Northwest Territories Geological Survey

The mining sector is enjoying a resurgence. Yet long-term success in today’s dynamic landscape demands a re-orientation of the approach to the business of mining. Implementing sustainable practices across the lifecycle is key to achieving the both the stability and agility required to reduce risk, minimize environmental impact, enhance community benefits for mutual success, encourage innovation, and maximize shareholder value.

This presentation will analyze the growing influence of sustainable mining, and look at five pillars that support its practice from an environmental, health, safety and social (EHSS) lens. These key pillars include: 1) building operational excellence; 2) fostering holistic water management; 3) driving social performance; 4) engaging across the project lifecycle; and 5) managing closure from the start. We will examine how sustainable mining applies and what it looks like for the Northwest Territories and elsewhere in the North. We will identify the drivers of change in society and the economy that, in turn, drive changing expectations and requirements for project performance. The drivers include positive forces that are changing market demand, and the disruptors – both of which require companies to build a new narrative and revise their approach. The mining sector can accomplish this by investing in their people, transforming their processes, improving their stakeholder relationships, and optimizing their supply chain, resulting in an integration of business, community and environmental objectives. It requires a holistic view of what you were, what you are now, and the legacy you want to build for the future. The presentation concludes with highlighting the work required to define the strategy and objectives to achieve ‘the mine we want to see’.