PERSEUS MINING Limited has announced it pumped over $217 million to Ghana’s economy in 2020 and contributed to the country’s employment with 99.8% of its employees and contractors employed locally.
In its 2020 Sustainable Development Report released recently, the mining company indicated that it paid a total of $18.2 million as salaries to its Ghanaian workers and used $563,000 in community investment.
The report, which details the company’s progress over the past 12 months in delivering on its commitment to responsible mining operations in its host countries of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, pointed out that this included $132,000 to government and $520,000 for communities to support COVID-19 relief efforts.
It said the company spent over $152 million on local procurement in CY20 with about 85% of total procurement for Edikan sources from 275 local suppliers, while it paid $46 million in taxes, royalties, and duties to the Government of Ghana.
On its environmental stewardship across the group, Perseus Mining Limited said it re-used 12,495,163 KL of water, used water intensity of 7.46M/oz gold produced in the year, and enhanced tailings disclosures in line with the Investor Mining and Tailings Safety Initiative, and completed independent audits of all our Tailings Storage Facilities (TSFs).
The report indicated further that the company also maintained record of zero at all its workplace fatalities and reduced injuries, beside the implementation of comprehensive measures and protocols to prevent introduction and spread of COVID-19 .
In the area of governance, Perseus Mining Limited stated that it worked with independent sustainability risk experts, KPMG, to refresh sustainability materiality analysis and conduct deeper analysis of sustainability risks and opportunities.
The report said it also started the development of a three-year sustainability roadmap and announced appointment of a new director as part of programme to enhance sustainability skills of the board.
It released the first Modern Slavery Statement to address potential human rights risks in Perseus’ global supply chain.
Future Ambitions
The report noted that the company had established a three-year sustainability roadmap, and enhanced social value and sustainability risk management through updates to the Risk Management Framework and policy standards.
Jeff Quartermaine, Managing Director & CEO of Perseus is quoted by the report as saying, “Sustainability is deeply rooted in Perseus’s culture and operations and has had a large part to play in our resilience during this challenging year.”
“We believe that responsible gold mining can play a key role in sustainable development, and that investing in our employees and our communities to create enduring social value will remain a guiding force in our growth path and future business operations,” he stated further.
Quartermaine said he was proud of his team’s effective response to the pandemic, which successfully safeguarded “our operations as well as our people, enabling us to deliver our Yaouré mine in Cote d’Ivoire this year ahead of schedule.”
By Ernest Kofi Adu