[RESPONSIBLE METALS AND MINERALS]

[Gabriel Kazour] (44:42 - 45:57)
Good afternoon, everyone. It's a pleasure to be with you today as we discuss responsible metals and minerals and the delicate equilibrium between resource extraction and environmental stewardship. I'm joined today by two distinguished panelists, Amparo Cornejo, Chief Sustainability Officer at Teck and Ulric Adom, Chief Financial Officer at Rio Tinto Aluminum.

A quick introduction of our panelists before we dive into our topic today. Ulric is the Chief Financial Officer of Rio Tinto since May 2023. He has been with Rio Tinto since 2018, holding various CFO roles and supporting the company's growth and decarbonization initiatives.

Prior to this, he spent 14 years at Sanofi as CFO for its Japan and Pacific operations. Ulric, thanks for joining us. Hello, David.

Amparo Cornejo is the Chief Sustainability Officer at Teck and has been with the organization for 10 years. Amparo is responsible for guiding Teck's global strategy and establishing governance and standards to drive enterprise sustainability performance in the areas of community, indigenous affairs, environment, and permitting. She also serves as the company's senior liaison for Latin American government and community affairs.

Welcome, Amparo.

[Amparo Cornejo] (45:58 - 46:04)
Good afternoon, Gabriel, and thank you for the invitation. And hello, Ulric. It's a pleasure to be here.

[Gabriel Kazour] (46:04 - 46:39)
Hello, Amparo. Thank you. So our discussion for today is really two parts.

Part one, how responsible metals and minerals practices prioritize environmental stewardship. And part two, how partnerships drive innovation success by bringing together diverse expertise, resources, and perspectives. So maybe I'll start with the first question to Ulric.

With the push towards achieving more sustainable mining operations, what specific steps has your company taken to reduce carbon emissions, and what is your approach to meet decarbonization goals?

[Ulric Adom] (46:40 - 51:52)
Thank you, Gabby. So look, first of all, again, thank you for inviting us to this panel and giving us the opportunity to answer on this very important topic. Obviously, I would say our overall decarbonization push is really core to the company's strategy.

And as a company, I talk so broadly about Rio Tinto. And obviously, I also focus on the role that Rio Tinto aluminum, so the aluminum business of Rio Tinto is playing in this decarbonization push. I think if we take a step back in 2021, our CEO, Jacob Stausholm, really set the group on a path towards some quite ambitious objectives in terms of decarbonization.

And that can be, I would say, split into three series of targets. The first one is to reduce our scope one and two emissions by 15% by 2025, that is our 2018 target. The second phase is to reduce the same scope one and two emissions by 50% by 2030.

Again, that's just the 2018 baseline. And then the last milestone is to be net zero by 2050. And so I think there's always this push and pull to say, okay, look, how do we create the mobilization within the company?

And obviously, you look at those targets and you kind of like, how is it gonna work? Now you're in the realm of reality. But at the same time, it also allows for a lot of company mobilization and effort.

And that's what the ambition is about. It's how do you make sure that it becomes a lot of company effort and that it starts to percolate in everything you do and that we hold ourselves accountable to a set of specific targets. And now I can speak for the aluminum business of Rio Tinto and that was pretty, when it dawned on us, when it arrived, because 70% of the scope one, of the, sorry, yes, of scope one and scope two emission of Rio Tinto are actually linked to the aluminum business.

And notably because part of our metals, notably in Australia, are still basically coal-fired powered in terms of their source of energy. We have the benefit here in North America to have a massive hydro base. So most of our smelters in North America basically are powered through hydro and I'll come back to our commitment in water.

But so we just said we have to do it and we have to do it not only in a realistic way, but also in a competitive way. So look, I don't want to take all the time, but where we stand now, the way we tend to think about our scope one, two, and I'll cover a bit of scope three, is basically scope one is about electrified and modernized. So it's really, how do we basically change the paradigm in the way we are running the operation and whenever we can, we're gonna electrify.

