- Extract from its Sustainable Development Report 2022
- 5,233 full-time employees, including 2,174 direct employees.
- 41.85% of employees come from local communities
- 7.71% of suppliers come from local communities
Fortuna Silver Mines, which operates the Bagassi mine, published its 5th annual sustainability report on 24 July 2023 in Vancouver, Canada. The report details the company’s performance on key environmental, social and governance (ESG) indicators during 2022. The 2022 Sustainability Report highlights Fortuna’s sustainability management and initiatives at each operating mine, as well as contributions in host countries. The report also includes information in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standard on metals and mining.
Jorge A. Ganoza, Managing Director of Fortuna, said: “We remain firmly committed to integrating sustainability into our business strategy, organisational culture and day-to-day operations. As society increasingly demands high social and environmental standards from the mining sector, we are determined to meet these expectations as part of our drive for sustainable growth”. Ganoza added: “We also seek to add value to our host and surrounding communities, by creating quality jobs, developing local businesses and helping to improve social services and infrastructure.”
“Operational excellence is at the heart of our sustainability efforts and forms the basis of our credibility as a responsible miner,” said Julien Baudrand, first vice-president in charge of sustainable development. “We are committed to being proactive and continuously improving our standards and processes to minimise our impact on the environment, promote health and safety and create value for the surrounding communities. By implementing best practice and investing in new technologies at site level, we aim to optimise our operations and reduce workplace accidents, waste disposal, water consumption, energy consumption, biodiversity loss and greenhouse gas emissions.”
What are the key facts and figures in the 2022 Sustainability Report?
In terms of governance, the report notes that 75% of directors are independent, 37.5% of directors are women, 35% of executive short-term incentive pay is linked to ESG performance, including health and safety, environment, community, waste management and climate change action plans. Strong ESG oversight structures are in place, including sustainability committees at board, corporate and regional level.
In terms of human resources, human rights and ethics, 5,233 people are employed full-time, including 2,174 direct employees. 16.84% of Fortuna’s employees are women, and 19.15% of management positions are held by women. During 2022, the company did not record any cases of human rights violations.
In terms of occupational health and safety, the company has adopted the global industry standard for mine waste management. To this end, 50% of its operating mines are ISO 45001 compliant, and only one fatality was recorded at the Lindero mine in January 2022. The Recordable Incident Frequency Rate is 2.67 (down 21% on 2021). The report states that an annual average of 19.5 hours are spent training full-time employees in health, safety and emergency response protocols.
At community level, 5.636 million USD was spent on community-related investments. 41.85% of employees come from local communities, 7.71% of suppliers come from local communities. In terms of the environment, Fortuna has published its position on climate change. 50% of its operating mines comply with the ISO 14001 standard. The intensity of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is 17.94 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2eq) emitted per thousand tonnes of ore processed. The energy intensity consumed is 0.22 gigajoules (GJ) per tonne of ore processed, and 14% of the total energy consumed is renewable. Fresh water withdrawal intensity is 0.25 cubic metres (m3) per tonne of ore processed, and 63% of the water used is recycled. There were no incidents of non-compliance with water quality permits, standards and regulations, no major spills, and no significant incidents relating to the management of hazardous materials and waste.
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