World Gold Council short film on WA Goldfields aims to tell mining like it is

The World Gold Council’s short film focusing on WA’s Goldfields is the latest in a series which aims to update people’s perceptions and understanding of modern-day mining.

The council’s chief strategy officer Terry Heymann said there had been negative perceptions of the industry historically, which meant people outside mining areas did not really understand what was happening in places such as Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

“A lot of the rest of the world, you don’t really have a sense of what mining is like, the role that mining plays in supporting the communities around it, the jobs it creates, the opportunities it creates, and so we want to bring that to a wider audience,” he said.

“I think there still are a lot of people that don’t understand what modern-day mining looks like, and do have this perception that mining of 100 years ago or longer, don’t understand the attention that’s paid to . . . health and safety, to doing things the right way, to environmental management, to nature and biodiversity, and all of these things that mining companies care about.”

Mr Heymann said the first two films in the series focused on gender issues in Mexico, and a mine on the edge of a city in Brazil — and more broadly on the positive role that mining could have for local communities.

“(These are) the jobs, the economic opportunity, the jobs at the time of the mine, but also the spillover effects creating new economic opportunities, and new businesses,” he said.

“And that’s what we’re seeing in this film.

“And so Carey Group’s a great example of a business that’s come about because of the mine site . . . really providing new opportunities for Indigenous communities, the opportunity to create new businesses that can outlast the life of an individual mine,” he said.

“(That’s) not a surprise to people who live in (Kalgoorlie) but to a broader audience that’s not well known, not well understood, and we want to profile that.”

Mr Heymann said there were several reasons why it was important for the wider world to understand mining and its impact on communities.

“Firstly, we need mining,” he said.

“So we need mining in terms of the goods it provides, and that’s as true for gold as it is for iron ore or copper or any other metal.

“Gold obviously has different applications . . . 10 per cent of gold actually goes into industrial purposes — the phone wouldn’t work if it didn’t have the gold in it.

“But, of course, gold is hugely important as a financial asset, protects the global economy in terms of financial security . . . so we need to continue to mine.

“And number two is . . . if you don’t have mines, you don’t have the source of economic opportunity, of growth, of development, of jobs, and to investors and others that possibly sit in places away from mine sites, they don’t understand what the impact is on local communities if you take away mining.

“And we really want to bring that story to the forefront to help people who don’t live in mining communities understand not just we need those products, but we also need that activity because it’s supporting life in these communities.”

Mr Heymann said there had been too many examples in the past where mining had not done as well as it should have done in terms of supporting local communities.

He said the council, its members and the mining industry more broadly was committed to “responsible mining”, and it was working to develop a voluntary global mining standard.

“We’re working really closely with the Minerals Council of Australia and other partners in defining what constitutes responsible mining . . . work (is being done) on a consolidated mining standard and honouring their responsibilities as mining companies,” he said.

“So nobody is saying the mining industry is perfect.

“There’s always work to do to improve, and we’re very committed to continuous improvement.

“(But) this work on a consolidated mining standard is bringing together the best across different responsible mining standards and saying let’s have a single, consolidated standard that works for the mining industry, period, works for big companies and small companies, works for gold companies and every other commodity works in whatever region of the world you’re operating in.”

Mr Heymann said the council would enforce the standard on its members.

“Now we certainly, as the World Gold Council, are going to require any member of the World Gold Council to conform with that standard,” he said.

“It will be a membership requirement.

“I know that I can say, on behalf of the partners, the International Council of Mining and Metals, the Mining Association of Canada, they are going to put the same in place.

“And so if you want to be a member of one of those associations, you have to implement this standard.”

He said companies such as the world’s big automakers were also interested in adopting the standard.

“They are looking at where they source their metal from, and are saying, ‘we want to have metal that (is) produced in performance with this consolidated mining standard’,” he said.

“So I think there’s a lot to be said for voluntary standards.

“It demonstrates that mining companies are proactively going, ‘we want to be held to a high level, high standards, we want to be held to account’.

“Of course, it’s on top of national and regional standards that are already in place.”

The 15-minute film Gold: The Journey Continues — Australia will premiere at WA Museum Boola Bardip in Perth on Thursday evening.

The World Gold Council is presenting it in partnership with the Minerals Council of Australia and the Gold Industry Group.

The film can be viewed at gold.org following the premiere.