Newmont Tanami Operations | Social Impact Assessment I
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Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining 4 April 2019 Newmont Tanami Operations Social Impact Assessment The University of Queensland Ranked in the world's top 501, The University of Queensland (UQ) is one of Australia's leading research and teaching institutions. UQ strives for excellence through the creation, preservation, transfer and application of knowledge. For more than a century, we have educated and worked with outstanding people to deliver knowledge leadership for a better world. Sustainable Minerals Institute The Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) is a world-leading research2 institute committed to developing knowledge-based solutions to the sustainability challenges of the global resource industry, and to training the next generation of industry and community leaders. The Institute is transdisciplinary, and our work is independent, impartial and rigorous. Our research integrates the expertise of production, environmental and social science specialists to deliver responsible resource development. Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining The Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM) focuses on the social, cultural, economic and political challenges that occur when change is brought about by mineral resource extraction. The Centre contributes to industry change through independent research, teaching and by convening and participating in multi- stakeholder dialogue processes. The team consist of anthropologists, sociologists, political scientists, economists, engineers, development and natural resource specialists. CSRM study team Centre director Professor Deanna Kemp Director, CSRM Authors Dr Anthony Kung Senior Research Fellow (study director from Dec 2018) Dr Paul Rogers Research Fellow (project manager) Dr Emilia Skrzypek Research Fellow Mr Rodger Barnes Research Manager Lead reviewer Professor John Owen Deputy Director, CSRM Senior reviewers Assoc. Prof. Nick Bainton Principal Research Fellow Dr Kathryn Sturman Senior Research Fellow Dr Sarah Holcombe Senior Research Fellow Recommended citation Kung, A., Rogers, P., Skrzypek, E. and Barnes, R. (2019). Newmont Tanami Operations Social Impact Assessment. Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland: Brisbane. 1 QS World University Rankings & Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities (2018). 2 The University of Queensland is ranked first in the world for mining and mineral engineering, 2018 Shanghai Rankings by subject. Newmont Tanami Operations | Social Impact Assessment i Executive Summary 1. Introduction This report presents the findings of a social impact assessment (SIA) of Newmont’s Tanami Operations (NTO), located in the Tanami region in Australia’s Northern Territory (NT). NTO commissioned the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM), part of the Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) at The University of Queensland to conduct the study. The SIA provides a socio-economic profile of the main communities neighbouring NTO and analyses NTO’s social and economic impact, including its contribution to economic and social development. The report provides an update of NTO’s 2013 SIA, which was also prepared by CSRM.1 This report will be referred to herein as the 2018 SIA, to reflect the year of data collection. NTO is a wholly owned subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corporation, based in Denver USA, which is the world’s second largest gold producer.2 NTO is Australia’s most remote mining operation, being 545 km from Alice Springs along the Tanami Highway and 260 km from the closest neighbouring community, the predominantly Warlpiri Indigenous community of Yuendumu. The mine operates on Aboriginal freehold land granted under the federal Aboriginal Land Rights 1976 (NT) Act (Land Rights Act) and is subject to mining and ancillary agreements signed with the Central Land Council (CLC), a federal statutory body, on behalf of Aboriginal Traditional Owners. Production first commenced in 1986 with successive expansions in 1989, 1991, 2011, 2015 and 2017. In October 2002, Newmont acquired more than an 85% interest in the operations. By April 2003, Newmont had acquired 100%. By 2018, NTO had operated for 32 years. This SIA is conducted on the basis of a longer life-of-mine than was projected in 2013. At that time, the mine anticipated closure in 2020. Following the decision to move from open pit to underground mining, the current life-of-mine has been re-cast to 2029, with options for further expansions being explored that may extend mine life even longer. This brings into focus the long-term opportunities available to NTO in terms of local participation (employment, training and contracting), community