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Going for goldresponsibly

We believe that being environmentally and socially responsible is essential to kirkland lake gold’s operating and financial success. we are committed to integrating and promoting sustainability into all facets of our business.

For us, that means:

  • Ensuring we provide a safe working environment
  • Implementing responsible environmental practices and effective environmental
    management systems throughout our organization
  • Creating meaningful opportunities for local employment and training
  • Developing community relationships based on open and honest communication
  • Ensuring that the communities in which we operate benefit from our presence

Global Sustainability Report 2021

Download the report

Governance

Kirkland Lake Gold’s governance framework guides our behaviour and help ensure we act in an ethically responsible manner and uphold our commitment to responsible mining.

Corporate Governance

Our corporate governance framework is underscored by policies, standards and processes that are governed by the Board of Directors and implemented by our Executive Leadership and management. Read More

Policies

Governance of Sustainability and Climate-Related Risks

The Health, Safety, Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee (HSE and CSR) of the Board is responsible for supporting and reviewing the development of short- and long-term policies and standards for sustainability, environmental (including climate change), health and safety and corporate social responsibility. Read More

Health, Safety, Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee
Supplier Code of Conduct

Human Rights
team meeting

KL Gold is committed to upholding and respecting the human rights of our employees, the communities in which we operate, those who may be impacted by our activities and those within our supply chains, which includes Indigenous rights, modern slavery, fair work, diversity and inclusion. Read More

Human Right Policy
Modern Slavery Statement

RESPONSIBLE MINING STANDARDS

Kirkland Lake Gold is committed to acting ethically and responsibly from exploration through to mine closure, and to be transparent and accountable for its conduct.

As a member of the World Gold Council (WGC), Mining Association of Canada (MAC), and Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), Kirkland Lake Gold implements the WGC’s Responsible Gold Mining Principles and MAC’s Towards Sustainable Mining, internationally recognized accountability standards which helps companies evaluate, manage and communicate their sustainability performance.

Towards Sustainable Mining

The Mining Association of Canada developed the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative to promote best practices in environmental management, including biodiversity and climate change, community engagement, safety, and tailings; using tools and indicators to help companies responsibly manage performance and record and drive improvement. In 2021, TSM was been adopted by the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) as well.

Kirkland Lake Gold is focused on ensuring operations and corporate activities achieve conformance under all TSM protocols by 2023.

For more information on TSM and assessment results, visit mining.ca.

Responsible Gold Mining Principles

The World Gold Council developed the Responsible Gold Mining Principles (RGMPs) as a framework for clear expectations for consumers, investors and the downstream gold supply chain as to what constitutes responsible gold mining.

Kirkland Lake Gold is implementing the RGMPs at a corporate level and across all operations. It is currently expected by 2022, Kirkland Lake Gold’s performance should fully align with the RGMPs.

To consult our RGMP Implementation Report for Year 2, click here.

For more information on the RGMPs, click here.

Government Payment Transparency

Kirkland Lake Gold generates direct economic value in the countries, regions, and communities where we operate through tax and royalty payments and aligns transfer pricing outcomes with fair business practices and value creation. Although Kirkland Lake Gold is headquartered in Canada, which is not an implementing country of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), we publicly disclose on an annual basis as per the Canadian Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA), for both Canadian and Australian operations, which provides an equivalent level of reporting to the EITI Standard.

For our full ESTMA reports, including breakdown of payments and projects, click here.

Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures

The Financial Stability Board established the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) to develop recommendations for more effective climate-related disclosures that could promote more informed investment, credit, and insurance underwriting decisions.

Kirkland Lake Gold supports the TCFD objectives and have begun the process of aligning our climate strategy and related disclosures with the recommendations of the TCFD. Kirkland Lake Gold is intending to file TCFD recommendation compliant disclosures by 2023.

For more information on TCFD, visit: fsb-tcfd.org

Social

At Kirkland Lake Gold, nothing is more important than the health and safety of our people, the well-being of our communities and the responsible operation of our business.

COVID-19 Pandemic Response

Facing the challenges of a global pandemic, our most important consideration is the health and safety of our workforce, their families, and the communities in which we work and live. Kirkland Lake Gold witnessed a great amount of camaraderie and community spirit as we worked to overcome the challenges together. Read More

Health and Safety

To support our commitment to providing a safe place of work, KL Gold has programs designed to prevent harm, monitor for exposures as well as respond quickly to unplanned outcomes. Read More

Health and Safety Policy

Our People
team meeting

KL Gold seeks to be an employer of choice, a place where people want to work because it is meaningful, offers purpose, and one where an individual contribution is acknowledged as part of a team effort. Read More