That's one, and it goes around the full value chain, not only through the mine, but through the aluminum needed to produce alumina so that the refineries and the aluminum. And if we have your question, I'll come back to that. I would say our scope two is really about repowering.

And I mentioned this coal-fired power, et cetera. And so here we've been moving quite aggressively. I gave the example of what we're doing in Australia in Gladstone.

We have announced the repowering of our Boyne smelter, which is one of our largest smelter in the Pacific. We signed 2.2 gigawatts. I think people just, I'll come back some other hour, of renewable PPAs to partner, to be able to have a repowering solution for 2030 for those melter.

So scope one, electrify, scope two, repower, and scope three is about partnership. And really partnership quite aggressively with our clients, with our customer. Not only, I would say, in terms of supporting the initiative that they are taking on their own scope one and scope two emission, but also how we partner from a technology standpoint.

I mentioned electricity, electrify. For example, what we're doing in the alumina for alumina refineries, how we partner with our Chinese customer of bauxite to actually push this technology in their piece. And the last aspect is around repurposing.

So how do we create a recycling loop with our client? So I'll pause there and we can enter into some more specific, but that's probably the way we look at it.

[Gabriel Kazour] (51:53 - 52:02)
Excellent. Thanks, Ulric. Amparo, how about yourself?

How is tech dealing with, or what steps are tech taking to reduce the carbon emissions?

[Amparo Cornejo] (52:05 - 55:32)
Thanks, Gabriel. I was listening to Ulric with a lot of attention, but maybe before entering into our commitments in relation to decarbonization, I would like to share maybe a more general reflection. I think we are facing an important revolution in the area of sustainability and decarbonization, which I think is different from the previous evolution the humanity has faced.

And today I think we have a very exciting opportunity for us working in the mining industry because this revolution is not only focused in production or transformation from the technological perspective. It's about the vision and the expectation that we have around the planet. So I think I wanted to comment this before entering into the details, but I think we are living a very challenging, but exciting moments around the industry and the role that mining plays in our planet.

So I wanted to reflect a little bit around this. I have just been appointed in this position of Chief Sustainability Officer, and I have been thinking a lot about the challenge and the opportunity that we have, and I think that we share in the industry. So very similar to what Ulric has said, we do have objectives in relation to become a net zero emission company by 2050.

And basically we have like two main objectives, achieving net zero two emissions around the year 2025, which is almost there, and also reducing the carbon intensity of our operations by 33% by the year 2030. We have advanced significantly in both areas, and maybe we'd like to share with you some of the examples and the cases that we are managing. In Chile, in our operation in Carmen de Andacollo today, we have 100% of energy provided by clean source power.

In our recently expanded operation in Quebrada Blanca, also in Chile. Sorry, I have this Chilean focus as you can see, very, very present with me. We expect to reach the 100% clean power beginning of 2025.

So very close. If we think about our operations in general, by 2023, 82% of the electricity was provided from renewable energy sources, and we will continue to increase this as we advance to obtain this objective. In relation with innovation, I think that is also a key component of this objective, and I would like to share the experience that we have in our trail operation in British Columbia in Canada, where we successfully completed the construction and commenced an operation of a carbon capture utilization and a storage pilot.

So I hope that in a future conversation, I would be in a better position to share with you more experience, more data on how this pilot is performing.

[Gabriel Kazour] (55:33 - 56:28)
Before we dive deeper into our discussion on responsible metals and minerals, it's essential to consider the role of community engagement. We invite you to share your perspective by answering a quick polling question. Which community engagement strategy do you believe is the most effective in fostering relationships with host communities?

A, local employment and training programs. B, direct financial contributions and investments. C, collaborative environmental conservation projects.

D, regular and transparent communication with stakeholders. Please take a moment to respond to the poll. So I think I heard a little bit of the advancements and initiatives you're taking.

