPS) to facilitate community investment projects intended to reduce poverty in the Cesar region of the country. These projects cover four areas: income generation; basic social services; social infrastructure; reconciliation; and peace building initiatives. The partnership is run by a strategic committee, which meets four times per year to review progress. A separate operating committee oversees individual project progress. Many of the partnership initiatives focus on social services. In one project Prodeco worked with the principals of all ten public schools in the Cesar region to develop a project for improving education quality levels. This project is now being supported by Colombia's Ministry of Education, via the DPS partnership, as a pilot programme for potential implementation nationwide.

Since 2003, Freeport-McMoRan's subsidiary PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) has been providing skills development to indigenous Papuans through the Namangkawi Mining Institute (NMI) in West Papua. NMI has trained more than 3,800 and placed over 2,600 apprentices into permanent employee and contractor positions to date at PTFI, over 90 percent of whom are indigenous Papuans. As PTFI prioritises indigenous Papuans in its workforce, NMI requires 45 percent of apprentices to come from one of seven local ethnic groups, and another 45 percent must be Papuans from outside the area; the remaining ten percent must be non-Papuans who have lived in Papua for a certain number of years. Drawing on the NMI model, Freeport-McMoRan established a training institute in Arizona on the reservation of the San Carlos Apache tribe, to increase the skills and employability of Apache students. To date, more than 1,000 students have entered the program and 514 have graduated, 40% (206) of whom have been hired by the company.

Vale's Corporate University, Valer, runs a series of training programs aimed at equipping local youth with mining-related qualifications. The Professional Qualification Program, for example, trains young community members in operational and maintenance functions. From 2008 to 2015, 15,000 youth participated in this program in Brazil, Malaysia and Mozambique. The Professional Specialisation Program, on the other hand, caters to those with a university background. This program, designed in partnership with several Brazilian universities, offers postgraduate scholarships with on-the-job training in the company's operations.

Since 2010, Bumi Resources' subsidiary KPC has developed a 'procurement migration programme' to transition where possible from foreign to local and national suppliers, and from national to local suppliers. In 2015, the company migrated the supply of eight commodities (ranging from mining equipment to stationery) and one service. Items migrated from national to local suppliers include, for example, uniforms, chalk, traffic signs, flags and stationery.

Coal India's subsidiary MCL has put in place an entrepreneurship development program targeting young project-affected people. To participate in the program, a group of usually seven to nine youth first needs to register as a co-operative society and can then apply for contracts (e.g. coal loading or transportation) through a tendering process. The program offers alternative livelihoods to these young community members who have lost their land due to mining activities.

Anglo American has developed a systematic approach to supporting responsible sourcing. The company's Responsible Sourcing Standard for Suppliers details performance expectations across six pillars (labour and human rights, health and safety, wellness, business integrity and ethics, environmental stewardship, and corporate citizenship). The procedure for selecting suppliers consists of three elements: (1) suppliers are required to complete a self-assessment questionnaire based on the standard; (2) on a sample basis, suppliers are required to conduct an independent responsible sourcing audit at operational facilities; and (3) in cases where the self-assessment or the third-party audit has identified non-compliances, suppliers are expected to develop a remediation plan with timeframes to close out these issues. In 2018 the Standard was updated to include the prevention of modern slavery and human trafficking, in line with the UK Modern Slavery Act.

Anglo American has established several enterprise development programmes, all of which provide business and implementation support, coupled with access to capital and markets. The company's Zimele programme, launched in South Africa in 1989, consists of a network of business hubs or walk-in centres nationally and enables entrepreneurs and SMEs to access business assistance facilities, knowledge, finance, mentorship and support. Between 2008 and 2015, the programme had delivered funding to more than 2,200 SMEs and supported more than 50,000 jobs. Anglo American has since launched similar programmes in Botswana, Brazil, Chile and Peru, focusing on capacity building and mentorship and based on co-funding partnerships with local banks and other development institutions.

Vale has developed innovative ways of disseminating its Code of Ethics and Conduct and its Anti-Corruption Policy and stimulating discussion of ethical issues. Since 2015 the company holds annual 'Action on Integrity' events across its operations, including screenings of videos developed to promote a reflection on ethics and integrity within the company. In addition, face-to-face training in anti-corruption is provided to employees working in 'high risk' positions (e.g. those responsible for government relations, donations, sponsorships, community investments, and acquisition of companies). Finally, the company periodically releases a photo-novel entitled 'Ethics on the Agenda', each time dealing with a specific ethical issue to be discussed among Vale's employees.

