CGS Economic Development Awards
The CGS Economic Development Awards aim to highlight innovative and effective economic development programmes undertaken by mining and exploration companies with their host communities, which have real and sustainable economic and social impact.
Miraflores Somos Todos, Los Cerros
1st CGS Colombia 2022
A program to deliver alternative income, entrepreneurial and assistance and a vehicle through which productive projects, training and broader community initiatives are delivered. The program draws on principles of empowerment, self-determination and self-management so that dependence on the company is reduced and sustainability and autonomous living is achieved, by identifying and evaluating opportunities against ESG, World Bank, and triple bottom line criteria. Projects have included food security and health programs, scholarships and entrepreneurial productive projects.
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Furatena Cacao, Muzo Companies.
2nd CGS Colombia 2022
Furatena Cacao assists former miners’ families to provide an alternative to subsistence mining through the production of cacao and purchasing at competitive prices, benefiting more than a thousand families. The program has assisted and advised cacao farmers to improve the quality of their beans and productivity so that cacao growing has become a successful economic alternative.
REDD+, MCC Mining
3rd CGS Colombia 2022
MCC was the first mineral exploration company to act as financier for a Reduction of Emissions from Degradation and Deforestation (REDD+) project, deploying US$500,000 to fund the Cabildo Mayor Vigia del Fuerte REDD+ project to protect 24,000 hectares of the Choco-Darien rainforest. For a period of thirty years, MCC’s REDD+ project will produce in excess of 75,000 carbon credits per annum, which will be sold in the international voluntary market. MCC will forgo any claim on the future carbon credit revenue, which will flow back to the communities over the next 30 years. At the community level, the carbon credit income will promote autonomy, build internal capacity, and fund local initiatives, benefitting over 200 families from six Indigenous communities.
Accelerator, Royal Road Minerals
1st CGS Colombia 2021
The Royal Road Accelerator identifies, incubates and spins out commercial projects in rural communities affected by Royal Roads exploration and development activities. Social projects, developed through a process of engagement with community members and other stakeholders, are undertaken at all of our exploration sites, aiming to deliver as much benefit as possible for as many as possible in a sustainable manner. A project with Accelerator potential is one which delivers social and environmental benefit, and has true stand-alone commercial potential for the cultivation and fabrication of goods for international markets, with up to US$50,000 to support their project.
Siembra Futuro, Zijin Continental
2nd CGS Colombia 2021
This agricultural development program aims to strengthen the agricultural production units of the municipalities of Western Antioquia in the area of influence of the company’s mining project, becoming a pillar for agricultural and economic development in the region. This program promotes the design and implementation of agricultural production units to increase food security and family income through access to capital, technical assistance and the strengthening of agricultural associations. The program allows the comprehensive formulation of business plans and provides training in banking, formalization, product quality, and marketing. It has allowed the implementation of a sustainable strategy of self-employment and self-sufficiency of agricultural productive business plans in different communities.
Quinchips, Los Cerros
3rd CGS Colombia 2021
Quinchips green banana chips has become an independent packaged snack company where 15 women artisanal miners were trained in all areas of retail food production and business management, manufacture, administration, health and safety, marketing and logistics. The project seeks not only to improve non-mining income but to strengthen territorial roots, family cohesion and empowerment of women in local development