So beyond decarbonization, Amparo, maybe I'll stay with you for this one. Could you share a little bit more on the advancements or initiatives the organization is taking and implementing to manage water waste tailings more effectively?

[Amparo Cornejo] (56:30 - 1:00:00)
Yes, of course. I think water is, of course, a key concern for all the industry. And water is an important resource.

It has a significant meaning for communities, has always been part of the development of communities. And some of them for us that work with indigenous groups are in a position to really learn from them on how they respect water, the meaning significant that it has. But we are also facing times of water scarcity.

So our main commitment is to be able to shift the use from fresh use sources to other sources in areas that are stressed by water scarcity. And some examples here, for example, in Quebrada Blanca. Sorry, I refer to Quebrada Blanca on frequent basis because this has been the biggest project and the very newest project that Teck we have developed and now is operating.

But in the early stage of the project, we understood that this operation is located in the Atacama Desert, which is one of the driest places in the earth. So the project was defined to use a desalinated water completely for the operations. And today the plant is operating.

The water is pumped up through a pipeline of 164 kilometers to an altitude of 4,400 meters. And in that process, we also took a very bold position of returning water rights to the state. Before even finalizing the construction, we not only made the commitment, but we implemented it.

And I also believe that some mining companies are taking the same approach. So in that way, we avoid using water, which is scarce. And we are following our commitment.

In relation to waste, I think that is always a key priority for us. And we are trying to find alternatives and be able to recycle and be more effective. And maybe one interesting experience, it's also an experience that our team in trail is doing at this moment, which is to recycle used tires from old trucks and use them in a rubberized asphalt.

This project is advancing. The rubberized asphalt has proven to last up to five years more than the traditional or regular asphalt. So that means less maintenance and also extended pavement life.

Up to this moment, 10,000 tons of waste rubber coming from 2,000 tires are already being recycled per year. So we are really focusing in protecting and being respectful on the use of water and finding some alternatives and innovative solutions on waste.

[Gabriel Kazour] (1:00:01 - 1:00:08)
Excellent. Thank you.

Ulric, how about you? How do you see Rio Tinto dealing with this?

[Ulric Adom] (1:00:09 - 1:07:00)
So look, and similarly, I was listening with intent to what Amparo was saying, and I really like the specific example. I'll come back to that on water and what is happening notably in the Andes region because, for example, we have a lithium project in Argentina. And yes, I mean, the management of water is paramount, and now we can do that in close relationship with the communities that have been from the beginning at the start of this project.

A core element of how we think about the development of this project. And, you know, if I take a step back and the way we think about our environmental framework and, you know, one of our bold objectives that was put out there by Jacob back in 2021 when he also defined our decarb target was this notion of impeccable energy. And we kind of, initially, I was like, really, as a mining company, what do we call impeccable energy?

And can we be out there committing to impeccable energy? But actually, it triggered quite a thinking, and I can talk for the aluminum business. You know, we are operating globally.

We have 30 assets around the globe in North America, in Australia, in Europe, in South America through some of the partnerships that we're having in the other land. And you kind of say, okay, what does impeccable energy mean to us? In this business, in the way we are managing this business.

And then you take your risk framework and you have risk and you have risk that are related to water, environment, dust, waste, and so on. And you say, okay, what should we do to strive to this notion of impeccable? And, you know, you will never be impeccable without you.

And then you actually apply it concretely to some of the risks and the way you manage. And I'll come back to some specific example. You kind of say, okay, actually need to reduce a likelihood of occurrence and an impact of this specific risk on the environment, on the community that we're having.

And when you start to drive that, you start to drive a very different view of the way you were thinking previously about some of those environmental risks. And for me, it covers, you know, not only we talk about water and I'll come back to that, but, you know, we have the water, we have the waste, we have the biodiversity, we have the air quality and we have the land. And we try to cover all those elements in the comprehensive framework and say, how are we doing better?

How are we improving? How are we moving the piece? So water, I'll take the example.

