Find out more at www.aamig.com

Supporting the Australian Mining Industry in Africa

The Australia-Africa Mining Industry Group (AAMIG) and the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) have signed a letter of co-operation which outlines the intent for both organisations to work together to benefit the Australian mining industry in Africa.

“This relationship will directly benefit Australian mining and exploration companies working in Africa, seeking to achieve positive and functional community engagement and development through agriculture. AAMIG members will now have direct access to DAFWA’s international consultancy arm, and can leverage specialist knowledge and technical services in finding solutions for issues such as biosecurity, quarantine and supply chain systems, crop diversification and productive capacity.” – AAMIG CEO, Trish O’Reilly.

Junior mining companies cannot begin to solve all the social and economic issues in the vicinity of their operations. Better results are likely to be achieved by building strategic alliances such as this one – developing more of a team Australia approach to investing in Africa.

AGWEST Food Security has a long history of working with developing nations over 40 years, in 30 countries, including countries in Africa.

AGWEST Food Security services include: • specialist agriculture, biosecurity, natural resource management consultancy • project management • technical services • capacity building – government and commercial sector

DAFWA Director General Rob Delane said AGWEST Food Security offered a diverse range of services, drawing on the expertise of specialist agribusiness, academia and DAFWA staff.

“Highly qualified personnel with extensive experience in biosecurity and food safety systems, sustainable agriculture development, natural resource management and community development are available,” he said.

“AGWEST Food Security works in partnership with private enterprise, government agencies, international funding agencies

and non-government organisations in Africa, as well as the Middle East and Asia.”

In recent years the consultancy has worked on African projects in Libya, Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia and Botswana.

Mr Delane said there were synergies between the agriculture and mining sector, which could be enhanced for mutual benefit.

“Food security and safety has long been a challenge for developing nations, affecting health, education and the economy,” he said.

“AGWEST Food Security can provide the mining sector with access to specialists – onsite if necessary – to work with clients to provide solutions to issues, such as improving biosecurity, quarantine and supply chain systems, building community resilience to drought and natural disasters and enhancing crop diversification and productive capacity.”

For more information visit agwest.wa.gov.au

Newsletter #7 August 2013

AGWEST and AAMIG Working Together

Member benefitsVOICE OF THE SECTOR - Representation and advocacy

EDUCATION AND TRAINING - Skills development for doing business in Africa

COMMUNITY OUTCOMES - Advice for social investment strategies and programs

PEER LEARNING AND SUPPORT - Events and networking opportunities

KNOWLEDGE - Leading practice tools and access to AAMIG’s management team

RELATIONSHIPS - Introductions to Government, NGOs and academia

CSR FUNDING - Support to access social development grants

INDUSTRY RECOGNITION - Right to display the AAMIG logo

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES - Create brand awareness

Please visit AAMIG at booth 78. NGOs associated with AAMIG and some member companies showcasing CSR projects will be rostered onto our booth. Please see website for details.DOWNUNDER

It is pleasing to note that, just over two years since its inception, AAMIG is now recognised as a leading industry organisation in supporting the Australian mining industry to deal with the challenging non-technical risk issues of working and operating in the countries of Africa.

AAMIG has been effective in increasing the awareness of Africa-specific risk issues, and showing that early attention to social, political and governance issues can be both value-creating and value-protecting. The Guiding Documentation listed on the AAMIG website provides the basic principles that are expected to be brought into the cultures of member companies. However, it is often the case that this guidance presents as something that is rather challenging to tackle. This is an area that requires attention and AAMIG is pursuing ways of establishing stepping-stones that will assist members. Although there is still much to be done in this and many other areas, it is perhaps timely to celebrate our achievements at the upcoming Africa Down Under Conference in Perth.

AAMIG is continuing to pursue the development of partnerships and has entered into commitments with Curtin University and the Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA).

Several months of discussions initiated by Curtin University have resulted in the commitment to establish a set of short training courses that will address the non-technical risks faced by the mining industry in Africa. These short courses will draw on a range of Africa-experienced industry people and will be designed to provide attendees with practical toolkits with which to effect cultural change within companies.

The engagement with DAFWA is designed to assist Western Australian mining companies operating in Africa to undertake meaningful capacity building in agricultural endeavours in local communities.

AAMIG will launch the training and the agricultural initiatives at the ADU Conference and it is hoped that these will be enthusiastically supported by our members.

Bill Turner

From the Chairman…

Q&A with Rick Yeates This edition we interview Rick Yeates (RY), Managing Director of Middle Island Resources, an Australian-listed gold exploration company with projects in Niger, Burkina Faso and Liberia.

