Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors have always been important to the minerals
industry and is now considered one of our most important opportunities (and risks). Getting it right
from the beginning is critical for the minerals industry, and that starts with mineral exploration.
Exploration, or the process of investigation of an economic mineral deposit, is generally low impact
and short-term. Exploration operations vary in size and scale and often shift priority, focus and
location relatively quickly. Australia is a highly regulated jurisdiction with different regulatory systems
and requirements in every state and territory. Most mineral exploration is undertaken by junior
exploration companies or ‘explorers’. Exploration companies are lean operations with limited staffing
and resources, traditionally with no income apart from funds raised or work through partnerships.
Funds are tight and administrative investment is minimised so that investment into activity on the
ground is maximised. All these variables mean that understanding and implementation of ESG
frameworks for an exploration company can be challenging.
ESG is a fast-moving sector with currently multiple frameworks and reporting standards. Interest
from community and government stakeholders as well as investors and off-take partners has been
growing, with mandatory reporting soon to be implemented. The upcoming changes to the JORC
Code will ensure that ESG considerations will be a key component of all public reporting. Resources
have been developed to support explorers implement, manage and report on ESG considerations.
Due to their scale, agility and direct importance of land access and social licence, many explorers
are not the ‘cowboys’ (or ‘cowpersons’) of the industry, but industry leaders in ESG. Strong interest
and leadership have led to innovative practices and strongly embedded vertical frameworks that
directly contribute to social licence to operate.