
Mining development can bring sustainable socio-economic contributions to the countries and regions where they operate. Zijin Mining supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), integrating objectives such as poverty eradication, decent work and economic growth, responsible consumption and production, into our social performance and commitments. We take promoting local socio-economic development and enhancing people's well-being as our mission, mining for a better society.
We follow international norms and standards such as the RGMPs, the “Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact”, and carry out community management under the framework of the UNGPs. At the same time, we work in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) by integrating the goals of poverty eradication, quality education, decent work and economic growth, sustainable cities and communities, etc., into our social performance and commitments.
Our “Social Responsibility Policy" and "External Donation Policy” governs the standards of community relations management across our operations.
The Company also engages and communicates with indigenous peoples according to international standards such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)’s governance of tenure technical guide on “Respecting Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC): Practical Guidance for Governments, Companies, NGOs, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Relation to Land Acquisition”, the “ILO Convention No.169", and the "United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”.
We respect the rights, cultures and traditions of indigenous peoples and recognise their individual and collective interests.
Support from the community is critical to our operations. If our operations have negative impacts on the community or cause misunderstanding and mistrust in the community due to lack of transparency, we will lose the community support for the continued operation, which might pose a significant business risk to our operations. To manage the operational risks that may arise from community issues, all of the community work we do is based on a community engagement framework. To ensure the smooth operation, we fully communicate with the stakeholders, identify and assess the potential impacts of our operation and jointly discuss solutions.
We carry out community risk management following the order of Avoid-Reduce-Compensate/Offset. Our risk identification and response plan comprise of the following steps:
We participate in the development and construction of our operating sites as a community partner in an effort to minimise the negative impact of mining activities on the society and to bring about a lasting, positive social impact for the locals. During the reporting period, we did not identify any actual or potential significant negative impacts on local communities from our operations. We take active measures to plan, develop and implement community development projects and invest in community infrastructure to improve the basic conditions such as local transportation, education, health, environment, safety, medical and epidemic prevention, providing basic conditions for economic development. For vulnerable groups and the impoverished in local communities, we implement targeted poverty alleviation in mind while planning and carrying out a wide array of public welfare projects to support vulnerable groups, providing them with basic subsistence goods and meet their basic needs. We partner host communities and governments to promote socio-economic development.
Active participation in social welfare, social welfare, charitable donation and related social responsibility activities is also part of our contribution to the society. In order to gather the love of mining industry, we actively fulfill our social responsibility and practice the mission of common development of the company. In August 2012, Zijin Mining Charity Foundation (hereinafter referred to as the Foundation), the first national private foundation in China's gold industry, was founded with an independent investment of RMB 200 million. In January 2017, the Foundation became a member of China Society for the Promotion of Social Organizations. In January 2020, the Foundation was recognized as a charity organization by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and became a member of China Charity Federation. In March 2021, the foundation passed the national evaluation of social organizations and was awarded the 3A grade.
Since its establishment, the Foundation has adhered to the purpose of "committed to public charity, promoting the balance of ecological environment, spreading modern mining civilization, and building a friendly and harmonious future". It has actively spread positive energy for public welfare, vigorously implemented public welfare projects such as poverty alleviation (rural revitalization), donating money to students, environmental protection, and disaster relief, and gradually formed a public charity organization with Zijin characteristics. By the end of 2022, the foundation had implemented more than 600 charitable projects, with a total donation expenditure of over 300 million yuan, and won wide recognition and high praise from all sectors of society.
In the planning and design phase of project, we require all operations to develop a closure plan with a closure vision established and maintained with associated specific closure objectives and land-use plans. Meanwhile, we will fully consider the closure budget, including funding for post-closure land restoration, employee and community development plans, and incorporate future mine closure plans into initial geological and geotechnical design plans and environmental and social impact assessments. Closure plans should be regularly updated, including closure risk assessment, gap analysis, regulatory conditions and community and stakeholder commitments.
In the whole life cycle management, we carry out customised planning in accordance with the requirements of relevant laws and regulations, based on the functional zoning of our factories and mines, so that we can restore in the process of development, carry out greening work in an orderly manner and allow green land to play its role in purifying air, adjusting climate, and maintaining water and soil. In the process of production and operation, we monitor the surrounding ecological environment, with a constant focus on minimizing our impact and protecting the local ecological environment, so as to lay a solid foundation for the restoration of the ecological environment in the future mine closure.
We adopt responsible mine closure standards and requirements. All of our operational sites have mine closure plans that are tailored according to local contexts, to reduce environmental, economic, safety and social risks and maintain a healthy, sustainable and prosperous society after mine closure. During the implementation of mine closure, we pay high attentions to stakeholder engagement. Closure timeframes must be communicated to stakeholders, and stakeholders must be updated as the timeframe evolves. Therefore, community and us can promote economic and social transition after mine closure together: