2007 Full Report - Kinross Gold

COMMUNITYEngaging the communities where we operate and maintaining strong, positive relationshipswith our stakeholders is a cornerstone of Kinross’ approach to corporate responsibility.For Kinross, community engagement embraces a wide range of activities – fromstakeholder mapping to consulting with neighbours who are, or may be, affected by ouroperations; from community outreach to identifying opportunities for mutually beneficialpartnerships; and from building local economic capacity to supporting projects aimed atdeveloping social infrastructure.We believe that meaningful engagement is not possible using a one-size-fits-all approach.In some locations, such as Paracatu, our operations exist in close proximity to thrivingcommunities. In others, such as Kupol, our operations are very remote and we areeffectively the only – or one of the few – significant employers in the region.Given the global scope of our business, we recognize the need to be flexible – andsensitive to local conditions and populations – in engaging our communities and investingin socially-focused initiatives. Yet, despite the local differences we may encounter, ourprinciples remain the same: to engage stakeholders in a spirit of transparency and goodfaith, and to provide lasting benefits to the communities where we work by supportingsustainable initiatives to develop their social, economic, and institutional fabric.In 2007, Kinrosscontinued initiativesto help ensure thatwe take a thoroughand systematicapproach to stakeholderengagement and applybest practices acrossall of our operations.Working with Indigenous PeoplesAs part of our corporate responsibility principles, we have articulated our long-standingcommitment to respecting the cultural and historical perspectives and realities of indigenouspeoples. We work with indigenous communities at our Maricunga operation in Chile, at ourKupol project in Russia and at Round Mountain in the United States.Maricunga, Chile• Our principal objective is to contribute to capacity-building in the region by helpingto launch local native businesses, assisting in improving educational opportunitiesfor youth and providing other forms of social assistance where appropriate• We provide financial and in-kind assistance to three local native communities or theirrepresentatives, including the Colla of Rio Jorquera, the Colla Wayra Manta Tujsy andthe Multicultural Native Association• We participate in a working group with both the Colla of Rio Jorquera and the CollaWayra Manta Tujsy, through which we have held monthly meetings since 2006 in orderto discuss a wide range of community issuesOur new “Whistleblower”Policy, to be launchedin 2008, will provideemployees andnon-employees witha mechanism toconfidentially report anyhuman rights concerns.Page 37 Kinross 2007 corporate responsibility report