Local Procurement
By purchasing locally, we increase the amount of money that stays within the communities, regions and countries where we operate, while supporting the development of local businesses both during our operations and beyond the life of our project.
Local procurement benefits communities, but in many cases it is also cost competitive and decreases our lead times while increasing the resiliency of our supply chain.
Our strategy is to buy local when feasible, then regionally and subsequently at a national level. Our community relations and supply chain teams provide communities with information about local procurement opportunities at different stages of the project. Remaining transparent and setting realistic expectations with local stakeholders is paramount in developing and maintaining a local supply chain.
In addition to purchasing goods and services locally, contracting opportunities are provided to Indigenous groups in British Columbia. This includes hiring companies owned by local First Nation Bands or Indigenous entrepreneurs as well as companies that have joint ventures in place with Indigenous groups. Services procured this way for Mount Milligan and Kemess include catering, transport, road work, security, exploration drilling, water transfer, and concentrate handling and hauling.
To minimize supplier dependence on the mining project, we have encouraged local suppliers to take proactive steps to broaden their customer base.
In 2021:
We began tracking our supplier performance at both operating sites.
We continued to strengthen our local supplier relationships and have increased our local procurement spend at Mount Milligan by 20%.
Our total local spend at both operating sites was $110 million.
Supplier Expectations
We will only work with sole proprietors, partnerships or companies that comply with all legal requirements, including having a valid business licence.
All suppliers, whether local or international, are expected to comply with Centerra’s Supplier Code of Conduct while doing business with us.
Goal
Develop a framework for assessing ESG supplier performance and achieving timely remediation of ESG non-conformances.
Removing Barriers to Entry
Understanding the barriers to entry that small and medium-sized enterprises face, we have taken measures to help promote market accessibility, including:
- Introducing SMEs to development and finance partners
- Providing flexible payments, including advance payments, when appropriate
- Willingness to accept legitimate increased costs
- Unbundling of service or goods contracts into smaller pieces that are more suitable in size for low-capacity suppliers
Such flexible procurement processes, though, are intended to be short-term solutions only and are implemented to help businesses develop on-the-ground skills and capacity. We communicate the temporary nature of these processes as we encourage local businesses to become more competitive.
2021 Spending on Local Suppliers by Region
| USD, MILLIONS | Total Spend | Local Procurement Spend | Local Spend % | National Spend (incl. local) | International Spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Canada1 |
$344.05 | $104.62 | 30% | $343.90 | $0.15 |
Türkiye |
$63.60 | $5.21 | 8.19% | $60.83 | $2.78 |
1 These numbers reflect all of our Canadian operations, including the Mount Milligan Mine, Kemess and the Endako Mine. Mount Milligan represents the most significant portion of our spend as it is our only operating mine in British Columbia.