Vale has linked its sustainability-related Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to its variable compensation program that applies to all Vale employees. These indicators relate primarily to efforts to reduce water usage, waste production, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as rehabilitation of degraded areas and implementation of social initiatives. The indicators are weighted in order to encourage continuous improvement in sustainability performance by each of the company's operations.

Since 2016, Newmont has integrated concurrent reclamation targets into its annual incentive compensation plan. Each region establishes a target for the number of hectares to reclaim on an annual basis and bonus payouts are adjusted downward or upward depending on their performance in achieving the targets.

The solar power facility SunMine opened in 2015, built on Teck's fully reclaimed Sullivan mine site in Kimberley, Canada. Teck provided the land and site infrastructure for the project and contributed US$ 2 million towards its construction. SunMine, now owned and operated by the city of Kimberley, uses 4032 solar-cell modules mounted on 96 solar trackers that follow sun movement to maximize solar exposure. The system is supplying enough electricity to the British Columbia Hydro grid to power about 200 homes.

Teck decided in 2013 to close its Sä Dena Hes zinc-lead mine that lies within the Liard First Nation traditional territory in the Yukon region of Canada. The company worked closely with the Elders, Chief and Council and community members of the Liard First Nation on the closure and reclamation plan. Discussions on post-mining land use resulted in the incorporation of traditional land uses such as subsistence activities and traditional values into the final closure plans. In addition, Teck signed a socio-economic participation agreement with the Liard First Nation, that included a local indigenous hiring requirement for the general contractor tackling much of the reclamation work on the site. Throughout the closure work in 2014 and 2015, 60 per cent of all Teck-contracted hours were completed by indigenous personnel.

In 2015 Newmont conducted a review to identify the company's most salient human rights issues. The review involved company staff as well as external human rights experts and key external stakeholders. Newmont held a cross-functional corporate workshop to identify an initial set of potential human rights issues, followed by sessions with regional and site teams to determine the severity and likelihood of each issue. Out of the 26 potential human rights issues initially identified, all were found to be important and seven were considered the company's most salient human rights risks. Newmont reports on its management of each of these risks in its annual sustainability report.

In 2015, Anglo American piloted a project to monitor in 'real time' community perceptions of impacts, through text messages on mobile phones. The pilot included participation from communities around Mogalakwena mine in South Africa. The process aims to gauge levels of trust and acceptance of the company's presence and detect shifts in community sentiment. The pilot concluded in 2016 and the project is now being rolled out, with a plan to register between 750 and 1000 participants at each site. In 2017 and 2018 the company also conducted pilots in Brazil, Peru and Chile.

In 2016, following demands from the residents of Caimanes, Chile for better information and participation in the design of emergency plans for Antofagasta's Los Pelambres mine site, the company engaged with the community and the local authorities to develop a Contingency Plan for this site. The Plan takes into account the residents' concerns and suggestions, and makes provision for, e.g., setting a new safety zone in Caimanes and installing signage, lighting and an audible alarm to improve evacuation of the community to this zone in the case of an emergency.

Following the 2014 resettlement of approximately 100 families from the Plan Bonito community near a mine operated by Glencore's subsidiary Prodeco in Colombia, studies using the Multidimensional Poverty Index methodology were undertaken to assess the livelihood impacts of this resettlement. Comparisons between a 2012 baseline and a follow-up study at the end of 2018 showed that the number of families doing well increased following resettlement, rising from 66 to 97, while the number of families at risk of falling into poverty dropped from 11 to 9, and families in poverty fell from 19 to 9.

Newmont has made publicly available on the internet the full report of an independent audit of the resettlement and livelihood replacement of households displaced by the company's Ahafo South mine in Ghana. The report, published in 2015, details the audit's findings, recommendations to the company on their continued work with affected people at this site, and recommendations for any future resettlement projects.

In its standard on managing conflicts, Gold Fields requires all complaints received via community grievance mechanisms to be logged, and specifies that a monitoring process/audit must be undertaken annually by an independent party to determine the success of the resolution process.

In 2016 Coal India published a report documenting trends in workplace accident statistics. The report includes a data table of fatal accidents and fatalities, serious accidents and injuries, and injury and fatality rates, with all data from 1975 to 2015.

On the basis of the provisions of South Africa's Mining Health and Safety Act (MHSA) and specific guidelines of the country's Department of Mineral Resources, companies are required to prepare Codes of Practice on the Provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Women in the South Africa Mining Region. These mandatory Codes of Practice set out risk management processes, responsibilities of employers, managers and female workers, and the measures to select, provide and maintain suitable PPE for female mining workers. The Codes also set out action plans for the implementation of these measures. Companies that have disclosed site-specific Codes of Practice include, for example, AngloGold Ashanti and Exxaro.

