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Resettlement

Resettlement: Managing Change, Creating Opportunity

Mining projects sometimes require community resettlement, a process that can disrupt lives and strain relationships if not carefully managed. For us, when resettlement is necessary, we use it as an opportunity to create, develop and support sustainable livelihoods, strengthen community resilience and ensure the long-term wellbeing of local communities.

Our approach follows the mitigation hierarchy, ensuring that resettlement is only undertaken when absolutely necessary. When unavoidable, we manage the process transparently, fairly and in line with international best practice, including IFC Performance Standard 5. Our Social Performance Policy guides every step – from land acquisition to eligibility criteria, cut-off dates and long-term livelihood support – and resettlements are completed by both internal and independent experts.

Compensation rates are determined in collaboration with authorities and independent experts, based on international good practice. This process is deeply engaged and carefully managed to ensure fairness, and these rates consider full replacement value of an asset. For crops, that means determining the lost revenue for the harvest years until a replacement plant reaches maturity, along with the costs to purchase a replacement, preparing and maintaining the land. While most individuals participate in good faith, we recognize that managing those who seek to take advantage of the process at the expense of the wider community requires careful communication and risk management.

Our goal is to ensure resettled households emerge better off. This means not just providing new homes and land but also investing in education, job creation, infrastructure and social services that deliver lasting benefits beyond mining operations. The overwhelming majority of resettled households are left better off, both through the planning and implementation of resettlement. We ensure we meet these outcomes by undertaking frequent audits of the resettlement, during and post execution against the evaluation criteria that is established in consultation with communities, government and independent experts.

We also recognize that resettlement is a deeply personal process. Every individual has the right to challenge the process, whether through established Resettlement Working Groups, our resettlement specific grievance mechanisms or through the court, and we fully support this right.

Current and on-going resettlement projects consist of:

  • Pueblo Viejo, Dominican Republic – We remain committed to an equitable Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for the development of the El Naranjo Tailings Storage Facility, including new housing, infrastructure and economic restoration programs to ensure affected households benefit from the process.
  • Kibali, DRC – The Ikanva and Kolimva resettlement is complete, with the development of the Oere and Phase 2 CTSF resettlements ongoing.
  • Lumwana, Zambia – Our expansion necessitates the resettlement of 281 households.
  • Bulyanhulu, Tanzania – 414 households are being resettled, with the resettlement 98% complete at time of publication.

At every stage, throughout the resettlement process, we prioritize dialogue, transparency, livelihood restoration and long-term sustainability. Our resettlement principles, policies and community engagement efforts are publicly available on our website.

Management approach: Resettlement

Governance and accountability

Our President and CEO is ultimately responsible for Social aspects with our Group Sustainability Executive taking the lead in driving the implementation of our Sustainable Development and Social Performance Policies, the associated procedures and overall performance.

The Group Sustainability Executive is supported by regional-level environmental leads as well as dedicated site-level environmental teams who drive implementation at the operational level, including community development and engagement aspects.  The Sustainability Executive is supported by our Group Sustainability Manager, and functional regional leads.
 

Policies and procedures

At a policy level our approach to resettlement is covered by our Social Performance Policy, which commits us to avoid, minimize or mitigate the need for resettlement. This policy complies  with applicable laws and regulations and is guided by international best practice and the IFC’s Performance Standard 5 – as illustrated in the infographic below.

Our resettlement approach compels us to:

  • Work to make sure that the affected parties are fully engaged in, and help to shape, the resettlement process; and
  • Improve or at least restore the relocated persons’ standard of living.

The key features for any resettlement process we undertake are:

  • Establishing a resettlement policy framework;
  • Developing a Public Participation Process (PPP). The PPP encourages the inclusion of any and all opinions and grievances in the compensation process; and
  • Using the results of the PPP for the development and implementation of a Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) which covers aspects such as economic displacement and livelihood restoration. The RAP must be agreed by the affected parties prior to any resettlement occurring.
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