Sustainable Mining: Reducing Impact, Strengthening Commitment

Signed in 1995, the Raglan Agreement marked the beginning of a unique partnership between Raglan Mine and the Inuit communities of Nunavik. Thirty years later, this relationship remains a model of trust, mutual respect, and sustainable collaboration.

The Raglan Agreement represents our true social license to operate. It guides our actions, inspires our commitments, and remains the cornerstone of Raglan Mine’s operations.

This session will look back on the mutual learning that has taken place over the past three decades, which has brought us to where we are today and allows us to continue working together to build a shared vision for the future. We will highlight initiatives that, over time, have helped strengthen our ties and foster real opportunities for communities, while facilitating dialogue and enhancing collaboration between Raglan Mine and our Inuit partners.

Mining and energy resources companies play a pivotal role in the energy transition and enabling the global economy to shift to a lower-carbon future, by providing the critical raw materials, products and (renewable) energy necessary. At the same time, extraction and processing itself can be carbon-intensive, highlighting the importance for companies to pay equal attention to decarbonizing their own operations. They are doing so in an environment of greater volatility in commodity prices, geopolitical change, technological capability and skills shortage, and increased investor interest and scrutiny, presenting both a great challenge and a huge opportunity for the sector. In this session, we will discuss investor priorities when it comes to the mining and energy resources sector, offer a framework for what “good” decarbonization planning looks like, and look at practical examples of energy management and emission reduction efforts in the industry.

Eldorado Gold Québec has established a biodiversity program based on concrete actions, including the energy and ecological balance plan and the Lake Florentien project. Since 2020, the company has aimed for carbon neutrality in surface exploration operations at the Lamaque Mining Complex. Its strategy includes reducing GHG emissions, tree planting, and raising awareness of environmental issues.

As part of an environmental compensation effort, Eldorado Gold Québec collaborated on the restoration of the southern shore of Lake Florentien in Val-d’Or, which had been degraded by sediment from boat launches. An intervention plan was implemented to protect a unique genetic population of brook trout, restore natural spawning grounds, preserve wetlands, and create sustainable access on the north shore.

Several interventions were carried out in partnership with local stakeholders: creation of an access road, development of trails, installation of a new boat ramp, vegetative stabilization of the banks, and rehabilitation of the southern ramp. Community involvement was demonstrated by the construction of a footbridge by volunteers.

With 80% of the funding provided by Eldorado Gold Québec, this project stands out for its ecological impact, scale, and the regional mobilization it generated. It demonstrates how the mining industry can be an active lever in preserving an exceptional ecosystem.

In the context of the energy transition and sustainable resource management, copper plays a fundamental role, both because of its essential properties for electrification and its recyclability. By implementing the circular economy model, two objectives can be achieved: increasing the sustainability of electrification and offering a local and secure supply to businesses in Quebec and elsewhere in North America.

In this presentation, we will detail our contribution as one of North America's leading recyclers of electronic equipment, highlighting the challenges and opportunities facing the copper industry in a transitioning economy. We will outline the critical stages of the recycling cycle, from recovery to the reintegration of materials into the supply chain, thereby contributing to sustainable resource management.

To reduce the environmental footprint of its operations and meet the highest social and environmental standards, Nemaska Lithium has developed an innovative strategy for the valorization of residual materials generated by its Bécancour processing plant. Rather than treating them as simple waste, the company transforms these materials into valuable resources for other industrial sectors, embedding its operations within a circular economy approach.

This initiative is the result of several years of research and collaborations with scientific and industrial partners. Three main streams of residues have been identified for their strong valorization potential:

- Aluminosilicates;

- Calcium sulfate/gypsum;

- Sodium sulfate.

By combining innovation, partnerships, and responsibility, Nemaska Lithium demonstrates that it is possible to turn environmental challenges into opportunities for both the economy and the climate, thereby redefining practices in the mining sector.

In a complex industrial context where operations span several sites and countries, implementing concrete greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets is challenging. Once the global target has been established, it is crucial to translate it into clear, achievable objectives for each site. This presentation explores the key stages of this process using concrete examples from a major industrial group.