In 2014, AngloGold Ashanti carried out a detailed assessment of the risks faced by female workers from their use of male-designed PPE. The assessment was conducted partly as an interactive workshop attended by female representatives of all the companies mining operations. All in-stock PPE items listed in the AngloGold Ashanti catalogue were displayed and each item was risk assessed. The women present raised their concerns and any risks were identified and ranked as low, medium and high. For example, one high-risk item identified was the dust mask, which was generally too big for women's faces so was not sufficiently close-fitting to be effective. The assessment also involved a desk study of scientific literature on anatomical differences between the male and female body that could affect the efficacy of PPE equipment. Finally, the assessment generated specific recommendations on how the risks identified could be mitigated, by for example making available alternative design or smaller sizes for particular items of equipment.

Vale has implemented specific actions to reduce community accidents on the railway lines operated by the company. These actions include: undertaking a risk assessment in each community along the railways; tracking accidents and the specific impacts on key vulnerable groups (e.g. mentally ill, disabled people, and children); employing community-based social monitors who regularly visit families along the railways to inform them of the risks and safety procedures; railway safety campaigns ('Caravan in the Tracks') in these communities, involving quizzes, games and other awareness-raising measures.

In 2016, with female staff accounting for 17% of its workforce, BHP set out a plan for the company to achieve gender parity by 2025. The plan includes linking the bonuses of the most senior staff to achieving a 3% increase in female staff each year.

As a member of the Paradigm for Parity Coalition, Newmont has committed to achieving gender parity in senior management by 2030, with a near-term goal of women holding at least 30 percent of senior roles.

In 2016 Vale launched two campaigns in Brazil on the value of diversity and inclusion within its workforce. The first campaign, 'We value all differences' addressed the topics of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, nationality and region. The nine-week campaign included weekly notes in the internal communication vehicles and social networking platforms highlighting Vale's views on different aspects of diversity. The Administration and the Human Resources teams were trained to discuss these issues via four virtual meetings, online trainings, and the dissemination of direct communication material. The second campaign 'Indicate Vale to People with Disabilities' sought to motivate staff to encourage any disabled and job-seeking acquaintances to consider applying to Vale.

AngloGold Ashanti has developed and disclosed a comprehensive policy on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women. The policy, produced in 2015, is based on UN Women's Empowerment Principles and covers gender equality in the workforce as well as in its relations with communities. The policy specifies a number of strategic interventions and specific actions to ensure gender equality in, for example, recruitment, remuneration, family friendly practices, communication, monitoring and evaluation.

In 2017 Anglo American's Board approved the inclusion of two climate-change-related targets into the remuneration plan for the company's senior executives. These targets relate to an eight percent improvement in energy use and a 22 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

Vale has mapped likely climate change impacts in the different regions of Brazil, based on data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and has produced other information tools to consider the physical impacts of climate change within the company's existing risk management processes. The map and tools have been incorporated into company-wide guidance for operations to develop their own preliminary risk analyses and adaptation plans.

Teck requires each site to develop a biodiversity management plan that describes its pathway to achieving Net Positive Impact (NPI). The management plan is updated on average once per year and commitments identified in the plan are integrated into internal reporting systems. When monitoring and reporting on achieving NPI through the biodiversity management plan, many sites at Teck use a Pressure-State-Response framework, to trace the causal link between Teck's impacts (pressure), mitigation measures (response) and biodiversity outcomes (state), and present a complete framework for the monitoring and adaptive management of Teck's biodiversity control and mitigation measures.

Vale is using advanced technology to measure, record, communicate and reduce the noise impacts of its operations on neighbouring communities. The system automatically transmits sound pressure levels in real time from numerous mines to the Vale Environmental Control Center, where staff analyse the data by comparing sound pressure levels between monitoring stations installed in industrial sites and in nearby communities. The system automatically correlates weather parameters, including air temperature, wind speed and direction. With recorded audio, it also allows Vale to identify which noise events are caused by its mining activities and which are caused by another source of environmental noise. The data and maps generated by the system enable the company to correlate noise results with its operations and conduct fact-based conversations with neighbouring communities registering complaints.

Barrick Gold Corp publishes environmental data for all the company's mine sites (excluding those operated by Acacia Mining) in one Excel file. This includes several water-related variables (quantities of water withdrawal and water discharge, and intensity of water consumption) as well as data on, for example, employment, health and safety, waste, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Comparable data are shown across national, regional and local levels.

The Codelco Transparente website provides site-by-site air and water quality monitoring data. Data from the online resource can also be downloaded in Excel format.

