PROFILING OUR SITES

Each IAMGOLD operation has a unique community investment strategy. That strategy is largely dependent on the needs, priorities and assets of the communities in which it operates. Our approach is to focus on infrastructure contributions in the earlier years of a project, assisting communities with essential services, such as water, sanitation and schools, et cetera. As our operations mature, we focus more on capacity building and sustainable economic development. At our operations, our focuses for investments are: health, education and local economic development.

1. Rosebel – Working With Communities for Sustainable Economic Development

Situated in what is called the Interior of Suriname, the Rosebel Gold Mine is remotely located and its local population struggles with the lack of presence from both government and civil society organizations. Compounding the underdevelopment in the area is a lack of steady income, low employment opportunities, and low educational levels. Due to these conditions, the communities typically depend on Rosebel to provide jobs, many types of services, goods and infrastructure.

For years, the site has worked with local communities to help build basic infrastructure for community health, education and recreation. Now, Rosebel is shifting the majority of its focus to capacity building. In an attempt to avoid this cycle of dependence, the site’s community relations team, in collaboration with various community committees, has developed small business/entrepreneurship initiatives.

Currently, three income-generating initiatives are underway:

The Asigron Agriculture project, which brought forth the Asigron Agriculture group; an agriculture enterprise consisting of 23 individual farmers who use collective marketing to supply locals and RGM with fresh organic fruits and vegetables.
A poultry project which commercially produces eggs for sale in the villages and to RGM.
A brick factory that produces building blocks for sale/use in the village.

Simultaneously, various capacity building initiatives have begun:

Cooking and baking courses for women who have started a catering business.
Sewing courses for women who have started their own business.

In 2011, Rosebel contributed $539 thousand dollars in local community investment.

Partnerships have been concluded with a variety of non-profit and government agencies such as the Ministry of Agriculture. Together these projects have provided stable income for 40 households. Efforts are now underway to provide micro financing so that financial support can be given to small business owners.

2. Essakane, Burkina Faso – A Special Focus on Youth

In 2011, IAMGOLD announced a partnership with Plan Canada that would make a major contribution to youth and economic development in Burkina Faso. The innovative Canadian Public-Private Partnership will be led by Plan Canada and supported with $5.6 million in funding by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Together, Plan Canada and IAMGOLD have committed CDN$1.9 million to the project, which represents one of the largest public-private partnerships with an extractive company in CIDA’s history.

Recognizing a specific need in supporting this youth demographic, the project aligns with the Government of Burkina Faso’s poverty reduction initiatives by improving educational opportunities and providing greater access to ‘job-readiness’ training. The impacted communities for this project are spread out across three regions of the country, none of which are in the mine’s area of influence. Read more about the project here.

While the project represents a significant development investment in Burkina Faso, we see our commitments to the communities near our mine site as a separate responsibility. In the area where we operate (the Sahel) health, education and poverty statistics are among the worst in the country and the world. The needs are high and our community investment has traditionally focused on the most basic needs – food, water, health and education.

For several years, Essakane has helped with basic infrastructure needs for sanitary and education initiatives. Simultaneously, our economic development initiatives have focused primarily on agriculture and food security. We also pay particular attention to children and youth in this region, who in many parts of Burkina Faso are subject to the very unsafe conditions of small scale gold mining.

With a particular focus on drawing youth out of the small scale mining industry, an Informal Basic Education Centre (Centre d’Education de Base Non Formelle – CEBNF) was created in 2010 in the community of Essakane. The purpose of the Centre is to give previously uneducated youth (excluded from the school system) a chance to benefit from technical education. The CEBNF of Essakane site has four training groups: mechanics, sewing, welding and basic literacy education.

One of the ways in which Essakane has supported the school is through the development of its summer program. Like all the other educational institutions in Burkina Faso, the CEBNF closes for four months during summer, but we recognized the need to keep the school open during summer months in order to prevent youth from returning to gold washing sites, since many of them would likely not return after the summer.

Finding a sustainable solution to finance keeping the school open for four extra months took some creativity. With the scrap metal supplies from the mine site, welding students were able to build saleable items such as tents, carts, garden chairs and art. The income generated from the project was sufficient to finance the extra four months, with extra income to make a $500 contribution to the Health and Social Development Centre. The project is now being scaled to surrounding communities, with special attention focusing on the challenge of traditional gender roles (female participation in welding classes and males attending sewing classes).

3. Canada

The following highlights some of the major Canadian initiatives supported by IAMGOLD in 2011.

Education: Governing Council U of T
In 2011, IAMGOLD pledged $500,000 to the University of Toronto for research and education in plastic and reconstructive surgery. In addition to funding two post-doctoral fellowships, the money is funding an initiative to develop a burn-prevention program in Africa. In low- and middle-income countries, which account for 95% of global burn deaths, fire-related burns are the sixth-leading cause of death among children aged 5 to 14 years and a leading cause of disability and disfigurement. The University of Toronto’s Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is collaborating with the African Medical and Research Foundation, Kenya, on this initiative.

Empowerment: Right To Play
In 2012, IAMGOLD became a national partner of Right To Play, contributing $100,000 in the first year of a long-term partnership. Right To Play is the leading international and humanitarian development organization that uses the transformative power of sport and play to build essential skills in children, thereby driving social change in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world. Read more about our partnership here.

Education: Westwood Rouyn-Noranda Schools
IAMGOLD is one of the top donors to Cégep de l’Abitibi Témiscamingue with a financial contribution of $375 000 over 5 years. This donation contributes to local workforce development, which benefits the community as well as for IAMGOLD, should they become future employees. IAMGOLD is also a donor to the Commission Scolaire de l’Or et des bois.

Sports and Education: The Huskies Junior Hockey Team – and the IAMGOLD Arena in Abitibi
IAMGOLD is proud to support the Huskies, a Major Quebec Junior Hockey League team. The objective is to encourage students not only in sport but also in their academic and athletic development through the program "Your effort counts!" As part of the partnership with the Huskies, the Arena was named: IAMGOLD Arena.

Relay for Life: Canadian Cancer Society – IAMABITIBI
The IAMGOLD Team in Abitibi participates in the Relay for Life – Canadian Cancer Society Fundraiser. Their objective is to collect money for the Canadian Cancer Society. The IAMGOLD team contributed a total amount of $205,000 in the past three years. In 2011 we had our largest team yet, with 63 employees walking day and night for 24 hours.

Weekend to End Women’s Cancers
The last few years, a team of brave and generous employees from the Toronto corporate office have taken part in the Shoppers Drug Mart^® Weekend to End Women’s Cancers event. It is a two-day, 60-kilometre or one-day 32-kilometre walk through the neighborhoods of Toronto. The funds raised benefit the Campbell Family Institute at The Princess Margaret, a leader in the fight against all women’s cancers, especially breast and gynecologic cancers in 2011. The team and the company helped raise over $25,000.