In 2024, in response to community concerns about dust migrating from site onto the property of local residents, Rainy River Mine began hosting regular meetings with residents to share information about operations and directly address concerns. These meetings were initiated to respond to a specific community concern and have since evolved into regular touchpoints with one of Rainy River’s nearest community of interest (COI) group, neighbours.
Since the first session, these touchpoints turned into quarterly meetings and evolved into a vital forum for community to share feedback and directly engage with the mine’s management team. While the purpose is to provide an outlet for neighbours to address any potential concerns, based on feedback from participants, the Quarterly Neighbour Meetings have come to include pertinent site updates and information about Rainy River’s operations. This collaborative approach ensures that residents who may be impacted by the mine’s operations are included in discussions, in addition to providing Rainy River employees with an opportunity to better understand the topics that are most important to the community.
In addition to dust management and operational updates, topics explored in the Quarterly Neighbour Meetings include New Gold’s Corporate double materiality assessment and emergency preparedness planning where feedback from residents was requested. In both instances, community feedback was received and incorporated, with community perspectives used to inform continuous improvements. An example being the creation of an after-hours contact number which has been added to the update to New Gold’s emergency response plan.
“The initiation of the Neighbours’ Meetings by New Gold Rainy River have provided residents in close proximity to the mine a direct and open line of communication to the New Gold management team,” said Colin Neilson, a resident and attendee. “Residents have come to know managers on a ‘one-on-one’ basis as they present mine activities and plans, as well as potential mitigation strategies for current issues. The continued success of the mine and well being of all employees, neighbours and the environment can only be enhanced by these quarterly get togethers.”
Rainy River understands the importance of effective community engagement and the opportunity to continuously improve our engagement processes. Stemmed from a particular immediate response, New Gold’s Quarterly Neighbour Meetings are a good example of New Gold’s commitment to measuring the effectiveness of our engagement and adapting processes based on community feedback.
As a result of listening to community, Rainy River has established enhanced communication, strengthened dialogue with residents and increased access to timely information on topics of interest. Rainy River Mine remains committed to hosting these quarterly meetings to continue sharing information, collaborating on addressing concerns, and further building positive relationships with our neighbors.
