Sustainability

Our approach

We operate sustainably for our communities. Frieda River Limited’s parent company, PanAust Limited’s, Sustainability Policy defines the Company’s commitment to preserving and enhancing the environmental, social, technical and financial aspects of the Frieda River Project. We recognise that sustainable business development is essential for our ongoing success.

We strive to ensure that our activities are:
Environmentally sound
Technically appropriate
Socially responsible
Financially profitable

These are the guiding principles that determine the design of the Frieda River Project.

Sustainable development Health and safety

The Company’s Zero Harm philosophy considers all workplace incidents and injuries preventable.

Achieving business objectives, while keeping our workforce and communities safe, is essential to our success and is closely aligned with our Values.

PanAust is proud of Frieda River Limited’s safety record since the acquisition of the Frieda River Project in 2014.

This Zero Harm approach was applied to the Company’s response to the COVID–19 pandemic and actions taken to safeguard the health, safety and wellbeing of our people and communities.

Learn more

The Frieda River Project site is currently in care and maintenance as the Company awaits the outcomes of the permitting process. During this phase our priority is safely carrying out community engagement and community development activities during the permitting phase. While under care and maintenance there will be no further studies, drilling activity or field work. The site remains injury free with the site-based employees supporting the stakeholder engagement and permitting process.

In 2022, Frieda River Limited supported the Conservation and Environment Protection Agency of Papua New Guinea-led Sepik River community awareness campaign. The campaign was delivered safely with no recorded incidents.

0 since 2017

Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate

Environment and community

Frieda River Limited acknowledges that mining activities can have both positive and negative impacts on the social and natural environments. Our performance and legacy are important now and into the future.

Our commitment to sustainability is to ensure that our activities are carried out in a socially and environmentally responsible way, delivering a project that both Frieda River Limited, and the communities that host us, can be proud of.

We promote a culture of awareness and understanding of sustainability issues among our workforce, which is outlined in the Company’s code of conduct. This code sets the minimum standards of behaviours expected of our people, contractors, suppliers and communities.

Human rights

Human rights are basic rights and freedoms to which all people are entitled. Human rights apply to every person across the globe regardless of their birthplace, age, personal beliefs and/or any other individual attribute.

PanAust, Frieda River Limited’s parent company, supports and respects human rights consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Human rights encompass a broad range of issues in relation to Frieda River Limited’s employees, contractors and suppliers, host communities, customers, business partners and other stakeholders impacted by the Frieda River Project.

Frieda River Limited uses existing systems and processes for the assessment and management of human rights issues, and as a minimum, consistently with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPSHR), the PanAust Sustainability Policy and Code of Conduct.

PanAust is a signatory to the VPSHR; a set of principles designed to guide companies in maintaining the safety and security of their operations within a framework that encourages respect for human rights. PanAust has been a member company of the VPSHR since 2013. Frieda River Limited also adopts this approach.

The sustainability performance of Frieda River Limited is measured against international standards. PanAust commissions independent audits based on the Equator Principles and the International Finance Corporation’s Policy on Social and Environmental Sustainability, which include the activities of Frieda River Limited. PanAust reports those activities annually in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Standards.

Find out more about how we engage with our communities Learn more