Comment: Good global citizenship is the future of mining, Pelangio CEO says

We’ve taken all the right steps. Let’s help our fellow citizens take notice.

This is a guest commentary by Ingrid Hibbard, the CEO of Pelangio Exploration. It hasn’t been edited for The Northern Miner style and length.  

There’s no way around it: society needs minerals, and lots of them. But for the mining industry to survive and ideally, thrive, it needs to evolve. We need mining to get better – safer, cleaner, and with a reduced environmental impact. The future of mining also lies in being good global citizens – and ensuring our fellow citizens see us that way. So how do we get there? We start by working together to educate the public about the modern mining industry, amplify one another’s accomplishments through social media, and celebrate the good our sector is doing in the world.  

The International Energy Agency reports the global market for minerals supporting the clean energy transition doubled between 2017 and 2022. Worldwide, demand for lithium tripled, while demand for cobalt soared by 70 percent and demand for nickel climbed by 40 percent. And demand is expected to keep growing in the years ahead. We know these minerals power solar panels, wind turbines and electric cars, but many of our fellow citizens take these technologies for granted and often forget that they ultimately depend on mining. We need to remind them that our industry enables innovation, and embraces it ourselves. And we need to go beyond high-level talking points to share real examples with the public.  

The answer is not to stop mining, it’s to keep getting better

Do you have a 30-second “elevator pitch” on how Canada’s own Kirkland Lake Gold (now part of Agnico Eagle Mines Limited) became one of the first mining companies in the world using lithium-ion battery operated trucks and loaders? Are you prepared to share how your company is innovating to become a more sustainable operation? These days, I’m always ready with a quick story about how Pelangio trialled mineral predictive mapping software powered by artificial intelligence to target exploration at our Obuasi Project in Ghana. Social media can help give a voice to mining companies and the people who work for them. Sharing stories about the mining industry and the communities they operate is a way to build trust, foster a better dialogue with the public and connect to the younger generation that will be future workers in the industry. After all, we’re going to need innovative solutions and problem-solving to keep evolving the mining industry.  

Some mining companies are still hesitant to move away from the traditional marketing and PR efforts that they have always used. Traditional marketing was like shouting from a soapbox; now, marketing is a conversation, and the public is creating their own stories in the absence of real substance and communications. An honest and transparent approach is needed, which means companies who say they are “doing good,” need to make sure they actually are.  

We help build and sustain communities that other sectors overlook

The Mining Association of Canada reports the average annual pay for a mining worker in 2021 was about $130,000; Statistics Canada calculated the average Canadian’s annual income that year at $54,000. The numbers don’t lie: our industry creates well-paid jobs in mining communities. But the industry is still struggling to attract enough workers to the industry. Perceptions that the work is dirty, dangerous and environmentally destructive have led many well-educated tech and data specialists to other industries. 

So how do we address this as an industry?  It comes back to telling the stories that matter.  Getting into schools and talking to the younger generation about how new equipment technologies are keeping workers safe and revolutionizing the way mines operate. Geology should be taught to schoolchildren to reinforce the importance of minerals and metals. Other industry advancements like dry stack tailings (DST) technology are being implemented within different processes of the mine, and shown to save up to 15 -20 percent of wastewater, which can then be recycled within the plant. 

Are young people learning about mines like the Macassa Mine in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, which not only invested in electric equipment but also developed innovative stationary battery storage systems as a way to continue the life of the batteries after they can no longer be used in equipment? Or the Borden gold project near Chapleau in Ontario, which has replaced all of its underground diesel fleet of trucks with battery electric vehicles, making it one of the first all-electric underground mines in Canada. 

Let’s not forget the spin-off jobs that happen in mining communities

Mining can create a ripple effect felt throughout the service industry, the trades, and white-collar professions when workers in our industry spend their paychecks. The new types of jobs created – data scientists, automation experts, and optimization gurus. We need tech-savvy workers who aren’t afraid to commit to continuous skill upgrading. But we aren’t going to find these much-needed workers in the places we’ve hired from in the past. To fill the labour gap, we need to show a new generation of workers that our industry is cutting-edge, and tech jobs aren’t just in the big cities anymore.  

