Social Responsibility

We at Randgold Resources Limited fully support and comply with the core commitments made by the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) in 2002 related to the Industry's role in Sustainable Development, which are as follows:

1. We have respect for and engage seriously with the communities in the areas in which we have mining operations so that these communities benefit from our operations;
2. We have respect for fundamental human rights, including workplace rights and the need for a healthy and safe workplace;
3. We practice responsible environmental stewardship to meet the demands of local communities, host country government requirements and international standards.

As a strategically driven Company we have integrated the areas of Community Development, Human Resources Management and Environmental Management into our strategic business plans. This has been achieved by devising sub-strategies for each of these areas within the overall business strategies of the business and of business units, such as Morila and Loulo.

1. Community Development

Our integrated Community Development strategy first identifies potentially significantly
positive and negative impacts by using the services of independent consultants to undertake a thorough Social Impact Assessment, at the feasibility stage of the project.

This assessment and its recommendations are integrated into the feasibility study and, where the project is found feasible, into the Community Development strategy.

The first step in engaging the community is to form relationships with Non Governmental Organisations and Aid Agencies working in the area to identify possible synergies and obtain the benefit of the latters' experience and expertise.
The next step takes place through regular visits to villages get to know the people in the local area. Regular meetings are held with traditional leaders, local committees and with local and national political leadership. At these meetings the representatives of the local communities are requested to elect representatives to a Project Liaison Committee. Such a committee usually comprises three representatives of Randgold Resources, and three representatives from each village within a 10 Kilometer radius of the project/mine. These representatives are complemented by representatives from the Mayor's office and from the central and regional government. In the early stages of a project these committees meet fortnightly and as the project progresses monthly or more frequently if required at the request of the communities.
The committees form an effective communication channel between the project and the local communities, and promote understanding between the project management and the members of the communities, who initially tend to harbour unrealistic expectations of the impact the project will have on their lives.

The committee also assists the project in the operationalisation of the Company's policy to give preference in employment opportunities created, to residents of the most affected villages surrounding the operations. This is important for two reasons. The first is that local people often have great difficulty in competing with other job seekers who have previous experience of working in industry. The second is that it is invariably an expectation of local communities, that all of their residents will obtain employment on the project.
Finally, the committee prioritises sustainable development projects needed in the area that cannot be effected without assistance from the project / mine.

An annual community development budget is agreed by the Board of the mining company as a percentage of profits, equalized annually over the life of the mine.

The committee is made aware of the annual budget and plans and prioritises according to this and to an agreed project proposal filter, which emphasizes sustainability. Most projects carried out are by way of self help projects, with villages supplying labour and the mine contributing financial assistance, material and/or equipment.
Areas that are focused on are education, community health, water supply and job creation opportunities not directly connected to the project / mine, e.g. agriculture, fish farms and crafts.

In addition to benefits to the community from direct community development assistance from the project,  the project results in infrastructure such as roads and bridges being built which enables local residents to trade more widely than was possible before the project development started. However, by far the most significant benefit to the communities are the on-mine job opportunities created and the opportunity for local people to learn skills that will enable them to participate as employees in industry into the future.
 
2. Human Rights

A pillar of the Randgold Resources business philosophy, has always been, and continues to be what we call our "Pact with Labour".

This entails involving the workforce in the business through shared objectives and  consulting the workforce on all business related matters timeously. To this end the Chairman of the Union is invited to all weekly and monthly management meetings.

We operate in countries that have well defined labour legislation and national collective agreements. As part of our policy we assist labour to organize and to negotiate with management a mine level collective agreements.

Our employees are, as a matter of policy, among the highest paid workers in the countries in which we operate. This philosophy is aimed at attracting the most able employees at every level to the organization.
To retain these employees in the organization we apply job evaluation to ensure relativities are equitable, have a formal training and development enabling system, allied to a deep-ending process designed