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RESPONSIBLE SOURCING & MANUFACTURING
The Mint is committed to integrating ESG into its strategy and governance process, creating direct ties to its business performance and accountabilities.
Being a responsible Mint means having a strong, ethical approach to corporate governance. Our north star is accountability on all sides, including how we source materials, manufacture our products and choose our business partners. Our approach relies on strong management systems, risk assessment and mitigation, third-party auditing and public accountability.
In a similar vein, we’ve overhauled our procurement process and contract management guidelines to be able to strategically demand that our partners hit certain sustainability metrics, which ultimately helps us build a more sustainable supply chain from end-to-end.
Protecting supply chains from bad actors isn’t the only area on which the Mint is focused. Our big-picture ESG commitments include identifying opportunities to improve work conditions for Indigenous and women miners, as well as funding research and development into more sustainable and environmentally friendly processes.
Responsible Sourcing & Manufacturing
The next generation of innovations at the Mint includes a more sustainable and environmentally friendly process for bronze plating that doesn’t rely on the use of cyanide.
Our collaboration with McGill University’s research team has resulted in a process that eliminates chlorine almost entirely from our gold refining process. The process is non-toxic, requires less energy and is safer for our people and the environment.
This breakthrough builds on previous work done by the Mint to reduce chlorine usage in gold refining. In 2019, the Mint introduced a new technology in the gold refinery process —acid-less separation (ALS)—that reduced the use of chlorine gas by more than 50% in the Ottawa refinery.
With successful lab scale testing completed and the appropriate patents filed, the Mint will begin scale-up work to introduce this promising technology to the gold refining process in 2024.
Investors in precious metals have long trusted the Mint and the purity, quality and security of our metals and bullion. This year, the Mint added an additional layer of digital transparency with the implementation of an innovative secure distributed ledger technology platform that tracks the end-to-end sourcing and custody of gold processed through our refinery. This traceability ensures buyers and sellers alike can be confident that gold refined at the Mint is responsibly sourced.
In November 2022, the Mint implemented our new Responsible Sourcing (Precious Metals) Policy, ensuring refinery operations continually meet rigorous and responsible sourcing standards. Promoting, supporting and engaging with secure, transparent and verifiable mined or recycled precious metals supply chains is the cornerstone of this policy, and ensures compliance to the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) requirements.
In 2023, the Mint successfully maintained certification as a LBMA Good Delivery refiner, with our Responsible Metals Program audited against newly strengthened standards of the LBMA’s Responsible Gold Guidance V9 (RGG9). This is part of the LBMA’s Responsible Sourcing Program which protects the integrity of the global supply chain for the wholesale precious metals markets.
The Mint is continuing our research into processes that minimize the use of new base metal material through increased recycling of coin cores.
The Mint is continuing to develop and implement guidelines that provide contextualized guidance on how to incorporate consideration for ESG throughout the contract lifecycle stages of sourcing, procurement and post-award contract management.
The Mint is committed to adhering to the highest standards of business conduct in carrying out our vision. Our Code of Conduct and Ethics provides guidance for our employees and sets forth the core values of honesty, respect, pride and passion that define employee behaviour and support our work. As part of that commitment, Mint employees complete mandatory online Code of Conduct and Ethics training.
The Mint is holding its suppliers to the same standards as it holds its employees with the introduction of its Supplier Code of Conduct. The Supplier Code responds to new legislation relating to child labour and forced labour and also addresses many other ESG requirements of suppliers.
The Mint’s Anti-Money Laundering/Anti-Terrorist Financing (AML/ATF) Compliance Program includes the appointment of an AML/ATF Compliance Officer, implementation of policies and procedures, regular assessment of risk mitigation measures, a compliance training program, and external reviews of the effectiveness of the program every two years. The Mint’s AML/ATF Compliance Program responds with risk mitigation measures when considering new products and distribution channels, and complies with Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) guidance for dealers of precious metals and stones.
The Mint is subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. Its Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator has delegation of authority from the CEO for ensuring that requests for information are responded to in compliance with the Acts and related government policies, including employee training and awareness with a focus on assisting requesters. Supported by sound privacy management practices related to the handling and protection of personal information, the Mint provides comprehensive descriptions of its programs, activities, related information holdings and personal information banks.
Mint employees have access to an independent, third party, confidential whistleblowing program for employees, contractors and members of the public to report allegations of wrongdoing.
The Mint has developed a digital strategy with a strong focus on cyber security. We continue to mature our cyber security program by aligning with Government of Canada best practices and industry standards.
The Mint conducts tabletop exercises with teams across the organization to test our ability to respond to various scenarios, including loss of technology, loss of people, loss of business partner and loss of facility. These exercises allow the Mint the develop strategies to mitigate the impact of these scenarios before they happen.
This section will be continually updated with articles, photos, videos and more. There will be new content to share in the weeks and month ahead, so be sure to check back often.
Complete R&D project with McGill University to reduce chlorine in gold refining.
Explore Artisanal Sourced Mining and Indigenous Outreach. Fully deploy precious metals traceability.
Maintain LBMA and ISO 14001:2015 certifications.
Publish 2023 Impact Report.
We are committed to acting responsibly by minimizing our impact on the environment, cultivating safe and inclusive workplaces and making a positive difference in the communities where we operate.