Proving to kids from mining communities that they can go to school, study a high-tech field, then return to their hometowns and put their skills to work in a well-paid job in their field, will be crucial for future success. We also need to recruit kids who have never spared a thought for mining but have a passion for coding, robotics, engineering, fluid dynamics and other skills our industry needs. They are going to be solving some of the hardest problems around technology, safety and environmental issues. As the tech giants announce round after round of layoffs, we have an opportunity to position mining as a booming modern industry where tech-minded workers can build stable careers doing meaningful work that makes a positive impact on the world. And we have a chance to help reinvigorate communities while we do it.   

We generate much-needed revenue in struggling communities

Mining is the primary source of economic activity for many of the world’s poorest countries, including Liberia, Mauritania, Uzbekistan, and Papua New Guinea. In Ghana, where Pelangio owns three properties, the government attributes 19 percent of all direct tax payments and 37 percent of export revenues to mining.  

To support exploration and mining activities abroad, our companies often hire locals, and, in turn, their communities experience many of the same economic benefits as their Canadian counterparts.   

We need to empower people to share how mining has a positive impact in their lives. In Ghana, our team has started to rally their peers to restart the Ghana Institute of Geoscientists as a way to encourage the younger generation to pursue a career in the field. This year, they organized the 2023 Annual Young Geoscientists Forum with a focus on “Harnessing and Safeguarding Earth Resources for National Development.” In Timmins, Ontario – the public can visit an open mine pit located directly in the city and companies like Porcupine Gold Mines have been running educational tours of reclaimed sites and working with the local Indigenous community on the application of traditional knowledge and practices to modern rehabilitation techniques. Agnico Eagle recently unveiled a new project to provide breakfast to school children in Nunavut along with a multi-million-dollar investment to support efforts to reconnect Inuit to the traditions and knowledge of their culture through language, literacy and other essential skills. 

Whether it’s drawing new residents to a Northern Ontario city, building a school or repairing a road in Ghana, stories like these serve to shift perception and show the positive impact mining can have on a community. The question is, how do we get these stories out to the public? Smartphones, social media platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook along with the proliferation of reliable Internet connections have created opportunities for employees, both in Canada and abroad, to share their experiences organically. Those lived experiences are more authentic than any corporate outreach campaign and have the potential to help shift public perceptions of mining for the better, and protect our social license to operate.  

Becoming part of the conversation is key to future success 

There’s no denying our industry’s history includes its share of bad actors – those who operated without concern for people or the planet. We can’t undo the past, but we must demonstrate that times have changed; companies that operate this way don’t stay in business for long – nor do we want them to. We need to be part of the conversation when it comes to sustainability and regeneration efforts. It’s about actively building trust and participating in discussions with environmental groups and stakeholders. For example, organizations like The Sierra Club are bringing both the mining industry and environmentalists together to look at ways to reduce the impacts of mining through consultations and land-use planning.   

These partnerships bring multiple benefits – from creating a space for positive and productive engagement, to uncovering opportunities to continue to evolve our operations. As an industry, we need to move away from the old thinking of an “us vs. them” approach to a more collaborative mindset, building meaningful relationships with the public through social media, sharing and showing the importance of mining’s place in our future. Imagine how public perception would change if your cell phone or electric car was able to tell the story about where its wiring and power source came from and how (and even by who) its batteries were mined. A new documentary from The World Gold Council does just that – featuring the LaRonde mine in Quebec, it shows the process of how ore is extracted from the earth and turned into gold. The film, which is narrated by a well-known actor, also goes into our rich history and fascination with gold over the years, showing the faces of those who operate and are employed by mines all over the world. 

This is a great example of coming together as an industry to educate the public about the modern mining industry, amplify one another’s accomplishments and celebrate the good our sector is doing in the world. It’s a commitment to the actions that matter – regenerating old mine sites, embracing new technologies to keep workers safe, reducing waste, partnering with local organizations and educating the next generation of workers. The future of mining lies in being good global citizens – and ensuring our fellow citizens see us that way.