The global gold leader's ESG profile got a boost from its acquisition of Goldcorp and creation of the Nevada Gold Mines joint venture with Barrick Gold, said CEO Tom Palmer.

While Newmont said it recorded no workplace fatalities during 2019, it undertook a global safety culture review that identified opportunities to enhance its fatality risk management processes.

Newmont said it had worked on strengthening its tailings management approach and reporting.

It launched a new website outlining the status of 104 tailings dams at its mines, joint ventures, subsidiaries and legacy sites.

The gold and copper miner said it had cut its anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by 13.7% compared with its 2013 baseline, which meant it had achieved 83% of its GHG emission reduction target for the end of this year.

Management had completed significant engagement work with stakeholders in a dispute at the Penasquito mine in Mexico, resulting in a 30-year water agreement with the San Juan de Cedros community and a memorandum of understanding covering investment and social development, and detailing Newmont's community commitments.

The company established a Global Centre for Indigenous Community Relations, and Advisory Council of Canadian and Indigenous Affairs.

"In 2019, we performed well against our public sustainability targets to source from local suppliers, hire within the communities near our operations, respond to community complaints in a timely manner, reduce our water consumption and complete planned reclamation activities," Palmer said.

"We are working toward improving our performance in areas [such as enterprise-wide female representation, community commitments and human rights supplier screening in North America] where we fell just short of our annual goals."

Newmont recently said forced mine closures because of the COVID-19 pandemic would result in 6% fewer ounces produced at 4% higher all-in sustaining cost than previously planned for 2020.