In 2015, Glencore's Mount Isa Mines (MIM) in Australia developed two tools to provide the Mount Isa community with clear information about the site's air quality management. MIM created a smartphone app and an online real-time air quality portal to give the community access to Glencore's comprehensive air quality monitoring network. These tools provide information on the site's SO2 management activities, with air quality data uploaded hourly.

Antofagasta's Los Pelambres mine in Chile provides online data for seven surface water and three groundwater monitoring points around the mine site, for levels of copper, molybdenum, coliforms, faecal coliforms, and sulphate in surface and groundwater (and iron levels in surface water) over a ten-year period.

Rio Tinto's Oyu Tolgoi mine site in Mongolia publicly discloses regular independent audit reports that review its performance on social, environmental and health and safety matters and recommend any remedial action in order to comply with the standards of the Senior Lenders' Group financing the project. Disclosure of these audits is also driven by these lenders, which include, among others, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Anglo American has developed a collaborative approach to socio-economic development planning in Limpopo Province, South Africa, where the company has diamond and platinum assets. Anglo American has worked with a team of strategic spatial analysts since 2015, initially identifying development opportunities in a number of sectors (principally agriculture, energy, forestry, tourism). The company then established a partnership platform with other actors (including for example government bodies, research organisations, faith groups and business) to design and implement specific initiatives in these sectors, both around the mines and more widely across the province. Since 2018, this partnership approach has been further developed into a Collaborative Regional Development programme and expanded to Peru with planned roll-out in Brazil and Botswana.

At the end of 2013, Minera Los Pelambres, a subsidiary of Antofagasta, established a participatory programme for sustainable development in Choapa Province, Chile. Known as 'Somos Choapa', the initiative brings together local municipal authorities, community members and the company. The programme invites local stakeholders to participate in roundtable discussions to share their vision for development in their particular commune or in the Choapa province. The programme support team (composed of professionals in social sciences, architecture and strategic design) then translates the vision into a portfolio of initiatives, which later becomes an action plan for their eventual implementation. Each project developed by Somos Choapa involves collaboration between the private and public sectors for its implementation.

In Brazil Vale operates a web portal, InoveCapital, that links suppliers, banks and Vale. While enabling suppliers to register their contracts with Vale and keep track of their invoices, this online tool also facilitates access of Vale's suppliers to financing for working capital and investment in their operations. Suppliers can submit funding requests to participating financial institutions to facilitate the supply of goods and services contracted by Vale. Almost 800 Brazilian suppliers are now using this portal and in 2016 approximately US$ 244 million in loans and credits were released via InoveCapital.

Barrick Gold Corp has developed a systematic approach to encourage and increase the share of host country nationals in senior management positions across its mine sites. The company prioritises local and host country people for employment and provides the training necessary for senior management roles. The training is designed on a site-by-site basis to match the operational context and local capacity. In 2018 the company’s mine site in Mali had a full Malian management team and host country nationals at Kibali (DRC) and Tongon (Côte D’Ivoire) made up 84% and 83% respectively of the mine management teams. Barrick Gold Corp set a corporate target for 80% of senior site management to be host country nationals by the end of 2019.

Fortescue is implementing a raft of programmes dedicated to empower Aboriginal people through training, employment and business development. As part of this effort, the company established its Leadership Excellence in Aboriginal People (LEAP) programme to promote career advancement for Aboriginal leaders in the workplace. The programme offers to Fortescue’s Aboriginal employees the necessary training to ensure they have the skills and knowledge for a leadership role. Programme participants receive 12 months of formal training and education on leadership and business that includes off-site education, practical on-site development and internal mentoring by the company’s senior executives. Since its launch in 2015, 42 employees have completed the programme, 50% of whom have been promoted and 30% of whom have become supervisors.

In 2019, Vale started the first class of its Professional Training Program (PFP) that is made up entirely of women and persons with disabilities. The 267 professionals from Parauapebas municipality will initially participate in the theoretical phase of the program, which includes topics such as written communication, quality of life, mathematics, diversity and inclusion. Participants who successfully complete this stage will be hired by Vale as operational trainees for the practical phase of the training. After approval in these phases, they may be hired as employees.

Since 2017, Teck's Antamina mine in Peru has collaborated with an NGO, local educational authorities and other organisations in the Huari province to improve the quality of education in primary and secondary schools within its area of influence. The programme, Efecto Ancash, recruits local and talented graduates as teachers in schools in vulnerable areas, and provides them with comprehensive leadership training as well as opportunities to develop their pedagogic skills. To date, the programme has reached 2500 students in five districts and its systematic monitoring of the academic achievement levels reached shows a gradual improvement in basic subjects (reading, maths) and in soft skills such as communicating and working in groups.