So water, we've been the first mining company to actually publish as a result. And asset by asset, water usage report. And we did that last year.

So we have, I mean, because it starts by the transparency and then once you have the transparency and you understand what we are, what is the usage and then what are we driving, then you can strive to improve. And it's also a lever for better partnership. So in British Columbia, I think, I'm part of my son, British Columbia, we have our KittyMats mentor in British Columbia and the power comes from our Kemano Power Station and Kemano Power Station, the water comes from what we call the watershed of the Nechako River.

And the Nechako River, I mean, look at the size, it's basically the size of Switzerland. And so how we are partnering with the Cheslatta Nation to better manage this watershed and the approaches and the impact that we see, for example, of climate change on the hydrology. So that's just one of the examples to say, okay, how we use this framework to just be better and leverage that to partner with notably the First Nation.

And we try to apply this to the same thing and talk about biodiversity. How we apply the UN framework for the development of our Simandu Iron ore mine in Guinea, or how we work with our partners in Brazil in the MRN bauxite mine in terms of the impact and managing the impact that the bauxite mining has there. So it's those kinds of approach.

And the last piece, not to be too long, because I can go on and on and on on this piece, but an existential threat for the aluminum industry is how we're managing our bauxite residue linked to the refinery of bauxite to turn into alumina. And then alumina will be then smelted to become aluminum. But when you turn bauxite into alumina, you actually create red mud.

What we call red mud. And I mean, the way we can manage, transform, reduce those red mud, but also reuse these red mud is critical for the viability of the entry and our license to operate. And we are making some headwind in terms of notably the reuse of those red mud.

We mentioned asphalt, brick, et cetera. And that's an area where we are partnering quite heavily with the rest of the industry. We need to find a solution.

For me, it's a bit like what we said for decarbonization. Now we have the target we just need to deliver on it. I think that it's all of company effort to say, OK, this needs to be solved.

And so now we are having, notably in terms of dry tailing, in terms of reuse, quite some aggressive approach. That's why we are testing in our operation in Australia. But also, again, in our refinery here in Canada as well.

So that's just some example of what we're doing. And again, the takeaway is it needs to be broad. It needs to be comprehensive.

It's a much more transparent approach. We are publicizing the number. We are engaging.

We are partnering with our stakeholders. And notably with the First Nation in terms of how we better manage those elements.

[Gabriel Kazour] (1:07:00 - 1:08:02)
Thank you. And I think it's interesting to see all these advancements, initiatives companies are taking on both sides.

Let's move on to another crucial point from today's discussion. We're interested in hearing your views on the influence of consumer demand. To what extent do you believe consumer demand influences companies to adopt responsible mining practices?

A, greatly influences. B, moderately influences. C, slightly influences.

D, does not influence. E, unsure. Please take a moment to answer the poll.

And thank you for your ongoing participation. One of the things that probably still is a little bit of an unknown is post mine of life. So, you know, and Ulric, maybe I'll stay with you on this one.

So what are some of the commitments that, you know, we're making mining sites post life of mine and what progress are we making or what challenges do we have in that?

[Ulric Adom] (1:08:04 - 1:12:40)
I started, you know, I've been only six years with Rio Tinto and I was not in mining before. So I came back real fast. And so they didn't put me immediately in supervising operation like I'm doing now.

I started with this aspect of life cycle management before in terms of exploration, studies, major capital project. And then on the other side of the life cycle, the closure aspect. And the way I tend to look at closure and mine rehabilitation, again, for me it's an integral part of our social license.

You know, Amparo mentioned at the beginning that decarbonization is actually an incredible opportunity for the mining industry. It is because a lot of the materials that we mine, process, produce are core to the decarbonization effect. But we need more of those.

You know, the debate around copper. We just need more. The debate around lithium, et cetera.

But how can you convince the communities, the stakeholder, the government to let you develop new mines if you don't show the way you still are cheap and the way you are managing the life cycle of your existing operation? And so it's interesting because if you look at the way the industry has approached this, I talk about Rio Tinto here. Rio Tinto is an aggregation of a lot of also, you know, mergers, mergers and acquisitions.

