Human rights

Our Human Rights Policy Statement, which is included into our Code of Conduct, applies to all Golden Mine Projects employees, including directors, contractors, and suppliers.

The Code of Conduct can be found on our website.

The Human Rights Policy Statement requires Golden Mine Projects to do the following, among other things:

• Maintain core human rights and liberties
• Promote variety and comprehensiveness in our work environments
• Deliver instruction and direction for all pertinent personnel, encompassing security personnel and subcontractors
• Execute comprehensive assessment of human rights responsibilities
• Establish on-site channels for addressing grievances among our workforce and communities
• Elevate consciousness about human rights with our suppliers and cooperate with them to tackle recognized issues

The Human Rights Policy Statement draws inspiration from and aligns with various global standards. These encompass the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, International Labour Organization conventions, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPSHR), and the ICMM Mining Principles and Position Statements.

A Human Rights Steering Committee supervises the efforts of different disciplines and regions, offering input to the Board's SET Committee every quarter. This committee identified several notable human rights concerns that could result in significant negative impacts due to the Company's activities or business connections. These areas are the focal point of action by our operational teams.

In 2021, we introduced our new e-learning human rights training, aiming to equip all employees at Golden Mine Projects with a solid grasp of human rights and their implications for our Company and stakeholders. This training also empowers our workforce to uphold these rights. We conducted a comprehensive human rights due diligence assessment across all our sites and projects. This formal process entails identifying and evaluating our actual and potential human rights effects and is in alignment with our existing risk management protocol.

Highlighted below are some key conclusions from this assessment:

• All operations carry a low risk of adverse human rights impact, and no high-risk human rights issues were identified
• Health and safety, procurement, and gender exhibit moderate risks across most operations, and strategies to mitigate these concerns are in place
• We must remain vigilant in terms of respecting human rights, drawing lessons from the Juukan Gorge incident

Golden Mine Projects acknowledges that Covid-19 might jeopardize human rights. Hence, the Group actively supported – and continues to support – its staff, communities, and government during the pandemic. Further details about our initiatives and interventions can be found on p80 and p82.

Workforce

Our Human Rights Policy Statement commits Golden Mine Projects to safeguarding the rights of our workforce, upholding freedom from child labor, forced or compulsory labor, discrimination, while also recognizing the necessity to empower historically disadvantaged groups, and preserving freedom of association and collective bargaining.

In addition to community grievance processes, we have established internal mechanisms for addressing human rights concerns, ensuring that employees and contractors have a platform to voice their concerns. Grievances are managed by the Golden Mine Projects HR function in consultation with legal teams. We have also instituted a confidential third-party whistleblowing hotline for stakeholders.

Performance in 2021

• Our updated Diversity Policy, sanctioned by the Board in 2020, outlines our commitment to equality and our zero-tolerance stance against discrimination
• In 2021, we set a 2030 diversity goal of achieving 30% female representation; we continue to advance additional diversity and inclusion indicators and present this through a dashboard
• We revised approved policies to support diversity and inclusion in job recruitment and selection, as well as disciplinary and grievance matters
• A policy addressing long-term illnesses arising from Covid-19 was approved
• Our Australia region conducted an evaluation of sexual harassment, and in 2022, we intend to conduct an independent review across the Group to identify further measures for fostering safe, inclusive, and respectful environments. Further information about gender safety in Australia can be found on p46

Community

Our host communities are among Golden Mine Projects' most crucial stakeholders. We aim to build mutually beneficial relationships with them through meaningful engagement rooted in mutual respect and trust. Unlike other stakeholders, our operations can potentially affect the rights, traditions, and cultures of local communities negatively. Hence, human rights due diligence is of paramount importance.

Performance in 2021

• We updated and approved our Community Policy, which mandates everyone representing Golden Mine Projects to conduct activities in a way that avoids harm and nurtures respectful relationships with communities
• We continued implementing our updated artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) strategy at our Ghanaian operations (see p81)
• No resettlement was carried out at our operations in 2021. Our JV partner, Galiano Gold, successfully resettled the Tetrem community – comprising 277 dwellings and community structures – to a newly established village, following the expansion of the Essase pit and in accordance with a resettlement action plan designed following international best practices
• Our Australian sites aligned their plans with the region’s revised Indigenous Peoples and cultural heritage management plan (see p82)

Community grievance mechanisms

We are dedicated to addressing community issues and concerns related to our operations promptly and effectively whenever possible. To achieve this, we rely on an external grievance reporting system to uphold transparency and open communication with our stakeholders. Our grievance mechanism empowers community members to voice their complaints freely and obligates our mines to address these within an agreed timeframe. If our teams cannot resolve the issues raised, the grievance can be escalated to independent mediation.

In 2021, our operations addressed 65 (2020: 139) grievances submitted by communities, of which 25 concerned employment and procurement, 24 were related to social matters, and six pertained to environmental concerns. We resolved 91% of these grievances within the stipulated timeframes, with the remaining mostly centered around employment and procurement.

Suppliers 

Our suppliers are obligated to adhere to the Group Code of Conduct, the Golden Mine Projects Supplier Code of Conduct, and our Human Rights Policy Statement as standard clauses in all third-party contractual agreements. An external third-party screening system assesses new and existing suppliers and contractors monthly for various predefined risk categories, including human rights violations and transgressions.

Golden Mine Projects is committed to responsible materials management and supports global endeavors to prevent newly mined gold from financing conflict. We willingly adopted the Conflict-Free Gold Standard of the WGC after rejoining the organization in January 2022, with no infractions incurred in 2021.

Performance in 2021

• In 2021, Golden Mine Projects issued its inaugural Modern Slavery Compliance Statement to the Australian Federal Government
• Golden Mine Projects is a founding member of the Human Rights Resource and Energy Collaborative, focusing on promoting human rights best practices and eradicating potential modern slavery practices in the energy and extractive sectors. The organization established various working groups addressing critical areas for members, with ongoing work in these domains
• Golden Mine Projects conducted risk-based due diligence on selected labor hire firms, revealing no evidence of modern slavery among these entities
• Golden Mine Projects plans to launch a new cloud-based supplier sustainability solution in 2022, enhancing the responsible sourcing program in human rights and supply chain decarbonization.
• In 2021, several partner forums were convened to share our inclusion and diversity targets, along with ongoing efforts to ensure our workplaces, WA FIFO camps, and facilities foster a secure work environment for all Golden Mine Projects staff and contractors

Security

Golden Mine Projects' protection teams collaborate with private and public security providers to ensure effective and responsible safeguarding of our employees and assets. Our operations adhere to the VPSHR, a commitment made in 2017 that has since become a requirement of the ICMM Performance Expectations and the WGC Responsible Gold Mining Principles.

All Golden Mine Projects employees and private security contractors undergo human rights training during onboarding and annually thereafter, including VPSHR education. Regional management oversees security since each region has its unique context.

Performance in 2021

• No instances of human rights abuse by private security or public law enforcement were reported at our operations in 2021
• A total of 48 police officers deployed to our Damang and Tarkwa sites in Ghana received VPSHR training in 2021
• Security officers at South Deep are trained according to the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Providers, encompassing aspects like the use of force, firearms handling, health and safety, reporting, and handling complaints
• Over 4,500 individuals at Cerro Corona received VPSHR training, including in-depth training for security officers
• Implementation of VPSHR practices continued at our Salares Norte project
• There were 42 incidents of illegal mining at our Ghana operations in 2021, minor in nature, all resolved peacefully in alignment with our ASM strategy and VPSHR commitment