Initiative

TELL US HOW DO YOU D&I

*** Want to tell us how your organization supports diversity and inclusion? Send your completed format to diac@cim.org. ***

Organization: Kirkland Lake Gold

Kirkland Lake Gold (KL Gold) a growing gold producer operating in Canada and Australia. Its production profile is anchored by three high-quality operations including, the Macassa Mine and Detour Lake Mine, both located in Northern Ontario, Canada, and the Fosterville Mine located in the state of Victoria, Australia. 

“Underlying everything we do is a commitment to sustainable production. An important component of sustainability is, at a minimum, replacing the reserves we mine in order to ensure ongoing production, investment and employment. Sustainability also involves achieving high levels of performance in safety, environmental management and community consultation and support. We work diligently with all stakeholders to ensure that Kirkland Lake Gold remains a welcome member of the communities in which we operate.” 

Why did your organization decide to implement a D&I program?

KL Gold recognizes the importance of diversity of culture, age, race, gender and sexual orientation within its workforce. A multitude of perspectives and diversity of thought has a direct and positive impact on productivity and creativity. This ultimately results in greater success as a business.

At KL Gold, diversity is a strategic business priority that reinforces our belief that a high-quality workforce requires that equality and inclusion be core to our culture. To reflect this position, we implemented our “Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Policy” across our company in 2020. This policy forms the basis of an action plan aimed at building and maintaining the best possible workforce by supporting the recruitment, retention and advancement of a diverse workforce through four overarching goals: Workplace Diversity; Workplace Equality; Workplace Inclusion; and Sustainability & Accountability.

KL Gold will meet these goals by building leadership and accountability; ensuring applicable diversity initiatives are included in talent management and succession planning; fostering an inclusive workforce by communicating our key values; and through appropriate training and development to ultimately eliminate unconscious biases and prejudices which may exist. 

Tell us about a few successful D&I policies/actions, big or small that made the difference.

Mining Essentials Program

Taykwa Tagamou Nation in partnership with Moose Cree First Nation, Mushkegowuk Employment & Training Services, Keeper of The Circle/Aboriginal Women in Mining and Kirkland Lake Gold has recently hosted an Indigenous Mining Career Program (IMCP).

The program consisted of an eight week in-theory Mining Essentials course and then a 20 week/rotation work placement at Detour Lake Mine site in various departments with the end goal being full-time employment.

The in-theory portion was recently completed on March 26, 2021. The IMCP saw 10 participants successfully complete the program. In the next step, participants will begin a 20-week work placement at DLM site beginning April 7, 14, 21 & April 28th. Out of the 10 participants, five are TTN members/affiliates and five are MCFN members.
 
Aboriginal Women in Mining

In partnership between Keeper of The Circle/Aboriginal Women in Mining and Kirkland Lake Gold, we have previously hosted Aboriginal Women in Mining programs that consisted of an in-class theory portion in Mining Essentials followed by a work placement at the Detour Lake Mine site with the end goal being full-time employment. This program has been run several times at the site with tremendous success. There have been women that have come to the site without a driver’s license and have become successful 795 haul truck operators. We have also hired women into entry level roles and they have successfully developed their skills and been promoted to new roles, both in operations and support groups.
 
Aboriginal Young Men in Mining

In partnership with our IBA communities, training partners and Kirkland Lake Gold, we have previously hosted Aboriginal Young Men in Mining programs that consisted of an in-class theory portion in Mining Essentials followed by a work placement at the Detour Lake Mine site with the end goal being full-time employment. This program has been hosted once at site and saw several candidates successfully complete the program and enter the workforce as full-time employees.
 
Indigenous Supervisory Training Program

This program is an IBA commitment for MCFN, TTN and WFN with the goal of promoting the development of essential knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviors required for a supervisory role. The program is designed to take place over approximately 18 to 36 months and is made up of three components:

• Understanding the business - Trainees rotate through different departments to gain a broader understanding of the business.
• Professional development - Development plans are customized for each individual based on their skill-set and training is provided by both internal and external providers to address any gaps.
• Practical supervisory experience - Trainees are placed in their destination department and work alongside key department leaders who provide mentorship and guidance for the duration of the program.

Jara Archibald, TTN, has successfully completed the Supervisory Management Training Program (SMTP) in March 2019 and is now a Mine Supervisor. Jara was in the SMPT for over three years and he has been with Detour Lake Mine – Kirkland Lake Gold for nine years. Randell Nickoshie, MCFN, is also in the program and working towards a supervisory position in the Site Services & Infrastructure team.
 
Indigenous Peoples Advisory Committee

IPAC is a semi-monthly forum, exclusive to DLM site and is designed to encourage open communication and engagement on employment and/or other related concerns for our Indigenous Employees through designated representatives. Management and other representatives attend and provide specific information or support as required.

• IPAC Representatives 2020: 18 total covering all Departments across DLM.

This program has been successfully running throughout 2020 and 2021 with great participation from the IPAC members and management.
 
Apprenticeship Program 

The Apprenticeship Program is open to all IBA communities and is committed to maximizing the opportunities to develop skilled trades. Qualified applicants based on the available opportunities at DLM site are selected to enter into the program. They complete the required hours and in-class portions at the employees' local trades school to write their Red Seal ticket.

The KL Gold Detour Lake Mine has a program that allows potential apprentices to try work in the trade before embarking on a solid pathway to a Red Seal/Accredited trade career. IBA-only candidates can enter the workforce as Mechanical/Trade Helper/Assistant where they get to experience all aspects of the role and decide whether a trade is the career for them. There are currently eight apprentices at site in various stages of the program in electrical, mechanical and millwright programs. There have been several employees that have already successfully completed the program and obtained their Red Seal license.

 

How did your organization benefit from a D&I program?

In 2021, we are working to broaden our diversity which included the distribution of an Organizational Values and Employee Engagement Survey, which helps gather baseline information and feedback from the board and all employees to better benchmark, track and report on our journey towards diversity, equality and inclusion.