I think, for example, our aluminum business has been built. You know, it's Alcan, it's Alcan Pechiney. Those are big names in the industry.

And so we approach it through when you do those big mergers and acquisitions and build a business, you need to manage what we call legacy. And for a lot of time we are managing what we call legacy assets. So, okay, we need to repurpose this old mine, these old refineries and negotiate this.

And it was kind of, you know, we're on the side. We call it legacy management. But now we are entering into a cycle where actually we have, and for us I take the Argyle Diamond Mine, which was producing the only place in the world where we are producing the big diamonds in Western Australia.

You take what the Diavik mine that will soon close in the north of Canada. You take Argyle operation where we are doing bauxite and refinery that are close. You take ERA, which was uranium mining.

And now those mines are closed or are being too closed. And it becomes really what you call an active management. And from something that was on the side, it was kind of legacy.

You kind of like, how are we committing here? How are we partnering to really repurpose, rehabilitate? But also, again, partnering with the traditional owners and the First Nation in terms of economic activity.

And I think it created internally, I would say, a different mindset because we realized that you can actually, it's not a legacy management, okay, to deal with all these things of the past. It's becoming active, but also you realize that if you wait for the mine to close, to actually engage and do the rehabilitation, it's already too late. And so now we embed it in the way we develop our project.

And each of our assets now is what we call asset closure strategy with clear timeline, five, 10 years. And so that rehabilitation, repurposing becomes part of the way we operate those assets. And not just something that at the end of the operation, I will drop, shoot that to whatever legacy or closure management group that we have to deal with that.

And I think it creates another approach in the way we think about our operation, in the way we think our relationship with the traditional owner. So again, I can go on and on. You can see I'm being agitated when I talk about that.

But for us, closure rehabilitation is really core to our license to operate and to our future growth. Thanks, Ulric.

[Gabriel Kazour] (1:12:40 - 1:12:41)
Amparo, your thoughts?

[Amparo Cornejo] (1:12:43 - 1:15:46)
Okay, first of all, I totally agree with Ulric. I think in two areas that he has highlighted in his two last answers. First one, to have this integral view on how we impact different elements and also how we work as industry.

I think that is a very powerful comment. But I also believe that we are in tech very aligned to what he has said about the lifecycle of the operation. You start from exploration and you need to be a steward of the operation until closing and reclaiming.

And we are committed to do that. And we are committed to do that in working in collaboration with communities and usually indigenous groups. So I think I totally agree.

I think the license to operate is something that is impossible to obtain if you don't have a very clear commitment on what is your responsibility through the construction of the project, through the operation, and then how you manage the legacy. So I totally agree that that is the focus and the transparency that is required. It's something that is evident.

It's not avoidable. And that is the way we need to work with communities. And maybe I would like to connect also with something that for us is very important, which is about biodiversity, because biodiversity loss is something that is a critical global threat, similar to some other risks that we are facing.

And in tech, we have committed, and maybe you have heard Jonathan Price, our CEO, to talk about our commitment to become a nature-positive company by 2030. And we established a target, which is to reclaim and protect three hectares for each one that we impact in our operations. And we have been able up to this moment to conserve and restore 52,000 hectares in North and South America, which is around 3.6 times the land that we impact, considering the data as up to 2023. So I think that in the area of biodiversity, we will continue to work. I think this is a big challenge for the mining industry. But I think this is something that needs to be done in collaboration and partnership with communities.

For example, in Chile, we are doing a project in the north of the country with the community of Ollagüe, working with the indigenous community and partnering in how we restore the land and have a conservation space there. So a lot to be done in this space, and I think this is going to be the future topic of the industry.

[Ulric Adom] (1:15:47 - 1:16:37)
Thank you. Maybe, Gabi, just if I can add also a comment. And I think, you see, we're really trying to have a comprehensive and do things right.

