Coronado Global Resources Inc. has released its 2023 Sustainability Report, with a heightened focus on the environment and climate and a significant ongoing commitment to its people and communities. The report, which summarises Coronado’s performance for the financial year ended 31 December 2023, highlights the progress made in developing sustainable strategies which benefit all stakeholders.
A message from our Managing Director and CEO, Douglas Thompson:
Dear Stakeholders,
I am pleased to share with you Coronado Global Resources’ 2023 Sustainability Report, in which we outline the significant progress our business has made to ensure we remain a socially responsible and sustainable miner of high-quality met coal for decades to come.
Our motto, STEEL STARTS HERE, stands firm. The inherent chemistry of steel production requires mined iron ore and met coal commodities, and it is these commodities that underpin the production of long-standing steel products and infrastructure. As well as automobiles, bridges, and buildings, steel is also critical for the infrastructure needed for low carbon technologies as part of the energy transition, including hydroelectric, wind, solar, nuclear and electric vehicles. Steel is used in almost every aspect of the world’s infrastructure, thereby solidifying met coal as a critical material not only in today’s society, but also for the future.
In 2023, our business made solid progress towards delivering our sustainability targets, including substantial improvements in our safety results and investment in decarbonisation technologies at Page 7 2023 Snapshot Message from our MD & CEO Our Business Our Operations The Role of Met Coal in a Sustainable Future This Report our operations. In the year, Coronado’s total economic contribution was $2.97 billion. We continued to invest in the communities in which we operate and, in our people and their families. We remain a significant employer in the communities surrounding our operations in Australia and the U.S., employing approximately 1,900 employees and 2,300 contractors across a range of disciplines all focused on maintaining the highest standards of work. We look forward to further investments in those regions with our planned expansion works at our Buchanan Mine Complex in Virginia and our Curragh Underground project at our Curragh Mine Complex in Queensland.
We remain committed to fostering a diverse inclusive workplace across our operations and remain on target with our strategic plans in this area. In 2023, 18.4% of our workforce and 28.4% of senior management positions from our Australian workforce were women. In addition, our business increased female representation on our Board from 16.7% to 37.5%, following the appointment of Ms Aimee Allen and Ms Jan Wilson, both independent non-executive directors.
Our business is on target to meet our emission reduction targets, and in 2023 we continued to invest in projects to reduce our emissions footprint over time. Our flagship Ventilation Air Methane (VAM) project at Buchanan, which was commissioned in July 2022, has proven to be a tremendous success. Since commissioning, the VAM has eliminated 264,850 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions, maintaining a 95% emission destruction efficiency. Given its success in making a significant and tangible reduction in emissions from our Buchanan mine, we have now begun construction of a second VAM unit to further reduce emissions, that is planned to be operational from mid-2024. Undoubtedly, Coronado is emerging as an industry leader in the use of this technology, and we continue to share our expertise with industry and government bodies to assist others to introduce this technology at their underground operations.
In addition to the success of our VAM investments, our business has continued to progress our gas project at the Curragh Mine Complex targeting the capture and beneficial use of open-cut waste mine coal gas. Our business also remains committed to ensuring we meet or exceed legislative and regulatory environmental obligations, with the intention of restoring the land to agreed rehabilitation and closure criteria. In the last 2 years, our business has completed 269 hectares of rehabilitation works, bringing our total to 1,232 hectares since listing on the ASX in 2018.
I am extremely proud of the efforts of all Coronado employees for their significant work and commitment to ensure that our business delivers our ambitious growth plans and strategic initiatives for a long sustainable future.
The 2023 Sustainability Report can be accessed here.