Managing Our Impacts
What it means to us
Environmental stewardship is integral to our business and is a key aspect of our Sustainability Strategy. We understand our approach to the environment is important to the surrounding communities and we incorporate traditional knowledge into our monitoring where possible to ensure we respect the shared knowledge of our partners.
Our environmental policies and adherence to regulations protect our water, air quality, fish and wildlife, migratory birds, human health, site archaeology, heritage, and cultural resources while the mine is active and through closure. In addition to annual compliance reporting to provincial and federal regulatory bodies, we take a collaborative approach to environmental monitoring through the Environmental Monitoring Board, which is made up of community members from surrounding Indigenous Nations and New Gold employees. Learn more about our Sustainability Strategy here.
Our team works to ensure adherence to regulatory environmental obligations and uses a consistent approach to identifying and controlling environmental risks. Extensive plans are in place to ensure the reclamation and revegetation of the mine site.
- Water management and conservation are essential. We strive to minimize water use through recycling, reuse, and by discharging only clean, treated water from the site. We use reclaimed water from our onsite catchments and ensure that no untreated water is discharged from the site.
- Air quality is constantly monitored, and dust suppressant is used in areas of high traffic. A dust mitigation plan has been adopted to ensure that the site does not impact negatively on the local air shed.
- We recycle waste whenever possible, including office paper, cardboard, aluminum, plastics and batteries, fluorescent lights and used tires, to minimize consumption and reduce landfill and greenhouse gas generation. All wastes are treated according to laws and regulations.
- As part of New Gold’s Climate Action Plan, the operation continues to explore options to reduce energy use on site.
System and Standards
The core of our effective environmental stewardship is our Environmental Management System which guides site activities. Our policies and practices are guided by principles found in the United Nations Global Compact and our operational standards are based on the Mining Association of Canada’s Towards Sustainable Mining Protocols.