But also I think there's also an aspect in terms of legacy and rehabilitation and closure, which is also we need to face our past as an industry, because we have not always been perfect. And I think it goes through this acknowledgement also. And there are some painful examples.

And for us, for example, in Papua New Guinea, with Bougainville, we are engaged in a process to really face some of those realities. And I think it's also part of this notion of how we think about it, how we embed moving forward, but it's also how we face our past. And I think it's quite important and something that I wanted to outline as well.

[Amparo Cornejo] (1:16:37 - 1:17:02)
I couldn't agree more with you, Ulric. I think that is something that we need to be very conscious and transparent. I think we need to assume the issues that we have faced in the past, but being transparent and responsible on the action that we're taking today and how we are facing this in the future.

So, yeah, totally aligned there.

[Gabriel Kazour] (1:17:02 - 1:17:28)
So, moving on to kind of our second topic for the day is partnerships. And, Ulric, maybe this one starts with you. Considering the increasing importance of sustainable practice in the sector, can you elaborate on your collaborative efforts with other companies, governments, stakeholders to further enhance the sustainability efforts?

[Ulric Adom] (1:17:29 - 1:21:48)
So, it's kind of a vast topic, but I'll try to make some concrete example, I would say. I think if we take our first topic, we first talked about decarb and what we are doing and the action and some of the partnerships that are on. And, you know, I mentioned the fact that it's a whole company effort, but it cannot be just a whole company effort because the things are just too complex that we need to, that we have to manage.

So, I look at it through, I would say, three additional layers. There's obviously, and I see that as an absolute opportunity to better partner and reinforce our partnership with the traditional owners and First Nations. I mentioned the watershed in British Columbia, but also, so that's with the Cheslatta Nation.

But also, I mentioned that we have a lot of hydro energy also in the other part. In Quebec, we have most of our aluminum smelters and one large refinery, and again, hydro. And we acknowledge that we are evolving now in a world where energy is becoming scarce.

And so, how do we partner with First Nations to actually co-develop a certain number of solutions there? And that's a path that we are starting to take with the Mashteuiatsh in Quebec. But if I go and I look beyond aluminum in Western Australia, in iron ore, we announced at the end of last year a partnership with the Yindjibarndi, a traditional owner of Western Australia, to actually develop also a solution, an renewable solution.

It's on their land, and having them as partner makes the difference in terms of your ability to actually do something there. And I think it goes to the next topic, which is also government and government engagements. And again, if I take those examples, when you have those partnerships with traditional owners and First Nations, and then you go to the government and you say, what's the framework here in which you operate?

The other aspect, and it's interesting, and that's based also on my experience in Australia, is also our economic impact. And how are we managing through the sustainability and the practices to broaden also the way we have, I would say, a positive impact in terms of economic impact? And, you know, and I come back to the relationship with traditional owners and First Nations.

It's interesting because obviously we have diversity targets and we're trying to employ much more indigenous people, and that's part of our objective. And when I think here about in Canada, our relationship, for example, I mentioned with the Mashteuiatsh in Quebec, it's about economic opportunities. And so how we leverage, you know, last year we spent in Australia close to 700 Aussie dollars.

So that's 600 million dollars opportunity with Indigenous. It's 200 million here in Canada. How we further enhance those opportunities and to create those partnerships.

So look, I've been just trying to pick some example in terms of what we're doing. But again, it's about maximizing the opportunity because that's the way we can solve some issues in terms of the gap. That's where we can reinforce our partnership with the First Nations and traditional owners.

And that's also the way we can better partner across the industry. I mentioned our partnership with Alcan on some of the partnerships we're doing with China. And now we can manage red mud aspect and also partner with the government.

[Gabriel Kazour] (1:21:48 - 1:22:04)
So I think you actually answered my last question, too, which was about, you know, how to ensure, you know, you're working with local communities around fair labour practices, socio-economic benefits. But before I get there, Amparo, anything to add to what Ulric just spoke about?