investment, and local partnerships. The 2018 SIA updates NTO’s understanding of the social and community context in which it operates. The report identifies opportunities for NTO to improve its engagement with stakeholders, and through that, work towards building a long-term positive legacy for its four Priority Communities. This SIA seeks to achieve the following six objectives: 1. Update the social baseline information presented in the 2013 SIA 2. Describe NTO’s operations, including its social performance, community engagement, and community investment initiatives (highlighting changes since 2013) 3. Analyse socio-economic changes in mine-affected communities (see below) since 2013 4. Identify impacts (both positive and negative) of NTO on mine-affected communities, with a focus on the NTO Priority Communities 5. Report community attitudes towards NTO, and community aspirations and expectations (particularly relating to employment) 6. Outline recommendations for NTO to improve its social performance, including the management of social impacts and opportunities for community investment. 1 The 2013 SIA was branded as having been prepared by JKTech Pty Ltd. JKTech is a company of the Sustainable Minerals Institute, of which CSRM is a part. Notwithstanding the JKTech branding, the 2013 SIA was prepared by CSRM staff. 2 In January 2019, Newmont and Goldcorp Inc announced that they will merge by the end of the second quarter of 2019. This merger will create the largest gold producer in the world. Newmont Tanami Operations | Social Impact Assessment Executive Summary ii The SIA is structured into three parts, as shown in Table 1. For ease of navigation, this Executive Summary mirrors the same structure. In this Executive Summary, source material citations are omitted for readability. Full citations appear in the body of the report. Table 1 Structure of this SIA Part Description Chapters A Sets out contextual 1. Introduction – contextualises the SIA and describes scope and information upon objectives which the impact 2. Operational overview – describes NTO’s operations assessment is premised 3. Study methods – sets out the study area, research activities, and sources of evidence for this SIA 4. Indigenous context – summarises Indigenous cultural history, and historical and contemporary government policies in the Tanami area B Describes current 5. Demographic characteristics socio-economic 6. Services and infrastructure characteristics of the communities impacted 7. Regional economic activity by NTO, socio- economic changes 8. Local economic activity since the 2013 SIA, 9. Health and NTO’s past and potential future 10. Education contributions to socio- 11. Safety and crime economic wellbeing 12. Community engagement 13. Community investment Note: analysis relating to gender is provided in these chapters as relevant. C Recommends actions 14. Recommendations to NTO for mitigating and optimising socio- economic impacts 2. Operating context As of February 2017, NTO covered an area of some 375,375 ha of exploration licences and 5,196 ha of mining leases granted under the Mineral Titles Act 2015 (NT). NTO facilities are located in the Tanami Desert, 545 km northwest of Alice Springs. It is accessible by chartered aircraft and the Tanami Highway, an unsealed road best suited for four-wheel drive vehicles. NTO has been an owner-operated mine since 2010. At July 2018, the mine reported engaging 1,181 employees and contractors who are on fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) rosters and commute via twice-weekly charters. Approximately 37.4% of the workforce commutes from Darwin, with the remainder from Alice Springs, Perth, and Brisbane. The operations comprise an ore processing facility at The Granites, and the Callie and Auron underground mine at Dead Bullock Soak (DBS), located about 40 km to the west of The Granites. Major project changes at NTO between 2012 and 2017 are summarised in Table 2. Newmont Tanami Operations | Social Impact Assessment Executive Summary iii Table 2 Overview of major project changes at NTO (2012-2017) Year Project Development 2012 Newmont deferred further development work on the Tanami Shaft Project, and focused on (i) improving the execution and delivery at the existing operation, and (ii) gaining a better understanding of the impact of the Auron discovery on the overall life-of-mine plan. Newmont reported that production at Tanami was impacted by lower ore tonnages and grades (Newmont 9/12 QR 10/16/12). 2013 Newmont issued updated project resources and reserves worldwide effective 31 December 2012. The Tanami operations hosted proven and probable reserves of 12.6mt million tonnes grading 5.51 g/t gold for 2.2 million oz of contained gold. 2014 Expansion was planned at Tanami, including ventilation upgrade, additional mining equipment, a second mine access and increasing process