Gold Fields bases its remuneration partly on the pay-for-performance philosophy that strikes a balance between overall business strategy of the company and actual performance. The company has developed a Balanced Scorecard with pillars on safe operational delivery, capital discipline, portfolio management, and license and reputation management. Senior management scorecards relate to corporate targets on improving safety performance, delivering economic benefits to host communities by providing procurement and employment opportunities, reducing freshwater withdrawal and recycling total water use and energy saving initiatives.

Since 2015 Banpu has conducted stakeholder satisfaction surveys with community members and local government staff on community development projects at some of its mine sites. In 2018, at its Indominco mine site in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, stakeholder satisfaction surveys were conducted on 18 community development projects, showing an average satisfaction level of 68%, which is higher than the initial target of 62.5%. In 2019, the company set stakeholder satisfaction targets for all its mine sites to ensure community development projects meet local stakeholders’ needs and contribute to viable local communities.

Newcrest Mining’s Cadia Valley operation has a formalised process to register and report the number and nature of the community complaints. In its annual environmental management report, the company itemises the complaints received, including the date and location and detailed nature of the complaint, as well as the actions taken to resolve them. Furthermore, the Cadia Valley website provides access to see the community complaints register, which is updated on a monthly basis.

Teck’s Courageous Safety Leadership (CSL) programme has been in place since 2009, and now it is in its fourth phase of implementation (CSL4). The CSL4 focuses on collaboration between senior management and employees in jointly reviewing safety culture, identifying challenges and opportunities, and creating joint commitments to improve the company’s safety system. In addition, to realise the established safety commitments, accountability mechanism are put in place to hold all parties responsible. In 2018, Teck conducted trainings on CSL4 for its employees and an ‘Introduction to CSL programme’ for new employees and contractors to emphasize the importance of the CSL and enhance the company’s safety culture.

CODELCO’s ‘Guidelines on Maternity Protection, Prevention of Sexual and Moral Harassment and Intrafamily Violence’ set out measures for its operations to prevent gender-based violence, harassment and discrimination, promote women workers’ careers, enable safe working conditions for women and promote healthy family life. Gender awareness workshops, dissemination of the Guidelines and education training by external parties are organised to keep the workers informed and well aware of the Guidelines. The Guidelines also address family violence, including the prevention and detection of domestic violence and procedures for referral to appropriate public institutions.

ArcelorMittal developed the Mina Viva programme at its Serra Azul mine in Brazil, to tackle the misuse of alcohol and other drugs. The programme, developed through the concept of co-responsibility with health and safety at work, seeks to raise employees’ awareness on the consequences of alcohol and other drugs abuses for occupational safety and general health issues. This involvement of all employees and the management chain resulted in a massive drop in positive results from alcohol and drugs tests, and ultimately led to a reduction of absenteeism and days lost. The programme has been awarded the Protection Brazil 2018 Gold Award in the Quality of Life at Work category.

In line with Chile’s 2012 national standard on ‘Gender equality and reconciliation of professional, family and personal life’ (NCh3262, 2012), CODELCO adopted a Gender Diversity Strategy in 2015. This led to the creation of a Corporate Gender Diversity Directorate, Gender Diversity Leaders, and the implementation of Gender Round Tables at each operational centre. Specific gender-related KPIs are now included in performance requirements, in agreement with trade unions, and an action plan to fill the gaps identified during a gender gap analysis has been developed. Some practical actions on the ground include modifications of infrastructures to provide safety, hygiene and comfort conditions for women (including pregnant women) as well as men, such as separate changing rooms and bathrooms, rooms for expressing and storing breast milk, and gender-appropriate Personal Protective Equipment.

CODELCO and Antofagasta participated in a project coordinated by the Cielo Research Centre in Chile’s Santo Tomás University between 2017 and 2018, which investigated the inclusion of women in the country’s mining industry. Following an initial diagnostic study of gender-related barriers, which led to the design of a comprehensive management model for the sustainable inclusion of women in mining, a pilot study has been implemented to establish an Early Warning alert system to pick up the existence of such barriers and address them at an early stage to reduce the incidence of women dropping out of the mining workforce. The system involves the simultaneous analysis of 22 observable factors, which would not have triggered any action had they been considered individually but that collectively represent a significant barrier to women’s participation in mining workforces.

Evraz goes further than Russian law requirements in providing protection against redundancy for some categories of disadvantaged groups among its employees. Employment protection is granted to single fathers, people whose spouse is retired or unemployed, young adults raised in orphanage, newly graduated employees, people with disabilities, family members of a worker killed in an occupational accident and those whose health was impacted by the Chernobyl accident.

