Our focus on responsible mining - demonstrated by the care we take for our people, communities and the environment - is integral to our success. We seek to continually understand and, where possible, avoid or minimize, the potential impacts of our activities while we look to generate new and positive opportunities through stakeholder, community and Indigenous partnerships and investments.
We also believe in setting goals and objectives as a way to drive our Sustainability performance forward and hold ourselves accountable. Our current Sustainability commitments can be found in our 2022 ESG report, and our approach to responsible mining is outlined in our Company-wide Sustainability Policy.
Climate risk assessments conducted at Eagle River and Kiena
Developed GHG emissions inventories & life of mine forecasts
Community Relations Coordinators hired at Eagle River and Kiena
$15.6M in Indigenous procurement expenditures
Zero significant environmental incidents at Eagle River and Kiena
Zero grievances at Kiena after first year of Operations
We strive to be a workplace of choice for our employees and contractors by creating a safe, inclusive and respectful work environment based on fairness and integrity.
A healthy workforce and a safe work environment are critical to our ability to operate, and we strive for a zero-incident work environment by promoting a safety culture based on teamwork and leadership. We measure and reward our employees based upon our health and safety performance, and we make a point of actively seeking feedback from our employees on how we can improve work practices and standards across the organization.
Through proactive employee engagement practices and a commitment to developing our talent, we have built a company culture based on respect, integrity and inclusivity. We ensure we are creating a work environment when diversity of thought is valued and welcomed, and we are in process of developing a company-wide diversity and inclusion strategy.
More on our commitment to the health and well-being of our employees can be found by reading our Workplace Violence, Harassment and Discrimination, Business Conduct & Ethics, Issue Resolution (Whistleblower), and Health & Safety Policies
Wesdome Gold Mines places on The Globe and Mail’s third-annual Women Lead Here benchmark of executive gender diversity
We are committed to strong environmental performance throughout each phase of mine life from exploration, development, operation, through to closure, and we seek to continuously reduce our environmental impact by identifying opportunities for enhanced environmental stewardship and conservation.
Environmental performance indicators have been established at all our sites, allowing us to measure and evaluate our performance. We receive input on environmental matters of importance at our site through dialogue with Indigenous groups, local communities and regulators and we evaluate our plans and activities based upon this input. We also maintain a high level of environmental incident response preparedness with plans, resources, and training in place across the Company to minimize the impact of any incident on the environment, our employees, and the public. Our company-wide Environmental Policy is reviewed on an annual basis and shared with all employees.
Our business is dependent upon our ability to conduct our activities in a responsible, honest and transparent manner, and it is through regular dialogue and feedback mechanisms that local communities hold us accountable for our actions. We engage and consult with our local communities in a timely, transparent and respectful manner and we actively listen and respond to concerns and interests raised. We know that input from those affected by our operations will positively impact our activities and as a result, we make efforts to encourage feedback. To facilitate on-going dialogue and input from local stakeholders and Indigenous groups on the development and restart of the Kiena Complex, a Community Liaison Committee was established in mid-2020.
Through on-going engagement with local organizations, community members and Indigenous groups, we receive input on the social development priorities within the regions in which we operate and use this information to determine where our investment funds are allocated. Our investment contributions are focused on programs that advance local enterprise development, education and health outcomes, and environmental initiatives.
Our goal is to contribute to long-term, sustainable value creation in the areas in which we operate by purchasing goods and services locally wherever possible. In both Ontario and Québec, we are fortunate to conduct activities in areas with available goods and services locally, allowing us to direct a significant portion of our procurement expenditures into our regional economies. This includes mining equipment and supplies, contractor services, professional engineering services, camp and general site maintenance supplies.
We are reliant on the support of Indigenous communities to conduct mining activities as we operate and explore in areas that are subject to Aboriginal and treaty rights. We are committed to proactive engagement with affected Indigenous groups and formal consultation regarding all activities that may impact a group’s ability to exercise Aboriginal rights. We are also actively working to formalize participation and benefit-sharing agreements with the Indigenous groups affected by our activities.
As we work to increase our local procurement spend, we are also making an effort to enhance our discussions with Indigenous groups regarding contracting opportunities, with the goal of contributing to the advancement of Indigenous business development in Northern Ontario and Québec.
Read more about our commitment to positive community & Indigenous relations in our Sustainability Policy.
For more information about Sustainability at Wesdome, please Contact Us