‘Our society will always need metals’: OceanaGold’s responsible mining champions transparency, sustainability

A strong commitment to transparency, values-based operations, and partnerships with leading organizations is pushing OceanaGold’s global performance both as a leading gold producer and community collaborator. 

OceanaGold CEO, Mick Wilkes, said it is the responsibility of all mining organisations to exceed community expectations and commit to practices that support employees, host and adjacent communities and the environment. 

“At OceanaGold, we are committed to leaving a positive legacy every day. Responsible mining is fundamental to the way we do business, manage our impacts and, more broadly, contribute to society. This is true for all our operations – from New Zealand, to the United States to Nueva Vizcaya in the Philippines,” Mr. Wilkes said. 

“It is this holistic approach that enables us to grow and optimise our operations – by having strong management systems in place that allow us to consider all aspects of our business in our decision-making processes – including economic effects and opportunities, health, safety, environment, people, host and adjacent communities, our investors, business partners and civil society,” he said.

OceanaGold’s Anti-Corruption and Anti-Bribery Policy is at the forefront of responsible corporate governance, and making sure leaders, employees and contractors conduct themselves with honesty and integrity in all their dealings and understand the consequences if they do not. 

This is supported by a commitment to transparency, including publicly reporting all payments and contributions at an operation-by-operation level and around annual sustainability targets and achievements in the company’s Sustainability Report. 

“We want to lead from the front, and that’s why we value our partnerships with leading global organisations such as Transparency International, the Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI), the United Nations Global Compact and the World Gold Council,” Mr Wilkes said. 

“Working with Transparency International and the EITI we ultimately have a role to play in ending the potential for an abuse of power, bribery or secret deals,” he said. 

“In addition, we are proud members of the UN Global Compact giving our full corporate commitment to operating responsibly in alignment with its ten universal sustainability principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption, and to take actions that support society.” 

“Our society will always need metals, so as an industry we have a responsibility to always keep pushing the boundaries of how we operate to ensure more sustainable performance. Our membership of the World Gold Council puts us amongst some of the world’s most forward-thinking gold mining companies, to ensure a sustainable and responsible gold mining industry.” 

“Earning the right to be here long into the future requires us to continue to enhance our responsible performance, work closely with communities, their governments and global organisations to ensure ongoing sustainable development. I’m very proud of the work OceanaGold is doing in this area.” 

ADVT