WORKING FOR LONG TERM BENEFITS
- Creating local jobs
- Supporting host communities
- Sound environmental practice
Mining as the engine for post-COVID economic recovery
At First Quantum we are committed to extracting resources responsibly and our sustainability strategy is an intrinsic part of everything we do. The people and communities we work in should benefit through opportunities such as employment, business development, education, training and community investment over the long term. Earning and maintaining community support for mining is fundamental to our success and as such we listen to and communicate with stakeholders and local communities openly about our activities, issues and future plans.
Kalumbila Town, ESG that outlives us
Long-lasting impacts that continue well beyond the company’s lifespan are what we most hope to set in motion. Many years before ‘ESG’ became a buzzword, we put our heads together to consider what impact we wished to have on Zambia’s environment, and its society. We knew it had to be foresight – not hindsight or reactive decisions – that informed our approach to creating lasting positive impacts in Zambia. It is this deliberate stepping back and taking the long view that has shaped our philosophy. Nowhere is this ethos better represented than in our approach to Kalumbila Town, the changemaker that we are most proud of and humbled by at the same time. It is by far the most ambitious project we have ever undertaken in Zambia, and it was driven by a clear vision that we continue to embrace.
We work in partnership with the North Western Chamber of Commerce at Kalumbila Town and also at our Sentinel and Kansanshi mines to promote local business development and access for local business into the mine and town supply chains. A number of programs for local procurement cover training of local business proprietors and staff, assistance with registration and administrative processes, access to local procurement processes and establishment of cooperative business enterprises in the local community. We are committed to ongoing support to local business in Zambia to ensure the benefits of economic activity spin off into the local community.
A strong and successful start in mining for Panama
In Cobre Panamá, First Quantum has one of the world’s largest new copper mines. Located in the mountains of the province of Colón in the Atlantic sector of the Republic of Panama, Cobre Panamá is more than a mine – it is an industrial complex that has four components: mine, process plant, power plant and port that employs more than 3,500 people, more than 90% Panamanians, using state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure that is expected to operate for around 40 years.
Partnering with the Panama Chamber of Commerce, our Cobre Panama mine energizes the local economy, through the services that we contract locally, the generation of employment, the taxes and social security contributions that we pay as well as the exports of our products. Cobre Panama enjoys a close working relationship with the Chamber of Commerce, including on post-Covid economic reactivation. We recently sponsored a Chamber event on this issue, through which we briefed local businesses on our business needs and on how they could engage with the project. The mine is also engaged in outreach with the regional Chambers close to the mine, looking to ensure that local businesses have the opportunity to pursue business with us. It is notable too that there is a natural alignment of views between Cobre Panama and the Chamber of Commerce on issues that are of fundamental importance to the private sector, notably legal security and the operation of the free market. We regard the Chamber as an important partner in Panama.