In line with French regulations and as part of its three-year group-wide gender equity plan signed in 2019 with all representative workers’ unions in France, Orano gives special consideration to parents and parents-to-be within its workforce. Measures include providing more flexibility in work schedules for pregnant women, employees whose partner is pregnant, and parents of school-age children. After birth, parents who take parental leave maintain their previous job position when they come back to work, and their first year of parental leave counts as one additional year of seniority. To help tackle the gender gap in wages and in pensions after retirement, women on maternity leave or parents working part-time are entitled to the same level of average pay raise as their colleagues, or the average of their last three years’ pay increases, whichever is highest.

Fortescue released a Family and Domestic Violence Leave Policy in 2018 to provide practical solutions towards ending violence against women. The company has put in place practical actions, such as flexible work arrangements or allowing time off for all employees (including part-time and casual employees) to take care of their personal issues regarding their safety, the safety of relatives, or to attend court hearings or access police services.

In cases of major organisational changes caused by new phases of mining activities, Polymetal commits to take a range of measures to mitigate the effects of retrenchment on employees, by providing support for transition inside or outside the company. For those employees who can remain with the company, specific trainings are provided and employees keep their previous salary until they are appointed to the new position. If no position is available internally, the company provides employees with paid free time to find a new job or support towards early retirement for those who are eligible for it.

In 2017, AngloGold Ashanti underwent a massive downsizing of its operations in South Africa, closing or selling active mine sites, that resulted in a reduction of three-quarters of its workforce. The company developed and implemented an Employee Transition Framework which is a set of policies, procedures and practices aimed at supporting human resources department in handling situation of rapid business decline. An internal prospectus was developed to guide employees through all training possibilities, and to provide psychological and financial support to dismissed employees. Extensive skills trainings were offered to retrenched employees, to support them in acquiring skills to find new jobs outside mining.

Evraz actively engages with labour unions to include provisions in collective agreements for temporary periods of low level of activity that result in temporary reductions in staffing, with specific obligation for the company to develop a social adaptation programme for workers. Measures are aimed at maintaining existing jobs and supporting affected employees, by for example adjusting working schedules or allowing flexibility in tasks performed.

CODELCO discloses mine-site-disaggregated data on the grievances received from workers, on a quarterly basis via its online Ethics Point Portal. The same platform is used to report complaints of unethical or illegal activity. The types of complaints registered and disclosed relate to, for example, unsafe working conditions, corruption and conflict of interest, workplace harassment and discrimination, violence and sexual harassment. For each mine site, the company discloses the number of each type of complaint received and the outcomes of the investigations.

Gold Fields has established an environmental incident classification system, using a scale from Level 1 (most minor) to Level 5 (most severe) and set a target of zero Level 3 to 5 environmental incidents. The company has not had any Level 4 or Level 5 incidents in the last ten years and includes in its annual reporting data on the numbers of Level 2 or Level 3 incidents. The reporting also includes details on the Level 3 incidents including the specific circumstances, the impacts of the incidents and the remedial measures taken.

AngloGold Ashanti discloses in its annual reporting the environmental incidents that have occurred during the year, including descriptions of the nature and severity of the incidents and the corrective actions taken. The company also reports site-disaggregated data on the numbers of its environmental incidents from 2014 to 2018.

Resolute Copper, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto and BHP, plans to restart production from the Magma mine, an old underground mine in Arizona, USA, that ceased operating in 1996 and that is currently flooded. Considering that the mine needs to be dewatered prior to the beginning of any new operation, and that general water availability is critical in this arid state, the company equipped its pumping system with a treatment plant and constructed a 45-km long pipeline to provide clean water for use by local farmers for crop irrigation.

In partnership with other industries, local communities and local government and emergency services, Antofagasta has created an integrated emergency plan for its Antucoya mine site close to the municipality of María Elena. Within the framework of the United Nations’ Awareness and Preparedness for Emergencies at Local Level (APELL) standard, the response capacity was diagnosed then the initiative involved training and certification of key institutions and players at local and regional level, as well as raising awareness and providing information to the community.

Anglogold Ashanti’s Iduapriem operation published a Community Employment Disclosure Report that shows employment data for the period between January to July 2019. This report includes detailed employment data by gender, number of persons recruited per host community, categorized by skilled, semi, skilled and unskilled employees. In addition, it also discloses data on the number of people employed compared to the number of people from host communities having requested employment in the mine.

Rio Tinto’s Oyu Tolgoi operation tracks its procurement and reports comprehensive data by actual spend against targets set to promote suppliers within Mongolia. The recent data shows the performance of financial year 2017, with local procurement disaggregated by types of goods and services procured, and total spend for national suppliers and suppliers from the South Gobi region.

