Perseus Mining kicks goals with sustainability efforts in West Africa

Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX:PRU) (TSX:PRU) has released its first standalone sustainability report which has clocked improvement across the board and seen employment from local communities rise by 11% in 2019. The report covers its three operations: Edikan Gold Mine in Ghana, Sissingué Gold Mine and Yaouré Gold Mine, both in Côte d’Ivoire. The West African gold mine explorer is more than halfway through the US$265 million development of Yaouré, with the first gold forecast for December 2020. Yaouré is not as yet fully incorporated into its sustainability reporting but as much relevant information as possible is disclosed. Managing director and CEO Jeff Quartermaine said: “Creating a more responsible and sustainable business is a continuous journey and measuring our performance over time helps to assure we are on the right path. “ Governance In 2019, the company strengthened its governance structures by: ➢Setting up a compliance management system and database that includes Board reporting, enabling consistent, timely reporting across all sites and functions with real-time information availability; ➢Updating its Whistleblower Policy to comply with new Australian requirements;  and ➢Enhancing its Anti-Bribery and Corruption Compliance Management System. Corporate risk management The company’s corporate risk management policy was updated in June 2019. There are Risk Registers for each of Edikan, Sissingué, Yaouré, Exploration and Corporate and each register is expected to be formally reviewed and updated at least twice a year. Safety Across its operations and exploration group, Perseus recorded zero fatalities and a total of 55 workplace injuries, including first aid injuries, in 2019.   Both Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (0.49) and Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (2.45) remained steady across the group compared to the previous year. Edikan improved on its previous years’ performances with the total number of injuries decreasing and zero Lost Time Injuries External HSE Management System audits were completed at both Edikan and Sissingué in 2019, which also included auditing the major contractors and their work areas. It reported a general upward trend over time at both Edikan and Sissingué, indicating HSE performance is continuing to improve. The company said it recognised opportunities for improvement and that the identified gaps had corrective actions raised and are being addressed. Diversity In 2019, a Women in Mining association, COFEPMCI was founded at Sissingué, with a total of 29 women from Sissingué, Abidjan and Yaouré involved in supporting women in mining, increase the number of females in leadership roles, fight against discrimination and increase sensitisation of families about mining jobs for women. Perseus also listed the female representation at its workplace as follows: Development, Training & Performance The Employee Development Policy helps improve employee skills, knowledge and qualifications required for their existing role and improving their prospects of promotion to other internal roles. Extensive training was undertaken in 2019 with over 9,000 hours at both Sissingué and at Edikan. Edikan and its sites in Côte d’Ivoire offer practical work experience opportunities and in 2019, Edikan provided 78 placements and Côte d’Ivoire placed 11 people. Community The company contributed US$299 million to the African and Australian economies through taxes, government royalties, workforce wages and supplier payments in 2019. In 2019, over US$22 million was paid in local wages. Community development Both Edikan and Sissingué have community development funds. Perseus contributes US$300,000 annually to the Edikan Trust Fund and at Sissingué, the company contributed US$532,000. All of its sites also provide additional donations and in-kind support and in 2019, this totalled US$264,000. Last year, local purchasing worth US$141.5 million and US$68.62 million were undertaken in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire respectively. On anti-bribery and corruption, extensive training is undertaken on a regular basis and the company engages with major contractors to help them set up their own anti-bribery and corruption compliance programs. Human rights, modern slavery and child labour Guided by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the UN Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPSHR), all security personnel, including employees, contractors and government forces are trained in the principles of the VPSHR and reasonable use of force. The Australian Government has enacted the Modern Slavery Act 2018 under which Perseus will be reporting annually on the risks of modern slavery in its operations and supply chains. “Our inaugural Modern Slavery Statement, reporting on 2020, will be published in 2021. In preparation we have started a dialogue with key supply chain partners, informing them of expectations in their operations.” Environment Potential impacts on water, air quality, soil, visual aesthetics and biodiversity at each of its projects were identified during the Environmental Impact Assessment (ESIA) process and controls have been implemented. The Edikan Mine sources its electricity from the grid but has diesel-powered generators on site should the grid be impacted. This year, Edikan was supplied 134,308 MWh from the grid and self-generated 3,466 MWh. At Sissingué, 29,992MWh of power was generated onsite by diesel-powered generators as there is no access to grid electricity. Edikan obtains most of its water for processing the ore from the Flotation Tailings Storage Facility (FTSF). The most recent independent audits of the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) were completed in March 2019 at Sissingué and November 2019 at Edikan and no significant issues were identified. Progressive rehabilitation is being undertaken at Edikan, which propagates its own seedlings in an on-site nursery.  In 2019, Edikan rehabilitated 13.85 hectares and to date 182.1 hectares. At Sissingué, rehabilitation trials started last year with the Ivorian Forestry Department and a botany specialist consulted to determine which species are most suitable for rehabilitating the site back to natural woodland.