Establishing positive and self-sustaining socio-economic conditions in the communities and regions where we operate is one of the cornerstones of our sustainability program. Our contributions to socio-economic development may come indirectly through government payments or directly through local hiring, the purchase of local goods and services, or our community investments. We also focus on opportunities that deliver shared value and meaningful community contributions after a mine has closed.
Across our operations, strategic investment projects have included support for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) development, community health, livelihood restoration projects, development of the agricultural sector, youth and educational programs, and environmental protection projects.
In 2020:
At Öksüt, in collaboration with local agencies, we procured and delivered three medical service cars to assist in contract tracing during the
Strategic community investments in British Columbia were primarily focused on helping communities build resiliency and provide COVID relief.
Mount Milligan provided funding over C$45,000 in donations and sponsorships to support youth sports teams, arts organizations, health and education-focused initiatives, and recreation clubs in local communities.
At Mount Milligan, a key responsibility of the Community Sustainability Committee (CSC) is to allocate funding provided through the Mount Milligan Community Project Fund. The fund provides one-time grants of up to C$10,000 to support local community-based organizations working to build capacity in one or more of the following priority areas: education and training, health, environment, community (including economic development) and literacy. Mount Milligan’s CSC meetings are documented, and minutes are publicly available here.
Five-Year Summary of Global Community Investments and Donations (USD)1
1 The 2020 figures include strategic community investments and donations across all our sites, including operations, care and maintenance projects, and development projects.
Mount Milligan also enters into strategic partnerships that contribute multi-year funding to local education and environmental initiatives. In 2018, Mount Milligan committed to three years of funding totalling C$45,000 to support a joint initiative between the local school district and the University of Northern British Columbia. The initiative will lead to the creation of an interactive, geospatial watershed portal and a series of co-learning activities for students, educators, and researchers, including more than 10 participating Indigenous groups. Mount Milligan also awards over C$15,000 in academic bursaries to local high school graduates each year.
We also work closely with private enterprises and community-based organizations in our regions to build up capacity of local SMEs in our regions, in order to minimize long-term community dependence on particular mining projects.