[Amparo Cornejo] (1:22:05 - 1:24:43)
Yes, I think that it's not only the complexity of the issues that require working in partnership, but also it's about the legitimacy. Because working with other partners that have a different perspective and can be out of the industry also, that helps us to really focus on what are the things and the topics that are more important for communities, for government, for the society. So I think partnerships are key to the industry.

In our case, we had a very successful partnership with UN Women in Chile. It started in 2016 and we partnered with a focus that had two main focuses. One engaged about indigenous groups, but also women and diversity.

So we generated this program called Originarias that is focused on indigenous women in the regions where mining activity takes place in Chile. And it's a program that has grown strongly. And today there is a big centre in the city of Iquique that is focused on indigenous women to provide leadership capacities, economic development.

And more than 3000 people have been part of this program. In connection to biodiversity and our efforts there, we have donated 10 million to the Chilean Natural Fund to support a Chile protected areas program in the Juan Fernandez archipelago, which is a UNESCO biosphere reserve and one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world. This has no connection to our operations, but we also believe that partnership should not be only connected to the core of the business, but also to some key societal objectives.

And in Canada, we have also contributed to the Nature Conservancy of Canada towards the conservation and protection of globally rare inland temperate rainforest in the Incomappleux Valley in the southern British Columbia. So I think partnerships, as Ulric was saying, with the government, with indigenous communities and with NGOs are really important, help us to have a more effective focus on the societal issues and to address those in a more effective way.

[Gabriel Kazour] (1:24:44 - 1:25:21)
To wrap up, let's consider one final question. We want to hear your thoughts on which environmental issues should be a top priority for mining companies to address. A.

Climate change and greenhouse emissions. B. Land degradation and habitat destruction.

C. Air quality and dust control. D.

Waste management and recycling. We value your input, so please respond to the poll. Thank you for taking the time to share your views.

Again, thank you. Thank you both. It's been fantastic having this conversation with you and have a wonderful rest of your day.

Thank you.

[CLOSING REMARKS]

[Theo Yameogo] (1:25:21 - 1:26:46)
Well, that was a great panel. I don't know if I told you, but Gabriel and I spend a lot of days and nights in operations where we actually merge all the risk practice, basically some of the things that you guys do in insurance, with operations practices. So it's great to hear how responsive mining is really moving forward and to hear from companies that are actually doing it.

They're really walking the talk. For me, there are three key points that come from this discussion. The first one is that the responsible stewardship in mining really needs to be integrated approach of environmental management, social responsibility and ethical governance.

And the other one is, you know, building a strong trust-based relationship with the community is crucial. Finally, I think, you know, and again, you know, there's nothing without assurance, as Kaki will tell me. But with the push for transparency and reporting, I think companies might also, well, I think the panelists also told us a company might disclose their sourcing practices to increase supply and traceability.

Now, with your other partner, Hatch Fund, how would you view, you know, how companies can balance this responsibility to advance their operations?

[Kaki Giauque] (1:26:48 - 1:27:09)
Yeah, absolutely. You know, to successfully navigate these responsibilities, I think companies must weave sustainability into their strategies and engage with their communities. We've heard it from the panelists, and I preach it every day.

Transparent communication and strong partnerships are key for meeting stewardship expectations and driving success.

[Theo Yameogo] (1:27:10 - 1:27:38)
Well, thank you, Kaki. That concludes another successful Metas and Mining Forum. And on behalf of the entire EY Metas and Mining team, and I want to thank all of you for joining us today.

We hope you enjoyed the virtual experience. I'd also like to express our sincere gratitude to all the speakers and panelists for generously sharing their time and offering such valuable insight.

[Kaki Giauque] (1:27:39 - 1:27:52)
In the coming weeks, we will be sharing recordings of the presentations via email and on our event website. So keep an eye out for more information. Thank you all again for joining us, and I hope you have a fabulous rest of your day.