Roxgold 2018 Sustainability Summary
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2018 Sustainability Summary About Roxgold Letter from Our Approach Our Key Employee Community Environmental Performance Achievements the CEO Stakeholders Health Development Stewardship Data and Contact Us and Safety About Roxgold Sustainability is a core value of our business, reflected in all of our strategy, from our approach to environmental stewardship to our community development programs. Our mission – to create sustainable value for stakeholders through superior shareholder returns, social responsibility, and accountability to our people and environment – is embedded in everything we do. Who We Are Roxgold is a Canadian-based gold mining company with assets located in West Africa. The Company owns and operates the high-grade Yaramoko Gold Mine located on the Houndé greenstone belt in Burkina Faso, and is also advancing the development and exploration of the Séguéla gold project located in Côte d’Ivoire. The Yaramoko Gold Mine consists of two underground gold mines: the 55 Zone and Bagassi South. The Yaramoko property covers a surface area of approximately 230 km2, and is situated in a pro-mining jurisdiction in the municipality of Bagassi, Province of Balé, Region of Boucle du Mouhoun, an area friendly to foreign investment. Roxgold declared commercial production at the Yaramoko Gold Mine in October 2016. In 2019, Roxgold acquired 11 exploration permits in Côte d’Ivoire, including the flagship Séguéla gold project from Newcrest Mining Limited. Roxgold trades on the TSX under the symbol ROXG. Roxgold 2018 Sustainability Summary 2 About Roxgold Letter from Our Approach Our Key Employee Community Environmental Performance Achievements the CEO Stakeholders Health Development Stewardship Data and Contact Us and Safety Sustainability for Success 2018 was an active year for Roxgold, marked by considerable gold production and asset development. Over the course of the year, we demonstrated what we have always believed to be true – that our company’s success is linked to our ability to operate safely and responsibly. It is through our commitments to upholding social development, offsetting our ecological impacts, and conducting our activities safely that we create reliable value for our stakeholders. This year, Roxgold was honoured to receive the Best Corporate Social Responsibility Award from renowned civil society organizations at the West Africa Mining Week Gala in Burkina Faso. Driven by the conviction that our presence in host “Upholding our reputation for is well positioned to enter this new jurisdiction. It is communities must be a win-win, we continued an honour that the Minister of Mines in Burkina Faso investing in our people through our employee following through on promises is spoke to his counterpart in Côte d’Ivoire, endorsing development program. This year, our focus has been crucial for maintaining our social Roxgold and describing our process, advocating for the initial implementation of a program expanding our approach to sustainable mining. the interpersonal skill sets of employees, including licence to operate.” We look forward to engaging with all stakeholders, communication, teamwork and leadership. These – John Dorward, CEO from nearby communities and future employees as capabilities are important at work and for life outside well as the national and local governments. Our team of the mine. lost time injury (LTI) since the commission of the is pleased that our approach to sustainability makes The growing biodiversity within our mine sites mine in 2016 – a low severity incident. In response, Roxgold a partner of choice. We look forward to the further demonstrates the net positive impact of our our management team reinforced awareness of Séguéla gold project taking Roxgold from a single operations. In the protected area surrounding our procedural safeguards to reduce human error, operating asset to a company that stakeholders can mine, plant and animal populations flourish. The incorporating lessons learned from the incident. be confident will be around for decades to come. reappearance of grey duikers (a small brown antelope Following through on promises is crucial for Sincerely, long gone from the region) perfectly embodies the maintaining our social licence to operate. To see the biodiversity program’s success. benefits of operating responsibly, look no further Roxgold’s history of outstanding safety performance than Roxgold’s positive experience acquiring our is a point of pride to all employees, and a competitive newest asset, the Séguéla gold project in Côte advantage. Potential employees want to know they d’Ivoire. The Séguéla project has meaningful parallels will be working for a company that prioritizes their with Yaramoko. It is located in a mining-friendly John Dorward safety. Operating safely also means less time lost to West African francophone country with a nearby President and Chief Executive Officer accidents. In September, we experienced our first community open to engagement, meaning Roxgold Roxgold 2018 Sustainability Summary 3 About Roxgold Letter from Our Approach Our Key Employee Community Environmental Performance Achievements the CEO Stakeholders Health Development Stewardship Data and Contact Us and Safety Our Approach Our Board and leadership have a shared vision to create sustainable value for our stakeholders, in full understanding that our reputation as a responsible mining company is essential to our ability to grow and thrive. The Board’s Health, Safety, Sustainability and Technical (HSST) Committee oversees the Company’s practices and behaviours, applying special consideration to how we affect our host communities, the natural environments where we operate, and the health and safety of our people. With a specific responsibility to review and monitor community, environmental and health and safety policies on behalf of the Board, the HSST Committee ensures compliance with Roxgold’s legal obligations and develops policies, programs and procedures to protect employee health and safety as well as the environment. Our Vision and Values programs, procedures and tools that • the Burkina Faso legal requirements Our sustainability action plans are allow Roxgold to monitor its status and commitments for the Yaramoko based around our commitments to Roxgold’s vision of developing and and progress in upholding our many Gold Mine permit including the stakeholders and their expectations, operating high margin gold mines legal, social and environmental Yaramoko and Bagassi South and among the frameworks we use is integral to creating relationships responsibilities. Environmental and Social Impact to evaluate our efforts are the SDGs: with stakeholders who are proud Assessments and Resettlement specifically, SDG 3 (Good Health and The ESMS covers all of our mining to work and partner with us. Action Plans Well-Being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), activities, in accordance with: Our values – integrity, excellence, SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 6 (Clean • the agreements between Roxgold teamwork, commitment, responsibility • the Government of Canada’s Water and Sanitation) and SDG 15 and its financing partners, including and caring – are engrained in the way Corporate Social Responsibility (Life on Land). an Environmental and Social Action we do business, to ensure that our Strategy operations positively influence those Plan (ESAP) As detailed throughout the report, • internationally recognized standards these development goals help shape connected to them. • System best practices such as such as the Equator Principles and our business decisions, and can also ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 standards Our Environmental and Social the International Finance be used as a lens for considering Management System Corporation’s Performance Standards Alignment with SDGs the impacts of our initiatives, giving Designed to provide structure, us a globally recognized framework • Roxgold’s Health, Safety, Environment We recognize that aligning with accountability and transparency to to support and demonstrating our and Community Policy internationally shared frameworks our operations, the Environmental readiness to cooperate with other like the UN Sustainable Development and Social Management System • the Yaramoko Gold Mine Permits and organizations to work towards a Goals (SDGs) creates meaningful value (ESMS) is a set of policies, plans, Mining Convention better world. for both our business and society. Roxgold 2018 Sustainability Summary 4 About Roxgold Letter from Our Approach Our Key Employee Community Environmental Performance Achievements the CEO Stakeholders Health Development Stewardship Data and Contact Us and Safety Collaborating with Key Stakeholders Creating opportunities to hear from and collaborate with stakeholders to address their concerns and listen with sincerity is critical to building trust and maintaining community support. A variety of approaches are used to gather input from stakeholders, being mindful of the spectrum of needs, standards and decision-making methods of local communities, governments, local suppliers, and analysts and investors. Stakeholder engagement activity is annually reviewed and re-evaluated for effectiveness, and guided by Roxgold’s principles of inclusivity, transparency, opportunity, information sharing, and mutual learning and relationship development. Local Communities Local Government Local Suppliers Analysts and Investors We work with about 20 villages with In 2018, Roxgold held 103 meetings Roxgold prioritizes locally sourced According to Ernst & Young research