Galiano strives to have a positive economic, social and environmental impact through our corporate social responsibility activities, many of which are aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The United Nations launched the 17 SDGS in 2015 which are a call to action for all countries, both developing and developed, to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. The SDGs recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and addresses a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection. You can read more here:
These are the 8 SDGs that Galiano is contributing towards achieving.
SDG #1 - End poverty in all its forms
The Asanko Gold Mine contributes significantly to the prosperity of our local communities and our host country, Ghana, through much needed employment opportunities in rural Ghana, supporting local businesses and in-country supply chains with the purchase of goods and services, investments in community projects and statutory payments to government.
- 99% of our workforce are Ghanaian
- 41% of our workforce are from our local communities
- We spent $233 million on in-country procurement, supporting 264 Ghanaian businesses
- We supported 96 businesses from the Ashanti Region, procuring goods and services valued at $10.8 million in 2018
- $1.2 million invested in a range of community projects, including health initiatives, infrastructure, sanitation and access to clean water over the past couple of years.
SDG #2 – End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Asanko supports the development of community-based food businesses and invests in skills training to build capacity among subsistence farmers and the local food sector.
- The mine’s catering contracts have been awarded to the two local businesses, worth $5.8 million over the past two years.
- We have trained 96 local youths in catering at the mine’s skills development centres
SDG #3 – Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
We support improved health and well-being amongst our workforce and our local communities with a number of occupational and community health programs.
- We have an award-winning malaria prevention program at the mine, which has successfully reduced the employee malaria incidence rate by 10% in 2018 compared to 2017.
- Partnered with Project C.U.R.E to provide over $1.3 million worth of medical supplies and equipment to eight health facilities in our local communities
- Working with Health Partners International Canada on a three year project maternal and child health project to improve the quality of services to pregnant women, mothers, infants and young children at nine health facilities
- Successful blood donation exercise, organised by the Asanko Women in Mining Chapter, to ensure adequate levels of blood at a local public hospital to meet the needs of community members
- A range of sports facilities and equipment are available at the mine to actively encourage well-being amongst our employees and contractors
SDG #4 – Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning
An educated local workforce is essential to our long-term viability and success. Asanko supports high quality local educational standards through a series of measures including a literacy program, inter-schools competitions and the provision of mobile library services.
- We are working CODE, the world-renowned Canadian NGO, on their “Reading Ghana” program to improve literacy for school students in the Amansie West District. To date, 17,057 students at 26 schools have benefitted.
- $101,538 invested in education-related projects such as logistic support for smooth conduct of the West African Examinations Council’s Basic Education over the past two years
- We provide school fee subsidies (primary, junior high, senior high and tertiary) for employees’ children
SDG #5 – Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
We have a zero-discrimination policy towards recruitment and a formal Asanko Women in Mining Charter. We also encourage economic empowerment of women in our local communities through skills training, employment opportunities and access to capital.
- 12% of our workforce are female, well above the average of 7% in the Ghana mining industry.
- We have wage equality for female employees compared to men in similar roles at the mine.
- We have a number of female-friendly policies to ensure we attract women to Asanko. This includes a policy to provide new mothers with nursing assistance at the mine.
- We enable women to access to financial literacy, savings and capital through two branches of the Obotan Co-operative Credit Union, which we support.
- We have trained 167 local women through our Skills Development Centres in catering, plumbing, electrical and carpentry
SDG #6 – Ensure access to water and sanitation for all
We are committed to responsible water management and improving access to clean water.
- We have provided 11 community boreholes and contributed to the construction of an additional four community water projects since 2016, when the mine first commenced production.
- We recycle approximately 60% of the process water from our processing plant
- We conducted monthly testing of local water sources to ensure high quality standards.
SDG #8 – Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
Asanko contributes to sustainable economic growth in our local communities and host country through employment, support for the local supply chain of goods and services, community investment and payments to governments.
- 99% of our workforce is Ghanaian, of which 41% are from our local communities, providing much need employment
- We employ two local mining contractors, Thonket and Rocksure, to mine two of our three pits
- In 2018, 96 of the mine’s suppliers are from the Ashanti region, providing goods and services amounting to $10.8 million
- The Obotan Co-operative Credit Union supports over 3,000 local community members
- We paid approximately US$41 million in royalties and taxes to the Ghanaian Government in 2018.
- In 2018, we spent $233 million on procuring services and goods from Ghanaian suppliers.
SDG #15 – Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Mining operations can have a detrimental impact on the environment if they are not properly and rehabilitated. At Asanko, we are committed to restoring all habitats we disturb to the highest level practicably possible, and we have a concurrent rehabilitation program to minimize the overall footprint of our mine.
- We have introduced an innovative bioremediation technology as part of our pollution abatement program to clean up and restore petroleum contaminated soil at our operation
- In 2018 we rehabilitated 5.2 hectares of land, including planting native trees and bushes across our operations
- We converted 16.8 tonnes of food waste, paper waste and sawdust to biofertilizer at our Integrated Waste Management Facility, creating 7.2 tonnes of matured compost for use in our land reclamation and regeneration activities