Below is a snapshot of our discussion, to read the full interview, visit the AAMIG website: www.aamig.com.

AAMIG: You’re a founding Board Member of AAMIG, why do you feel this industry body is critical for juniors?

RY: AAMIG enables the collective sharing of knowledge on doing business in Africa, providing an avenue through which processes and procedures can be put in place and an opportunity to learn from the experience of others. We have found AAMIG’s GAP Analysis Tool a fantastic resource in terms of upgrading our policies and procedures and identifying appropriate international protocols that we choose to comply with. We’ve also received support to access additional funding to extend the reach and impact of our existing CSR programs. AAMIG is a much needed lobby group, be it between industry and Australian governments or African governments - it can really work for members when they get into political issues or crises.

AAMIG: What advice would you give other junior explorers in regard to attaining and managing a social licence to operate? RY: A social licence to operate is your first line of security - it secures your camp, infrastructure corridors and principal prospects.

Social projects need to be managed - which means planned, implemented and monitored. At Middle Island we employ a Community Relations Manager and a quality NGO to run our social projects. This has enabled us to enhance our training and procurement procedures, as well as implement sustainable projects with measureable outcomes.

More than the community projects themselves, it’s about communication and managing expectations - keeping communities informed of what you are doing and why you are doing it is key.

AAMIG: How do you manage business risk and issues of transparency at Middle Island?

RY: There’s no question that Africa can be very challenging, and you certainly can’t afford to have an absence of policies or awareness in this regard. AAMIG has recently been very vocal in the facilitation payments area, which highlights the need to develop effective anti-corruption compliance programs and strong ethical corporate cultures. We find AAMIG’s Gap Analysis Tool useful to identify gaps in our policy, however this area is never going to be completely fool proof; Africa doesn’t operate like that.

If you are a producer or explorer and are interested in learning more about becoming an AAMIG member, please join us over breakfast on 22 October at the Celtic Club for an informative discussion hosted by Bill Turner, Chairman - AAMIG and John Borshoff, Managing Director of Paladin Energy.

For more information please contact Rebecca at rebecca.hamersley@aamig.com

Stellar Recruitment donated $2,700 to AAMIG in July as part of a new initiative to promote Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Stellar Recruitment provides recruitment and consulting services to the resources and infrastructure industries. The company has pledged to contribute a percentage of its recruitment fee from every successful placement in an African mining operation, to a CSR initiative or group of the client-company’s choice.

After placing a new General Manager for Mawson West’s Dikulushi operation in July, the company together with Mawson West, chose AAMIG as its preferred CSR promoting group.

Stellar Recruitment General Manager Abbi Vermey said the initiative was part of the company’s commitment to promoting responsible business practices.

“Recruitment agencies don’t have the same opportunity to contribute directly to CSR activities as mining companies, yet we work closely with these companies on a day-to-day basis,” she said.

“As an established industry service provider, we believe it is simply good business practice to give back to the communities in which our clients work, improving the human condition of the areas in which they operate.”

As Stellar is a member of AAMIG, Abbi said she was thrilled at Mawson West’s choice for its first donation.

OpportunitiesAre you interested in mentoring an Australian Volunteer through the Australian Volunteers for International Development Program?

This program places skilled Australian volunteers in developing countries and is funded by the Australian Government international development agency, AusAID.

AAMIG are proud to be supporting an Australian Volunteers for International Development assignment as an Australian Partner Organisation.

As part of this role we will be encouraging mentoring support to the Australian Volunteer who will be in Ethiopia with the Ministry of Mines as a Geosciences Research and Development Advisor. We are looking for people who have experience in Africa or in the subject matter to provide mentoring support to the volunteer in the form of emails or Skype chats, at a frequency decided by yourself and the volunteer. If you think this could be you please let us know. Further information about the AusAID funded program is here: www.volunteering.austraining.com.au and more details about the assignment is here: http://bit.ly/YV6XjM

Bruce McFadzean, MD of Mawson West, with Abbi Vermey of Stellar

Stellar donation by Recruitment Company

AAMIG Security Related Education Sessions – Dr Gavriel Schneider The company, Dynamic Alternatives uses a building blocks methodology to provide training on security issues. The company embraces the reality of global and dynamic businesses, where staff work in diverse locations, travel often and work unconventional hours. This leads to the possibility that a personal incident outside the workplace and out of working hours may have far reaching negative consequences for the business. As a consequence, Dynamic Alternatives believes that the initial focus of training for such employees should be on personal security and safety awareness. The knowledge of how to keep oneself out of trouble and manage such potential risks can then be incorporated into a broader organisational security framework. A session covering the personal side of security risk was presented to AAMIG members in July and a second session focusing on the business side of managing security risk will be presented in early October.

