I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that the past few years have been deeply disruptive for the global economy. And in times of uncertainty, many businesses see ethical decision-making as a luxury they can’t afford – something that can wait until we find ourselves in calmer waters.
However, my belief is that it is precisely when the economy is in turmoil our ethical commitments are most essential. In times like these, we need to double-down on building long-lasting, sustainable and equitable partnerships that will drive our business into the future.
Here at Seventy Ninth Resources, we believe that Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policies are more than just window-dressing. They are the foundation on which our investment strategy rests; they are at the heart of our vision for global growth. And that means that, when times get tough, we don’t abandon our commitments to the communities we work with.
This ongoing commitment to ESG has been the centrepiece of my tenure as CEO of Seventy Ninth Resources. In that time, we’ve managed to achieve key accreditations, such as ISO 14001 and Green Mark, and affirmed our support for the United Nations Global Compact initiative.
But these accreditations aren’t just formalities. We’re not in the business of ticking boxes. All of our work in developing our resources offerings is tied to deep investments in local communities. And nothing illustrates this more clearly than our ongoing work in the Republic of Guinea, where we have an extensive portfolio of natural resource assets.
Putting in the Work: Building Relationships for Lasting Impact
Our ability to offer investors access to a range of natural resource investments in the Republic of Guinea did not come overnight. Dave Webster, Chairman of Seventy Ninth Resources, began operating in Guinea in 2011. Over the past 13 years, we have worked closely with local people to understand their needs and access their vital insights.
This approach not only led to our successful drilling campaign in 2023, but has also shaped our further steps to unlocking potential investments in other regions across the world.
At its heart, this locally minded and collaborative approach is all about relationships – about building them, maintaining them, and investing in them. And our recent successes show that, by putting time and effort into relationship-building, these relationships can deliver for you many times over.
For over a decade, Dave and others in our team have spent time on the ground in Guinea, working with and getting to know locals, elders, officials and leaders – and that’s a key part of the success we’re now seeing.
We haven’t taken this path alone, of course. We’ve chosen to work with collaborators – like SRK Exploration, for instance – who share our ethos, and who can bring their unique expertise to bear on our vision of an innovative and people-centred global resources offering.
Getting our hands dirty
So, what does this commitment to ESG look like in practice? In the summer of 2023, Dave Webster and I took an unforgettable trip to visit our head office team in Conakry, the capital and largest city of Guinea. This allowed us to not only see first-hand the recovery of gold from our LS site in the Siguiri Basin – a truly memorable moment! – but also to meet with community groups supporting the local region and take part in a range of local activities.
This was a vital step for me, as it allowed me to extend my relationships beyond our in-country team and legal partners. Thanks to the careful planning of Eric Ntube, our In-Country Manager for the Guinea operations, Dave and I were able to get a true insight into the local culture and communities, as well as the wonderful work of our teams in the region. There truly is nothing like seeing things for yourself when it comes to building a deeper understanding and lasting connections.
Our trip began with a traditional welcome ceremony, which involved a moving performance from the local community that I felt honoured to witness. We also travelled to Kolemboma, a thriving village close to our flagship concession, where we had the opportunity to speak with the tribal elders as well as the wider community and the deputy mayor.
By engaging face-to-face with this diverse and fascinating community, we were able to develop a deeper understanding of their needs and to see more clearly how we can support them. This direct encounter with local people helped us to identify ways we could build on the great work already being done by Eric Ntube and his team, as he has described in an article for the Seventy Ninth Journal.
Finally, we visited one of our natural resource concessions, giving us the chance to see our community partners hard at work recovering gold. Witnessing the end-result of all this hard work for ourselves was incredibly rewarding.
We were also able to see how our 36 employees on the site had benefited from the trade-specific training and health and safety protocols we had implemented. This training doesn’t just ensure our employees could carry out their work to a high standard and as safely as possible – it also provides them with transferable skills that will help set them up for a long and prosperous future in the industry.
Of course, this learning isn’t a one-way street. As much as we have worked to help them develop their skills, they have taught us invaluable lessons about the local region that have helped us to hone our operations. As I said above, relationship-building is a pathway to lasting value for everyone involved.
Championing women in mining
The trip also gave me an opportunity to support one of my most cherished causes – helping women to advance in traditionally male-dominated industries. And that is a very accurate description of mining.
At our head office in Conakry, I was able to meet Dansira and Josephine, the two amazing women who work there. I was also able to discuss with local groups the many challenges facing women in the region, from a lack of access to education to limited pathways into the workplace. These concerns were raised repeatedly across the many different communities I encountered and the towns and villages I visited.
What became clearer than ever was how important it is, in both the mining industry in general and in Republic of Guinea in particular, that our ESG commitments manifest in real, practical support for women.
By employing and offering training to inspiring women like Dansira and Josephine, it’s my hope that we can ultimately contribute to increasing the representation of women in the mining industry. At present, only 13% of C-suite positions in the industry held by women and the overall employment rate for women is among the lowest of any sector, comparable with the construction industry. This tells us there’s a lot of work to do – and it’s time to get started.
By the same token, providing job and educational opportunities to women in the region allows us to be part of the solution to the challenges women continue to face. To this end, we have also partnered with a local school to provide agricultural training that will help women and young people find easier access to valued and skilled jobs.
Going global with our ESG initiatives
Our work in the Republic of Guinea is just one part of our ongoing quest to provide our clients with access natural resource and mineral developments across the world. But it also provides a blueprint for our global approach.
Everywhere we go, we strive to engage with local communities, to value their knowledge and insights, and to improve their situation in any way we can. Our hands-on, face-to-face approach may seem a big risk – or at least a significant burden – in these trying times. But we believe it’s the foundation of our success.
And after all, what good are purpose-led commitments and an ethical approach to business if you aren’t willing to maintain them no matter what the external circumstances?
I’m confident that, as Seventy Ninth Resources continues to grow and open up more pathways into thriving natural resources markets across the world, our success will be founded on a fundamental commitment to ESG. And that makes me proud to be part of this business as it moves from strength to strength.
