OTTAWA, May 3, 2016 /CNW/ - For their innovative projects that raise the bar for corporate responsibility in the Canadian mining sector,
Glencore's Kidd Operations and Raglan mine were recognized with 2016 Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) Excellence Awards Monday evening at the CIM Awards Gala in Vancouver.
The
Mining Association of Canada (MAC) gave Glencore's Raglan copper mine the 2016 TSM Environmental Excellence Award for its successful use of renewable energy with its wind turbine and accompanying storage facility in northern Quebec, the largest in the province.
Glencore's Kidd Operations was recognized with the 2016 TSM Community Engagement Excellence Award for helping local non-profits secure long term sustainability through its Community Partnerships program in Timmins, ON.
In 2014, the Raglan mine completed its construction of a 120-metre high wind turbine and storage facility, the largest in Quebec, thus lessening its reliance on diesel fuel. Glencore set out to diversify its energy mix with wind as a means of improving sustainability, reducing emissions and cutting costs. The project specially designed for severe Arctic climate conditions. The project was a private-public partnership between Raglan Mine, TUGLIQ Energy and the federal and provincial governments.
In its inaugural year, the 3-MW wind facility saved 2.1 million litres of diesel and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 5.85 kilotonnes. Based on these results, Glencore estimates that it will save more than $40 million in fuel related costs over the projected 20-year life of the wind turbine. This successful pilot project could have transformative impacts across northern Canada, helping to pave the way for the more widespread adoption of greener energy alternatives. It is a fully-developed and tested wind power and storage system that could be duplicated into Aboriginal communities and other northern mining operations in the future.
Glencore's Kidd Operations, including the Kidd concentrator and the Kidd copper-zinc mine, is Timmins' largest private sector employer and a major corporate funder in Timmins. With an anticipated closure date of 2022, the project has re-invented its corporate giving approach to mitigate impacts of its eventual exit and to ensure that it is contributing to long term capacity building and sustainability in the community.
The new “Community Partnerships” program has Kidd taking a proactive approach to social investment by brokering strategic projects to community partners, moving away from traditional corporate philanthropy. An example of this was the offering of Timmins' first sustainability conference for the local non-profit sector in 2013. What is also innovative about that model is that it measures social return on investment for the major projects supported allowing Kidd to evaluate the reach of its social investments based on financial and social impact data. For example, Kidd was able to determine its $320,000 investment in a recent expansion project at a local retirement home showed a return of $1.58 for each dollar that Kidd invested into the project.
In 2015, Kidd and the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) launched the $1 million Kidd Operations-Ontario Trillium Foundation Legacy Fund. This partnership will see Kidd and the OTF each investing $500,000 into the fund, which will begin making grants when Kidd ceases operations. This collaboration, a first for the government agency, paves the way for future private-public sector partnerships.
Readers are invited to visit
www.Mining.ca to learn more about MAC’s Toward Sustainable Mining initiative.
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