Newmont’s APSC: Pioneering Sustainable Social Investment in Mining Communities 

July 30, 2024

Unpacking the Impact Strategy Revamp 

In December of 2023, Newmont, the world’s largest gold mining company officially launched its $4 Million Asutifi Processing and Services Center (APSC) in Ahafo, Ghana, where its operations are located. The APSC’s launch marked a significant milestone for Newmont after it undertook to re-evalute its long-term social investment strategy for Ahafo, currently executed through the corporation’s Community Development Fund (CDF). Ahafo is well known for its rich fertile land and production of valuable crops including ginger and chilli. Prior to the relaunch of the APSC however, farmers in Ahafo, had limited access to the necessary inputs and skills to optimise farm operations or yields, nor did they have access to reliable offtake agreements to sell their produce. 

Faced with rising unemployment in Ahafo, particularly among the youth, Newmont’s leadership recognized the emerging tensions within the local community. This challenge is not unique to Newmont but is increasingly experienced by mining companies across the continent. 

What Sets Newmont’s Social Investment Strategy Apart? 

In line with best, and often mandatory, practice for mining corporations, Newmont acknowledges its responsibility to ensure that its hosting communities, including Ahafo, realise tangible socioeconomic benefits beyond actual mining activities. The unique factor embedded into Newmont’s revamped social investment strategy is the corporation’s conscious decision to place sustainability at the center. Effectively, Newmont’s approach aims to build a thriving agricultural ecosystem, creating jobs and improving livelihoods in the medium term, while also preparing for post-mine closure realities in the longer term.

Early Impact of the APSC 

In the few months that the APSC has been operational, over 300 farmers have had the opportunity to generate income from cumulatively selling 136 tonnes of fresh ginger and chili to the APSC. In the first 12 months of operation alone, Newmont expects the APSC to reach over 1000 farmers. Further to this, all farmers will continue to benefit from ongoing technical assistance, provided by the APSC, in an effort to drive the sustainability and profitability within their farm operations. Notably, the APSC has already created 14 full-time, 9 seasonal jobs and an additional 3 seasonal jobs. Whilst this is only the beginning of the journey for the APSC, Newmont is highly committed to ensuring the center’s success by instituting a robust impact measurement and management system. This process will allow the APSC progressively measure impact performance and thereafter use the results to continuously enhance the center’s outcomes.

What Principles Can Mining and Non-Mining Corporates Alike Extract From Newmont?

Although the APSC’s story is rooted within the context of a mining sector corporation as its sponsor, there are core principles that both mining and non-mining corporations can extract if they desire to develop social investment strategies that lead to sustainable impact. Four of these principles

1. Intentionality: Newmont displayed great intentionality by taking the decision to design a new social investment strategy that centers long term impact generation, and thereafter availing the necessary resources to execute upon that strategy.
2. Persistence: Characteristic of most novel pursuits, Newmont’s journey to the APSC’s launch involved obstacles and surmount to surmount, including an unsuccessful launch in prior years. However, recognising the importance of the APSC vision for the Ahafo community’s agricultural industry, Nemont chose to persist, and have already begun to see the first fruits of their efforts.
3. Community engagement: The genesis of Newmont’s revised social investment strategy was rooted in Newmont’s ability to perceive the Ahafo community’s concerns, and thereafter develop an engagement strategy to bring them into the APSC’s future looking vision. Without obtaining buy-in from farmers, actors within the local agricultural value chain, leaders, and the community at large, Newmont would not have been able to design and execute a fit-for purpose social investment strategy.
4. Impact Measurement and Management: Although in its early stages of operation, the APSC has started to track its impact on the Ahafo community, and has begun using the data collected to deepen and enhance impact performance.
5. Partnerships: Realising that partnerships are key to the growth and sustainability of the APSC, Newmont has partnered with development organisations such as GIZ on areas such as technical assistance and training.

If you are a Corporation interested in exploring your path to sustainable social impact, we at Innovest Advisory are ready to partner with you and invite you to reach out to us!

#Sustainability #SocialInvestment #Mining #ImpactAdvisory #InnovestAdvisory #Newmont #CommunityDevelopment #AgriculturalGrowth #EconomicDiversification 

*This article has been written by Innovest Advisory, Newmont’s Impact Advisors. Innovest is an impact advisor that supports Corporations, Fund Managers, Private Asset Owners and Impact Enterprises to become more intentional about creation. We work closely with our clients to provide tailored services across the full spectrum of impact and help them to achieve greater social and environmental impact through their investments and increased capacity to make data driven decisions.