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M A R TA B E M I L L releases it into the river with no impact on aquaculture or agriculture. Despite the science, we have to deal with community perception so, with government help, we met with the concerned people over a period of time and worked through the issues. "By the end of October we had reached agreement with the community and could resume construction of the clean water pipeline," Albert said. "This work was completed within two weeks and it was put into operation with the process plant re-started at the same time the pipeline work resumed. The shutdown had some impact because we weren't operating but we took the opportunity to remedy a number of mechanical issues in the front-end of the plant. Therefore, at the restart we were able to come at it very fast which minimized production lost during the six weeks. "We communicated extensively with local communities before beginning opera- tions, as we always have, but something went wrong somewhere and we acted accordingly and responsibly," Albert said. "We obviously didn't get it right and have learned from the experience as we rebuild the bridges and re-nurture the relationship. We have to ensure we keep working at the relationship and never rest on our laurels as it is a space in the mining industry that is not black and white. It's not like engineering that you can fix with dollars, calculations and time, it is about perceptions and is, therefore, an opaque and challenging area. In this instance the team did very well when the issue arose. We believe the event has demonstrated to the government and the community our credentials in terms of our commitment to consultation, communication, engagement and building a long-term sustainable future." Committed to CSR G-Resources has an extensive corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. "During exploration you tend to be a little tentative with CSR because you have no commitment to build and you don't want to build expectations," Albert said. "When moving into feasibility and construction, you have something long term and the commitment becomes greater. Then you move into operations with resulting cashflow, giving you the wherewithal to make substantial improvements to the long-term welfare and sustainability of that environment. We are already seeing that around Martabe with banks arriving, mechanical workshops being established and supermarkets opening—wealth that is being generated by mining. Seeing people who are relatively impoverished become relatively prosperous with better education, better health and more opportunities for their children, all over a short period of time, is one of the most satisfying things you can achieve in your career and I've been fortunate to see it a couple of times." Approximately 70% of Martabe's workforce is local, amounting to 1,400 to 1,500 people, and this is a huge positive impact on communities and families. "We have also provided 5% mine ownership to the local government resulting in direct dividend flow from the profits with a percentage of that dedicated to CSR," Albert said. "We have medical programs including malaria prevention, malnutrition education and prevention, mother and child health care, and AIDS education, while we 90 E&MJ; • APRIL 2013 www.e-mj.com