The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) has awarded gold miner Agnico Eagle and uranium producer Cameco this year's Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) excellence awards in recognition of their innovative sustainability projects focused on community engagement and environmental stewardship.

TSM is a performance-based programme whereby mining operations evaluate, manage and publicly report on critical environmental and social responsibilities. The programme's main objective focuses on enabling mining companies to meet society's needs for minerals, metals and energy products in the most socially, economically and environmentally responsible way and it has been highly successful in encouraging more sustainable practices in mining.

In fact, TSM has been formally adopted by mining associations in several countries outside Canada, including Spain, Argentina, the Philippines, Brazil, Finland, Botswana and, most recently, Norway. 

Each year, the TSM excellence awards honour companies which have done exemplary work in ensuring responsible mining practices.

"MAC's TSM excellence awards represent the best of the best when it comes to showcasing the innovative work being done by Canadian mining on innovation in environmental stewardship and community engagement," said MAC president and CEO Pierre Gratton.

"We are extremely proud of what both Cameco and Agnico Eagle have been able to accomplish as they highlight what is possible and achievable in terms of sustainable and collaborative practices in our sector."

Established in 2014, the TSM excellence awards include the TSM environmental excellence award and the TSM community engagement excellence award.

To be eligible for the awards, mining companies must be actively implementing the TSM initiative. TSM is overseen by the Community of Interest Advisory (COI) panel, which consists of individuals from Canada's three Indigenous communities, environmental organizations, labour representatives, individuals involved in finance, local mining communities, social and faith-based organisations, academics and those involved in international development. The COI panel provides guidance and advice on the development and maintenance of TSM and annually selects the winners of the TSM excellence awards.

"There are many innovative projects and initiatives that expand and promote sustainable development within the mining sector and this year's TSM Excellence Award winners have shown what is possible when it comes to effective community engagement and environmental stewardship in our industry," said Gratton.

TSM COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WINNER
Effective collaboration between mining companies and local communities is essential to ensuring the positive relationships that can define the success of a mining operation. The Community Based Environmental Monitoring Programme (CBEMP) is a component of the collaboration agreement signed between Cameco, Orano Canada, four municipalities, and three First Nations in northern Saskatchewan. This programme highlights the positive effect cooperative monitoring and research can have in providing confidence in how mining operations are affecting those living in the local vicinity.

The CBEMP is highly collaborative, and not only involves community members obtaining research information, but also integrates local community representatives into both steering the programme and participating in sample collection. By involving community members directly in CBEMP's design and implementation, communities are able to have significant input into the way information is collected, submitted and reported.

The CBEMP builds off 18 years of regional data collection through the former Athabasca Working Group (AWG) Environmental Monitoring Programme. In 2018, in consultation with the AWG, the Environmental Monitoring Programme evolved to become the CBEMP and now consists of a community specific traditional foods study completed in one community per year, rather than a region wide sampling programme. This shift has provided local communities with a specific, focused study that reflects what and how much they eat, in addition to providing information on the general location of food in the area. Samples are collected in areas known to be used by traditional users of each community for a more focused and representative study which enhanced the credibility of the CBEMP's results.

Involvement of community members is and has always been one of the fundamental goals of the CBEMP. Each year, local residents take part in the sample collections which provides opportunities for employment, training and business development. Through the CBEMP, local community members can have confidence that traditionally harvested foods remain safe to eat and water remains safe to drink. The programme provides peace of mind that the surrounding areas have not been affected by the active uranium mining and milling operations in the region, all while providing opportunities to local community members – a win-win.

TSM ENVIRONMENTAL WINNER
In January 2019, Agnico Eagle's Pinos Altos mine, in Mexico, kicked-off a new state of the art initiative focused on improving soil regeneration through its ultrahigh-density grazing with cattle programme. This programme sets a new standard for best practice in environmental protection and reclamation which can be easily adopted across the industry to improve environmental performance.

The grazing programme mimics the effect of large herds of grazing herbivores that group together and move constantly as a result of the presence of predators, trampling the ground and plants. In this way, the programme replicates nature's way of regenerating the soil in the waste rock storage facilities during closure and decommissioning. Agnico Eagle's Pinos Altos mine was the first mine in the world to use this process to create plant cover in addition to the growth of plants native to the region. This regeneration has taken place in far less time than traditional revegetation methods. In using the existing characteristics of the area for soil regeneration, natural and sustainable restoration is possible, without having to use materials that are either synthetic or from outside the local area.

The communities surrounding Pinos Altos are benefiting from this process in multiple ways, leaving a healthy environment for future generations and creating economic opportunities to generate prosperity for those who reside in the area. The return of wildlife and fauna native to the area in such a short period of time bodes well for the future success of this programme.

Not only has this project had impressive results in its first year at the mine-site level, but findings have been so encouraging that the Mining Chamber of Mexico and the Association of Mining Engineers, Metallurgists and Geologists of Mexico have shown an interest in implementing the method in different mines across the country. Thus, this new innovative programme could have a positive impact in communities across Mexico, and the mining industry globally, in the years to come.