Community and Indigenous Relations
team meeting

Mutual respect and trust with our local communities is critical to our success and a key requirement of our responsible approach to mining. Through our engagement and development activities, we strive to deliver sustainable long-term benefits to our local communities to support and respect their rights and aspirations. Read More

Social Responsibility Policy

Environment

Kirkland Lake Gold is committed to integrating and promoting sustainability into all facets of our business. We are implementing responsible environmental practices and effective environmental management systems throughout our organization.
Environmental Policy

Energy and Climate Change

KL Gold recognizes climate change as a strategic risk with potential financial implications for our company, our supply chain, and our investors. It is one of the most pressing global issues facing our society and is a priority issue for our stakeholders. Read More

Water Management

Water is a vital global resource, essential to the well-being of our communities and the environment, while being necessary for our operations. Read More

Tailings and Waste Management
team meeting

KL Gold is a leader in innovation and developing new technologies to improve our performance. For tailings and waste management, this is demonstrated by being the first in our industry to implement deep soil mixing to improve dam safety. Read More

Environmental Compliance
team meeting

KL Gold recognizes that environmental excellence and performance go far beyond just compliance and that responsible and sustainable development includes environmental considerations across all aspects of our operations. Read More

Reclamation and Closure
team meeting

Reclamation and mine closure planning processes are integral to our site planning and ongoing operations. The progressive reclamation and final closure planning process is initiated in the early phases of a project and undergoes continuous improvement throughout life-of-mine. We engage local communities, governments and other interested stakeholders often on these issues, and we seek to minimize impacts and maximize benefits whenever possible. Read More

Biodiversity
team meeting

KL Gold’s operations are located within regions with diverse ecosystems and habitats, all of which have unique and important biological, ecological and biodiversity values. KL Gold is committed to protecting biodiversity, including critical habitats and species at risk, and integrating biodiversity conservation throughout our activities and operations. Read More

Air Quality and Noise
team meeting

Active management of air quality, noise and vibration is an essential part of how we operate our sites to protect the surrounding communities and environment. As part of our environmental management system, all our sites are equipped with devices to monitor dust, noise and vibration. We engage with our local communities regarding these issues and develop site-specific plans to reduce our impacts. Read More

Our 2020 Performance

Fosterville Dashboard

Detour Lake Dashboard

Macassa Dashboard

Environment

Our people

Communities

Health & Safety

Finance

GHG Intensity Basis

GHG Intensity Basis
0.316

t CO2e/oz of gold

Target: net-zero by 2050, or sooner

Energy Intensity

Energy Intensity
0.16

GJ/t ore processed

Water Intensity

Water Intensity
0.38

m3 consumed/t
processed

Water Efficiency

(Total Water Used that is Recycled)

Water Efficiency
70% 70%

Tailing Facilities Incidents

Tailing Facilities Incidents 0

Sites covered under
biodiversity plan

100%

Land Reclamation

Land Reclamation

2020 Recipient of Tom Peters Memorial Mine Reclamation Industry

Total Global Reportable Incidents

(Total Reportable Incident Frequency Rate)

Total Global Reportable Incidents
22

(0.586 TRIFR)
incidents/200,000 hrs

% of workforce who are local

% of workforce who are local

(does not include rotational personnel)

Gender Diversity

(% women at all levels)

10%

Board Diversity

25%

of Board Members are Women

Employee Training
Hours in 2020

80,000+

Total Workforce (by headcount) Global:

Total Workforce (by headcount) Global
4,290

Canada:
3,390

Australia:
900

Community Donations

$3,500,000

Site covered Grievance
Mechanisms

100%

Percent of spend on Ontario
and Victoria Supply Chain

Percent of spend on Ontario and Victoria Supply Chain
76%

$905M

Goods and Services from Companies with Indigenous Ownership 2020 Spend

$263.4M

Number of Supply Chain
Human Rights Grievances

0

Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR)

Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate
0.3

incidents/200,000 hrs

Fatalities

0

Total Hours of Emergency Response

Total Hours of Emergency Response
3,000+

New Company Record for Loss Time Incident Free period

(Detour Lake Mine)

over 365
days

Tax and royalty payments

$364M

Salaries and Wages

$306M

Money allocated to support community COVID-19 response in 2020

$20M

All dollar figures are in US dollars (USD)

We are committed to doing even more.

As we build towards the future, Kirkland Lake Gold has pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 or earlier and is undertaking a planned investment of $375 million over the next five years ($75M per year) to further our commitment to responsible mining with a focus on three key areas including:

1

Carbon Footprint

Reducing our carbon footprint to reach net-zero by 2050, or sooner.

2

Smart Mines

Building smart mines through innovation, automation and digitization.

3

Supporting our Communities

In the areas of health and well-being, and youth training and skills development.