ENGAGED AND PROSPEROUS COMMUNITIES
OUR COMMITMENT TO ENGAGED AND PROSPEROUS COMMUNITIES
From the initial stages of exploration to the eventual reclamation and rehabilitation of a mine site, we rely on the relationships with our stakeholders and Indigenous peoples to work toward socially inclusive and sustainable development.
The communities near our sites experience the most direct social, environmental and economic impacts of our business. By maintaining open and transparent communication, providing competitive wages and benefits, prioritizing local hiring and procurement, contributing our fair share of taxes and royalties, and investing in community programs and infrastructure, we work hard to support the development goals of our host communities and governments.
Our relationships with stakeholders are built on trust, honesty and transparency. We engage with stakeholders to communicate our challenges and successes and to address their concerns through constructive dialogue to produce better outcomes.
Our teams make concerted efforts to meet with local communities, Indigenous communities, and other stakeholders in ways that reflect local cultures. For example, at Kışladağ and Efemçukuru, our community relations teams frequently visit local coffee and tea houses that act as hubs of public life for community members. The conversations we have with our neighbours in these informal settings allow us to engage with our stakeholders in a way that respects their traditions and strengthens our relationships.
All of our operating sites also have formal Community of Interest Committees that play an important role for strengthening our relationships with host communities. These committees are composed of representative and local stakeholders (residents, community leaders, youth, educators, local business representatives, trade unions, , vulnerable group representatives, government regulators, environmental organizations and other subject matter experts) and Indigenous representatives.
They meet regularly and visit our sites to observe our practices, learn about how we manage our impacts and share their perspectives on potential improvement opportunities. Through these meetings, we offer opportunities for all voices in the community to be heard, ensure that our conversations are effective and encourage confidence that we are working toward outcomes that are mutually positive.
Indigenous Engagement
In Canada, the mining industry is the single largest employer of Indigenous peoples and contributes to the sustainable development of Indigenous communities across the country. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada highlighted that Canada’s private sector has an important role to play in helping to reconcile historical injustices faced by Indigenous peoples. We have a responsibility to meaningfully consult Indigenous communities and provide equitable access to employment, training and educational opportunities.
Our team at Eldorado Gold Québec works with local Indigenous communities, contractors and educational institutions to provide training and employment opportunities to Indigenous peoples. In 2024, in collaboration with the CREA Kitci–Amik, an Indigenous educational centre for adults, we provided cultural awareness training to all our employees and contractors, with video capsules with local Indigenous actors to enhance understanding and respect for Indigenous cultures. This initiative has helped foster a more inclusive and supportive work environment, promoting mutual respect and collaboration between our team and the Indigenous communities. The VP & Country Manager, Canada, is responsible for Indigenous engagement in Québec.
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT
Our assets are located in diverse jurisdictions, each with their own unique cultural and social characteristics. Similarly, our projects differ throughout our operating regions in size and character, meaning that our specific impacts on society, the environment and the economy vary from project to project.
Our approach to community investment attempts to be responsive to local needs, while maintaining the core principles of inclusion and transparency. Engaging with local stakeholders to understand our impacts as well as their goals for the sustainable development of their communities is essential to how we identify and implement community investment projects. Each site is responsible for its own community investment initiatives, with the exception of the Kassandra Mines, which acts as a singular community investment unit on behalf of Olympias, Skouries and Stratoni.
Community investment projects are first assessed and then implemented by our community relations and public relations teams at each of our sites. Mine General Managers, along with country-level oversight from the EVP, Development, Greece, VP & Country Manager, Canada, and VP & Country Manager, Türkiye, are responsible for overseeing community investment projects and their contributions to sustainable development. Our VP, Health, Safety & Sustainability supports in-country teams in developing frameworks that optimize the efficacy and transparency of our community investments.
As part of SIMS, we developed Community Investment Guidance, through a collaborative process with sites, for the purpose of advancing sustainable development in host communities through strategic community investments. This involved aligning to our values, policies and SIMS, as well as our commitments to MAC-TSM and the WGC’s RGMPs and leading international frameworks on community development and investment. Sites continue to implement the guidance, addressing opportunities identified to support communities in building long-term resilience and self-reliance, and share best practices across global teams, given their unique local socio-economic contexts.
Eldorado’s community investment falls broadly under the following categories:
| Area of focus | Our Investments |
|---|---|
| Arts and Culture | Enabling culture and diversity of local communities through preservation of heritage and promotion of local traditions and practices |
| Economic Development | Supporting local business development, skills and capacity building in the local labour force, as well as entrepreneurship opportunities |
| Education and Youth | Fostering opportunities for childhood, youth and adult continuing studies, as well as research and education initiatives relevant to the mining sector |
| Environment | The protection and preservation of the natural environment around our mines that go well beyond regulatory requirements |
| Health and Well-being | Securing improved quality and access to local healthcare services that can operate independently and sustainably, and supporting recreational projects and sport clubs that promote healthy and active lifestyles |
| Infrastructure | Continuing the implementation and maintenance of physical infrastructure that supports community needs and a post-mine economy |
LOCAL EMPLOYMENT AND PROCUREMENT
Wherever possible, we prioritize hiring local employees and working with local suppliers. This practice positively impacts local and national economies by providing competitive salaries and generating government revenues that can be directed toward health care, education and infrastructure. Conversely, negative impacts can include inflated local prices for goods and services as well as income disparity between the mining and non-mining workforce.
We strive to purchase materials and services from companies near our sites. This enables local suppliers to develop their businesses and increase their capabilities by providing a larger proportion of products and services. Local and domestic suppliers of goods and services are the biggest recipients of our supplier expenditure, accounting for 85% of site procurement in 2024.
Our Workforce
We believe in recruiting local employees whenever possible, including for senior roles in which local knowledge and expertise can provide advantages for our business. Where local skills exist, we are committed to providing opportunities for growth and development. In local communities that are less familiar with mining, we work to train employees and provide them with valuable and transferable skills that will have a positive legacy beyond their employment with Eldorado. We are extremely proud of our very high rates of local employment.
In 2024, our global workforce continued to grow, particularly due to expansion at the Lamaque Complex in Canada, with the declaration of the inaugural Mineral Reserve at Ormaque and increased works at the Skouries Project in Greece. We also maintained a local employment rate of 82% for employees, and 87% of our contractors are from the countries where we operate.
Our Contractors
We regularly partner with contractors, particularly during the construction of new projects and when significant investments are made to our existing operations. These partnerships enable us to draw on short-term labour and leverage specific construction expertise that may not be readily available within our own workforce. Doing so also allows us to focus on our core business, while supplementing expertise, experience and labour.
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OTHER SUSTAINABILITY PILLARS
Healthy Environments Now And For The Future
We carefully plan, design and build operations to mitigate our environmental impacts, and work with host communities and governments to ensure that our operations meet acceptable standards of practice and adhere to regulations.
Safe, Inclusive And Innovative Operations
People are at the core of our business. By keeping our people safe, providing well-paid jobs and fostering inclusivity and diversity in our workforce, our operations contribute to the social and economic development of the communities in which we work.
Responsibly Produced Products
Eldorado is committed to responsibly producing gold and other metals that offer a wide range of uses. Our products advance sustainable development and contribute to economic growth around the world.