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Social Performance

Communities guide and inform how our social licence operates. We endeavour to be a welcomed and valued member of the communities in which we operate.

Our approach to community engagement is to consult with, listen and respond openly to our stakeholders. In doing so, we aim to be open, honest and as cooperative as possible when issues and concerns do arise.

Our objective is to deliver maximum value to shareholders, host communities, regions and nations. We achieve this by increasing local employment and supply opportunities, partnering with others and contributing through strategic investments.

Stakeholder and community engagement

At MMG we recognise that strong stakeholder and community engagement from exploration through to closure of sites is critical to making business decisions that are responsive to the needs and expectations of our host communities and their governments.

MMG aspires to be a trusted member of each of the communities that host our operations. Our ambition is to develop relationships based on regular and open dialogue, transparency and mutual respect.

We recognise that ongoing intergenerational engagement is critical to managing the impacts and opportunities for both current and future generations. We also recognise the need to take account of gender-based differences in our engagement and community decision-making processes.

We work in complex jurisdictions and across numerous cultures and geographies, often in communities that have limited or negative previous experience with mining development. Our approach to stakeholder engagement is guided by our commitment to the ICMM Mining Principles, including the commitment to community dialogue and free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) regarding Indigenous peoples. Our dialogue with communities varies depending on the nature of the community and the issues being discussed, but the objective remains constant – to ensure these conversations are conducted in a way that respects the cultures, languages, values and customs of the communities.

COVID-19 and associated country-specific restrictions impacted each of our operations differently, with face-to-face engagement and meetings challenged across the entire business. Our teams worked extensively with local communities and stakeholders to identify the best channels to continue regular engagement. These included increased use of instant messaging services, phone calls, social media channels and videoconferencing.

At Las Bambas, our community relations and social development teams maintain strong relationships with over 80 communities to ensure our ongoing dialogue opportunities capture and meet local stakeholders’ needs and expectations. In 2020, the teams engaged on topics that included COVID-19 support, land access, commitment and project execution, sponsoring and participating in local cultural events, grievance management options and participatory environmental monitoring.

Las Bambas also communicates regularly through Radio Surphuy, its community radio station. It also established the Willana Wasi webpage, which was designed to support the community liaison centres. Las Bambas brings information about upcoming events and the min to communities in both Spanish and Quechua languages.

Dugald River works with its local stakeholders to ensure their expectations regarding employment and local supply opportunities are being met, as well as supporting community programs and initiatives. During 2020, the Dugald River mine engaged with our stakeholders about COVID-19, employment and local business opportunities and community events.

Rosebery maintains regular dialogue with local communities on matters including mine operations, tailings facilities, water use and employment opportunities. Despite the community liaison centre being closed to physical visits during most of 2020, due to COVID-19 restrictions in Tasmania, community members were still able to reach employees through a dedicated telephone line or by visiting the main entrance of the operation. Targeted engagement sessions were also held with local stakeholders about the ongoing tailings storage facility (TSF) projects.

In 2020, Kinsevere’s community development team worked with its nearby communities and local government representatives on a range of issues. These included developing sustainable investment programs and initiatives and immigration matters. The site has implemented many engagement and development projects with local communities, including the local watchman initiative. This program began in the Nambulwa community. It is a success story, bringing much needed local employment and skill development to the local community. It has now been replicated in many other areas with similar success.

Grievance management

MMG is committed to dialogue as the primary tool for avoiding the high human and economic costs of conflict. We engage with communities early and through all phases of our operations we empower communities to actively participate in the consultative process, to ensure their views are reflected in decision-making regarding our operations and in the design and distribution of benefits.

We recognise that, as a company, there is always more we can do to listen to the needs, aspirations and opinions of communities, and to guarantee their timely engagement on issues that are important to them. We aim to ensure that, at all times, they have access to information and open dialogue through direct engagement with our community relations teams, many who come from the communities in which they work.

We also recognise that our business has an impact, and that disagreements on the nature and extent of this impact, as well as our approach to managing it, can occur between ourselves and community members.

Open and transparent dialogue is the best way to manage these disagreements and, if necessary, we involve independent third parties to obtain lasting solutions that are beneficial to all.

To facilitate the timely, culturally appropriate investigation and resolution of these matters, all MMG sites have a site-specific grievance procedure that aligns with the remedy provisions of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This process is non-judicial, complements existing legislative remedies and provides redress for grievances that are related to:

  • MMG’s impact on stakeholders;
  • the conduct of MMG personnel and contractors in local communities; and
  • allegations of human rights abuses.

At MMG we consider that stakeholder complaints and grievances provide valuable indicators to help our operations anticipate deeper community concerns and proactively manage social risks. This is just one of the ways that we live our value ‘we want to be better’ by always looking for opportunities to improve.

In 2020, we received 394 grievances across our operations.

Most of our grievances continue to be related to issues of local procurement (111 cases, down from 167 in 2019) at our Las Bambas operation, with an increased number of grievances (46) being raised about damage to private property and livestock by local stakeholders along the Southern Road Corridor, where we transport our concentrate and supply logistics.

We have applied significant effort to address these concerns at a site and regional level through teams dedicated to local business development, local employment and increased training and upskilling opportunities for community members. We have dedicated teams working along the road and ensure regular environmental and road monitoring to mitigate any potential impacts of our logistics transport. We have also increased attention at our three Las Bambas community offices, which has included additional training for our employees who work there.

At Kinsevere, a large number of grievances were raised during 2020 that directly related to the relocation process undertaken (215 grievances). The operation established a grievance review committee consisting of representatives from the Social Development team, our Legal department, local community leaders, local and regional government members and NGOs. This group reviewed each case raised about the process, spoke to those with grievances throughout the process and all grievances were closed to the satisfaction of stakeholders.

We remain committed to working with local communities to support their opportunities, both with the operation and in the broader market, and to engage with all communities on issues that are important to them.

In 2020, we undertook a review of our corporate Stakeholder Grievance Management Work Quality Requirement to ensure its alignment with the ICMM’s updated guidance document Handling and Resolving Local-level Concerns and Grievances: Human rights in the mining and metals sector (2019), as well as the International Labour Organisation Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and the UN Global Compact. This gave us the opportunity to work closely with sites to ensure their own site-specific grievance mechanisms were updated and emphasised the importance of community and stakeholder feedback in their processes. It also made certain all mechanisms included adjustments for stakeholders who may face barriers in accessing a grievance mechanism such as culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) groups, vulnerable groups, Indigenous people, women, children and people with disabilities.

Social Performance

At MMG we mine for progress, contributing to human development progress, achieved by fostering economic opportunities for local communities.

These prospects are realised both directly through our operations and supply chains and, indirectly, through our role as an economic catalyst in partnership with communities, regions and nations.

We invest in local communities, consistent with our sustainability objective to deliver the communities in which we operate, real benefits from our operations. We also align our social development investment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a particular focus on Goals 1-6.

In 2018, MMG contributed over $US17.8 million to local and regional communities for social performance initiatives related to local business development, education and training initiatives, sponsorships and donations.

Examples of our initiatives can be found in our Sustainability Reports and on wemineforprogress.com.

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