Photo credit: K92 Mining Inc
K92 Mining Inc is pleased to announce that it has published its 2021 Sustainability Report. This is K92’s third annual sustainability report, outlining the environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) practices and performance of the Company. The report builds on the progress of our reporting and disclosures including key metrics in accordance with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (“SASB”) Metals and Mining Standard, and marks the start of K92’s alignment with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”) recommendations. A climate risk and opportunity assessment was completed, as well as a road map to further enhance K92’s climate management practices.
The 2021 Sustainability Report is available on the K92 website at the following link: https://k92mining.com/responsible-mining/
Environment, Social and Governance Highlights:
- 14% year-over-year increase in corporate tax and second-largest taxpayer in the mining industry in Papua New Guinea ($13.0 million paid in corporate tax).
- 95% of workforce and 98% of contractors are PNG Nationals with priority hiring from local communities.
- $0.9 million in total community investment .
- 14% year-over-year Lost Time Incident (LTI) frequency reduction and once again operating with one of the best safety records in the Australasian region.
- ~50% lower carbon intensity per gold equivalent ounce produced compared to the global average (1) .
- 1.5 million PGK ($450,000) from the COVID-19 Assistance Fund supporting Papua New Guinea National Government, Eastern Highlands and Morobe Provincial Governments and local communities’ efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Environment, Health, Safety, Social and Sustainability Committee of the Board (the “ESG Committee”) was established to provide oversight with respect to environment, climate change, health, safety, social, sustainability, and other public policy matters relevant to K92.
- Beginning alignment with TCFD recommendations by conducting a climate risk and opportunity assessment to support a low carbon transition and to build climate resilience, developing a road map for improved climate management practices.
- 10 million tree program participant supporting Papua New Guinea’s goal of planting one million new trees per year until 2030 and delivered 10,000 tree seedlings to schools around the Kainantu mine in 2021.
- 63% of total expenditures locally procured since start of operations, supporting the long-term development of locally-owned businesses, which earned $15.5 million in 2021.
- Establishment of Diversity and Inclusion Policy to formalize our stance on embracing individuality and differences, and expectations of our people.
- Human Rights Policy established to confirm our commitment to respecting the human rights and dignity of all individuals within our operations, supply chain, and communities in which we operate.
- Sustainable Agriculture Livelihoods program expanded, employing ~80% women to provide them with active income and business skills, and committing $300,000 to establish a new market complex in the town of Kainantu to encourage commerce.
- Strong commitment to education and training, including a 160,074 PGK ($46,000) contribution to post-secondary scholarships for 48 qualifying students, a $13,600 investment in business training for 489 impacted landowners and community members, and 96 students graduating from our Adult Literacy Program in 2021. Three additional scholarships were awarded to the top 3 rd year students in Mining Engineering, Metallurgy and Mineral processing, and in 2022, addition of a Women in Mining Scholarship.
- Community access to clean water increased through an investment of $37,500 (materials, excludes labour cost) and commitment to providing impacted communities with fresh water by improving water lines and installing new water supply systems.
All amounts are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated.
Note (1): Based on S&P Global Market Intelligence 2020 data on a gold produced basis.
John Lewins, K92 Chief Executive Officer and Director, stated, “It is with a tremendous sense of pride that we provide our various stakeholders K92’s 2021 Sustainability Report. The report demonstrates the far-reaching positive impact that the Kainantu Gold Mine continues to have on our local communities and Papua New Guinea, providing an update on our ESG practices, performance, and accomplishments.
The 2021 report continued the trend of increasing our disclosure to global frameworks, through commencing our alignment to the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations and developing a road map to further enhance our climate risk and opportunity management. We also completed a greenhouse gas emissions inventory, and I am pleased to report that the Kainantu Gold Mine is a low carbon mine, with an emissions intensity approximately 50% below peers per ounce produced. The emissions inventory also highlighted opportunities to materially reduce our emissions near-term. Work on this in conjunction with PNG Power is well underway.
It is important to highlight that these accomplishments were achieved during a particularly challenging period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our workforce rose to the occasion, showing a strong commitment and dedication to the community, through continuity of many community projects, maintaining environmental commitments, while also increasing the economic benefit through expanding operations. The support of the Government of Papua New Guinea and the Government of Australia was also a major factor in our success.”
Article courtesy of K92 Mining