Please visit the AAMIG website for further details.

Following the launch of AusAID’s policy for enhanced engagement with the private sector in August 2012, the Agency is now holding regional roundtables to explore the prospects for more focused and effective cooperation. The first roundtable on Africa was held in Perth on 30 July 2013 when forty representatives from the mining, agriculture, and education sectors, business bodies and others, joined AusAID, DFAT, Austrade and the WA State Government.

AAMIG was strongly represented at the meeting at Board and Executive level and made a substantial contribution to the identification of areas for further cooperation.

The Honourable Melissa Parke MP, Minister for International Development gave the keynote address setting out the parameters of the AusAID program and the relevant African context.

Recognition was given to the fact that a growing private sector is fundamental to moving people out of poverty in Africa. Australian assistance will continue to focus on areas where Australia has specific expertise and experience to support African efforts to achieve long-term sustainable development – the areas of focus includes natural resources management.

Further meetings will be held during ADU to continue these discussions. For a full description of this meeting please visit the AAMIG website.

AusAID African Roundtable with Business

T: +61 (0) 8 9226 0175 | E: info@aamig.com | A: Suite 9, 1297 Hay St, West Perth, 6005 | PO Box 1018, West Perth 6872 | ABN 11 150 520 862

Opportunities

Meeting with Members of Parliaments

Recently AAMIG CEO Trish O’Reilly had the opportunity to meet with Ms Julie Bishop MP (Deputy Leader of the Federal Opposition) and the WA Premier, the Honourable Colin Barnett. The aim of these meetings was to showcase AAMIG and outline the important developmental role that the Australian mining industry has across Africa.

African Mining Vision

AAMIG executives are involved in ongoing discussions with representatives from the Africa Mining Vision with the aim of exploring how the expertise of AAMIG members can be utilised to enhance skill development in Africa.

Facilitation Payments Defence

The Financial Review published several articles on the Facilitation Payments Defence issue on 10 & 11 July 2013, including one by AAMIG Chairman Bill Turner on July 10, following recent legislative changes in Canada.

In briefINDABA Cape Town, 3- 6 February 2014

AAMIG will have an exhibition stand at Indaba and will be inviting up to six members to participate on a cost-sharing basis. This opportunity will allow members to showcase their individual services and at the same time have the support of an industry organisation. Those interested should contact AAMIG for further information.

CARE CARE’s Access Africa initiative, launched in 2008, is a women-focused, loans program designed to build capacity and help lift families in Sub-Saharan Africa out of poverty. CARE’s support has enabled some women to progress to more formal financial institutions through CARE’s additional initiative of partnering with Barclays and Plan International in the Banking on Change program. These admirable initiatives have already assisted more than two million households and the program is now expanding to 39 countries and expecting to provide 30 million people – 70% of them women – with access to financial services and institutions.

For more information on how your organisation can support or partner in CARE’s work, log on to www.care.org.au or contact Cressida Blumson in CARE Australia’s Partnerships Team – cressida.blumson@care.org.au.

Follow us on

For more information on these events please contact Rebecca at rebecca.hamersley@aamig.com or visit www.aamig.com/events

AAMIG EVENTS

Africa Down Under Conference AAMIG will be at booth number 78 28-30 August 2013 Pan Pacific Hotel, Perth

Free Prior & Informed Consent for Mining Projects Workshop Thursday 26 September 2013, 9am-12pm BDO Offices, Subiaco

Managing Corporate Security and Safety Risk Workshop Friday 11 October 2013, 9am-12pm BDO Offices, Subiaco

Guiding Documentation & Human Rights Workshop Late October 2013 Venue to be advised

AAMIG Celtic Club Networking Seminar Thursday 24 October 2013, 4.30pm-7pm Celtic Club, West Perth

INDUSTRY EVENTS Transparency International Event “Business in Africa without corruption: Myth or ?” Tuesday 20 August 2013 Deloitte Offices, Perth

“Kidnapping Risks, Trends and Lessons from Asia to Africa” Seminar Tuesday 27 August 2013 RSVP for this free seminar from Unity Resources Group and FDI - Jessica Josselin - jjosselin@unityresourcesgroup.com

APA Gala Dinner: Building Bridges for Success Saturday 31 August 2013 Pan Pacific Hotel, Perth

Effective Stakeholder Engagement and Your Social Licence to Operate Monday 2 September 2013 Curtin University

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