Cerro Corona: Promoting ‘holistic’ local development

Gold Fields has deliberately developed its Cerro Corona mine in Peru as a ‘showcase’ for a holistic approach to sustainable mine development.

This approach is based on three interrelated axes – social, economic and environmental – and focuses on the often close relationship between these areas, as well as the need to adopt an ‘integrated’ approach towards their management. In addition, it is underpinned by the concept that building on existing community ‘capital’ is the best means of driving truly sustainable and long-lasting development. See figure below for examples of projects that Gold Fields has supported as part of this approach.

To date, Gold Fields sustainable management of Cerro Corona has delivered a range of direct and indirect socio-economic and environmental benefits:

Social impacts

• A total of US$1.4 million has been invested in health and education projects in local communities from 2008 to 2010
  
  
• More than US$1 million has been invested in a rural electrification project, which is expected to benefit over 5,000 people

Economic impacts

• More than US$100 million has been awarded in contracts to community-based companies (until end 2010)
  
  
• A total of 523 workers are employed directly by the mine or by contractors (exceeding Gold Fields original commitment to generate 150 employment positions)
  
  
• A total of 99.4% of employees are nationals and approximately 34% are from local communities
  
  
• A total of US$24 million has been paid in salaries to local communities from 2008 to 2010
  

Environmental impacts

• Reforestation projects have contributed to a ten-fold increase in initial forest coverage
  
  
• Effective water management, including use of a closed water circuit, means the mine only uses 1/6th of its licence allowance

These impacts are in addition to US$39 million paid in Canon (tax) in 2010.

Gold Fields is delivering significant benefits to local stakeholders – as well as strengthening its social licence to operate – through the application of a similar integrated development approach at its Far Southeast gold-copper project in the Philippines. Gold Fields is also modelling its approach at the Chucapaca advanced stage exploration project (also in Peru) on the one applied at Cerro Corona.