Good governance and corporate responsibility in focus at Euro Mine Expo

Jonas Lundström, Vice President of HR and Corporate Communications, Northland Resources AB, Sweden.

Mr. Lundström joined Northland in 2008 as Director of Corporate Communications, after working as a consultant to Northland in various capacities. Prior to joining Northland, he held the position of President and CEO of the Norrbotten Chamber of Commerce for more than 5 years. He also has experience in Nordic politics, as a Deputy Mayor of the City of Luleå, Chairman of the Board of Education during 2000-2002, as well as being an appointed member of the North Calotte Council. In addition, he has served as a political adviser to the Minister of Industry in the Swedish Cabinet. Mr. Lundström brings 10+ years of experience and holds a B.Sc. in Political Science from Luleå University of Technology in Sweden.

 Jonas Lundström will be speaking about the Pajala project when Northland Resources will begin mining operations on its own.

“It’s difficult for us to ask anyone because they’ve been dead for a hundred years”, says Jonas Lundström about Northland’s challenge to realise Sweden’s biggest completely new mining project of modern times.

He will be speaking about all the challenges and the short journey from starting construction to mining and delivery. The Kaunisvaara project outside Pajala in Norrbotten is Northland Resources’ furthest advanced mining project. Within the framework of the project, two new iron ore mines are being developed at the present time – Sahavaara and Tapuli.

One of the factors that make Kaunisvaara so interesting is that the properties of the ore make it possible to produce a concentrate with an iron content of all of 69%. Even though Kaunisvaara is situated in an area with a long history of mining and close to existing infrastructure, there was a lot that needed to be built up. For example, the ore must be transported by truck 150 km to a transshipping terminal in Pitkäjärvi, from where it is transported by rail on the Ore Line to the port of Fagernes in Narvik in Norway, where a new terminal is being built.

 Richard Evans, Senior Environmental Consultant, SRK Consulting, Sweden will be speaking on the subject of ”Building mines in partnership with neighbours and government”.

Richard grew up in South Africa where he began his career in environmental sciences with Anglo American in 2000. He is interested in the interaction between people, the things they build and the natural world. He is also an aviation enthusiast. Richard has worked exclusively with the mining industry, you might say as an intermediary between engineers, mine neighbours and authorities.

On a single day, Richard has given presentations for project review boards and met with communities in town halls. Richard has worked mainly in Southern and Central Africa in  complex social and regulatory environments. Since relocating to Sweden in 2009, in addition to environmental impact assessment and management, he conducts reviews on behalf of financial institutions.

“Anybody who has worked in or for the mining industry knows that ‘a mine is not an island’. When planning a new mine there is open land between a mine and society and mines have a huge influence on this land. Mines impact greatly on the physical environment and the social and cultural fabric of communities that surround them”, says Evans.

He points out that in modern times mines realise that they not only need to care about their investors. They need to care about society. They need to gain a ‘social licence to operate’.

Evans raises the question himself. Why should mines get a social licence to operate?

”These days consulting stakeholders is synonymous with corporate social responsibility. And a socially responsible corporation realises that financial markets and consumers may penalize mines for what they perceive as anti-social behaviour (drop in shareholder value, loss of good will, poor public image). So mines care because it could affect their bottom line. A socially responsible corporation also realises that there will be greater investment in companies that are socially responsible and vice versa. Now you can’t be a socially responsible corporation and get a social licence to operate if you don’t talk to and care about your stakeholders”, says Richard Evans in conclusion.

Euro Mine Expo takes place June 12-14, 2012 in Skellefteå. This third international trade fair and conference for the mining industry and its suppliers is held in the very heart of Sweden’s mining industry. In this region, tradition and history go hand in hand with technical development and innovative approaches.

Welcome to Sweden, to Skellefteå and to a glimpse of the future of our industry!

Find out more at www.eurominexpo.com