In 2019 ERG supported the launch of an ‘Atlas of New Professions’, a tool developed by the International Labour Organization and the Russian Agency for Strategic Initiatives to identify and develop the most critical professions for the future. ERG undertook the first pilot study using the Atlas methodology, which led to a number of management actions including for example the decision to fund a new course at a local college to train operators of unmanned aerial vehicles. ERG has since rolled out the same approach to all its operations in Kazakhstan and plans to collaborate with the country’s Ministry of Education and Science to adapt its recruitment and training practices and target its support to specialist educational institutions and qualifications.

In 2020, following its review of the effectiveness of its whistleblowing mechanism, AngloGold Ashanti rolled out refresher training for investigators of allegations received through this mechanism. The training aimed to strengthen the whistleblowing investigations process and underline the need for investigators to conduct their work with the highest level of integrity.

Rio Tinto makes publicly available, on its company website, the contracts for some of its operations. The company publishes copies of the original agreements and provides a summary table showing the term and party for each contract. Orano provides links on its company website to contracts, licences, permits and other agreements for some of its operations.

Teck has taken extensive measures to reduce waste and improve the recycling of materials used in its mining operations. The company has set an overall target of zero industrial waste disposal by 2040, with an objective to set site-based goals for industrial waste reduction following site-level inventories and plans, established by 2025, to turn waste into useful and appropriate products. In addition, the company’s Material Stewardship Committee oversees its work to reduce the waste associated with its own products, commissioning and conducting customer assessments on the safe use and circular management of these products.

Rio Tinto has developed a management standard for addressing health impacts associated with outbreaks of vector-borne and infectious diseases, such as malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. The standard sets out requirements for operations to undertake risk assessments and measures to prevent and manage these diseases to protect workers and, for some diseases, their families.

Buenaventura is one of a handful of companies to show evidence of a mine closure management standard that integrates social issues into the requirements. The 2020 standard (in the form of a detailed manual) requires operations to assess, at the earliest possible stage, the socio-economic impacts of closure on affected communities and to undertake a participatory process to plan for the mitigation of these impacts. As well as detailing the mitigation measures to consider (such as job retraining or entrepreneurship skills development), the standard requires targets to be set for social closure objectives to assist later tracking.

Vedanta has developed a management standard for the integration of ESG considerations into decisions around acquisitions, divestments and Joint Venture arrangements. The standard requires due diligence around ESG-related liabilities, such as health and safety, water, biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, human rights, and cultural heritage. A detailed checklist of specific issues is provided and a process is established for identifying and assessing these liabilities and incorporating them into the decision-making including, as one possible option, the identification of ‘deal breaking’ liabilities.

TeckAnglo American, Glencore, Newmont and Teck have established formal commitments to respect the rights of human and land defenders. Newmont for example acknowledges in its human rights policy that human rights defenders are a potentially vulnerable group and states that it does not condone any form of attack against human rights defenders or anyone who opposes its activities, and it expects its business partners to do the same. Anglo American has also reported plans to develop a protocol for the protection of human rights defenders, following engagement with relevant NGOs.

OCP Group runs support activities for women farmers in Morocco, providing technical support and training for individual farmers as well as professional women working in agricultural cooperatives. Capacity building covers technical, business, and soft skills development. These agricultural support activities are part of the company’s broader community development programme, Act4Community, under which each employee can dedicate four paid weeks per year to volunteering for community-based entrepreneurship and sociocultural initiatives.

AngloGold Ashanti has developed management standards to assess and address its impacts on land use and land access. The standards require operations to regularly identify areas that are no longer required for operational activities, which can be made available for progressive (concurrent) rehabilitation. Operations are also required to develop post-mining land-use objectives in consultation with affected communities and government authorities.

Anglo American’s Social Way Toolkit (updated in 2020) requires all operations to conduct Health Impact Assessments (HIA). It defines a HIA as a combination of procedures, methods and tools that systematically assess the (potential) impacts of site activities on the health of a population, the distribution of impacts within the population, and appropriate actions to manage such impacts. Where potential and/or actual mining-related impacts and risks are significant, it requires sites to develop a Management Plan to continuously manage and monitor impacts.

AngloGold Ashanti publicly discloses data on community fatalities and injuries related to its mining operations. The company publishes five years of data on any deaths and injuries connected to security management and, separately, deaths and injuries of ASM workers not connected to security management. The company also discloses information on the relevant incidents, outlining the nature of any disputes that led to fatalities or injuries of community members or ASM workers.

BHP has been working with its main supplier to redesign PPE and workwear to ensure it is fit-for-purpose for all workers, including women. The supplier undertook a series of consultations across all of BHP’s Australian operations to discuss improvements required to the clothing range. A maternity wear workshop was held to hear from pregnant women workers about necessary modifications to the existing clothing range. In all, 72 changes and improvements have been made so far to accommodate the needs of women workers, for example to the size of socks and female boots and the size and weight of helmets, garments and headlamps.

In 2020 Vale launched a working group of employees, known as the Ethnic-Racial Equity Affinity Group, with the aim to promote discussions and propose practical actions on these aspects of diversity. Activities envisaged include an online learning tool to reduce stereotyping, events to raise awareness about inequalities, engagement with Vale’s leadership on this issue, and considering ethnic and racial inclusion and diversity in the company’s recruitment, career progression and talent development programmes.

In 2020 Newmont analysed the outcomes and impacts of a 15-month trial of specific interventions to improve diversity through its recruitment process. The trial tested whether approaches such as blind resumes, more inclusive language in job advertisements, ensuring diverse hiring pools and diverse interview panels, could counter unconscious biases within the recruitment process. The findings were positive, and Newmont has begun implementing them across the business.

In 2021 Freeport McMoRan partnered with a sustainability-focused organisation to conduct a living wage assessment for full-time and part-time employees at 14 of its operating and processing sites in the US, Chile, Peru and Indonesia. The benchmark used exceeds the national minimum wage in all locations. The company plans to roll out the same exercise for all its employees and to integrate the assessment into its annual compensation review process across its operations. The company states that the assessments so far have found that the benchmark has been met, and that it will seek to extend its living wage commitment to its on-site contractors in the future.

In 2020 Teck conducted a living wage review for all its employees in Canada, the US and Chile, where its operations are located. The review was conducted by comparing the hourly rate of the lowest paid employee in each jurisdiction to the living wage information available for these locations. The company states that these salaries are above the living wage in all three countries, and provides the calculations and benchmarks used in the assessments.

CODELCO and Polymetal are among the very few companies to provide mine-site-disaggregated data on the functioning of their worker grievance mechanisms. Both companies report for each mine site the number and types of grievances raised – for example, on safety issues, living conditions, or sexual harassment. CODELCO provides further information on the outcomes of the investigations of grievances (including for example the numbers of allegations that were confirmed, rejected or dismissed due to lack of evidence).

Glencore is implementing a satellite monitoring program for more than half of its TSFs, prioritising those with most severe consequences expected in case of failure. The satellite monitoring measures the TSFs’ surface movements every 11 days. The results are made available for rapid decision-making in the event of unexpected movements and for independent oversight by auditors of TSF safety.

Glencore has established an online Tailings Manager Academy to strengthen the capacity of relevant employees for decision-making on the design, construction, operation, monitoring and maintenance of TSFs. The learning modules cover issues related to technical and governance matters as well as stakeholder engagement aspects. The program is tailored to three different management levels ranging from operators and technicians to responsible persons and engineers to dam owners, managers and accountable executives.

Following the catastrophic Brumadinho tailings dam failure in Brazil in January 2019, the Investor Mining & Tailings Safety Initiative, led by the Church of England Pension Board in association with the Swedish Council of Ethics of the AP Fund, sent a formal request to nearly 700 extractive companies to disclose contextual technical data on their tailings storage facilities. The data requested include, for example, the location, construction type, volume stored and hazard category of each of their tailings facilities. While many of the RMI-assessed companies provided requested information, four companies – KGHM, Newmont, Rio Tinto and Teck - stand out as they make the data more easily used and shared, in machine-readable Excel files.

Polymetal publishes an annual report on its tailings facilities, with satellite images of each facility, clearly marking the location of the TSF (with geographic coordinates), any worker settlements and the distance to the nearest village(s) or town(s). The images also show the location and scale of the potentially impacted area in the case of a failure of the TSF. The report provides detailed information on each TSF, in the format of responses to the investor-led disclosure request on tailings safety.

Gold Fields is one of the few companies that demonstrates a broader perspective in its climate risk analysis. The company’s 2020 Climate Change report mentions risks not only to its business but also to local communities and workers, citing for example increased vulnerability to disease and water insecurity. The CEO has publicly stated that “A key consideration for all our future strategies will be to address the impact of the rapidly changing climate on our business, our employees, our host communities and the natural environment in which we operate.”

AngloGold Ashanti provides detailed water quality data for several of its mine sites. The company’s Cuiaba mine complex in Brazil publicly discloses monthly readings of specific pollutants in water bodies in and around the mining areas, showing clearly where levels exceeded regulatory limits. Similarly, the company’s Geita mine in Tanzania publishes detailed results of its water quality monitoring programme, which covers 44 surface water, 30 wastewater and 50 groundwater sampling locations in and around the mining concession.