Our People
Our workers are our most important stakeholder. Keeping them safe, treating them with respect, supporting their work-life balance, and retaining their talent are of critical importance to Alamos.
Workforce
Our workers are our most important stakeholder. Keeping them safe, treating them with respect, supporting their work-life balance, and retaining their talent are of critical importance to Alamos.
The opportunity for career growth is a key factor in talent retention. All our sites use performance measurement tools to support continual development of our employees. Annual performance assessments are conducted for all permanent employees in Canada, and for employees at or above the level of Supervisor in Mexico. To support these assessments, our Human Resources teams conduct training sessions on objective-setting, self-assessment, and performance evaluation. They also conduct annual quality audits on the performance management program itself.
Alongside direct employment, when practical, Alamos hires contractors for a variety of functions at our mines, projects, and offices. These contractors are treated with the same respect and held to the same standard of excellence as our employees. Some common types of work performed by our contractors include but are not limited to exploration drilling, construction, blasting, mining, surveying, security, transportation, and hospitality services. A significant majority of our contractors are hired from within the region of operation.
Table 2.1
| Operations | Reclamation & Closure | Projects | Offices | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alamos Workforce at Year End1, 2 | Alamos Total | Young-Davidson | Island Gold | Mulatos | El Chanate | Lynn Lake Project | Türkiye Combined Projects | Hermosillo Office | Toronto Head Office |
| Total Workforce (Contractors and Employees) | |||||||||
| TOTAL | 3,734 | 830 | 987 | 1,716 | 15 | 65 | 12 | 51 | 58 |
| Permanent Employees (Full Time) | |||||||||
| MALE | 1,629 | 652 | 401 | 495 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 26 | 34 |
| FEMALE | 247 | 72 | 75 | 34 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 25 | 22 |
| Temporary Employees (Includes Students and Interns) | |||||||||
| MALE | 21 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FEMALE | 26 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Part-Time/Non-Guaranteed Hours Employees | |||||||||
| MALE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FEMALE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Contractors | |||||||||
| TOTAL | 1,811 | 81 | 508 | 1176 | 11 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Table 2.2
| Operations | Reclamation & Closure | Projects | Offices | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alamos Workforce Totals | Alamos Total | Young-Davidson | Island Gold | Mulatos | El Chanate | Lynn Lake Project | Türkiye Combined Projects | Hermosillo Office | Toronto Head Office |
| 2022 | 3,734 | 830 | 987 | 1,716 | 15 | 65 | 12 | 51 | 58 |
| 2021 | 3,445 | 789 | 867 | 1,595 | 14 | 58 | 11 | 53 | 57 |
| 2020 | 3,513 | 824 | 556 | 1,932 | 25 | 17 | 41 | 59 | 56 |
| % Change (2021-2022) | +8% | +5% | +14% | +8% | +7% | +12% | +9% | -4% | +2% |
While the size of our global workforce has remained fairly consistent year over year, between 2021 and 2022, at Island Gold the construction of our Phase 3+ expansion project resulted in a 14% increase in workers on site. The advancement of development plans at the Lynn Lake Project resulted in a 12% increase.
Health and Safety
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Alamos Health and Safety Standards set Company-wide parameters for safety governance, and each site has the flexibility to design specific supporting policies, procedures and practices. All employees and contractors working at Alamos locations are required to follow these procedures and practices. The Technical and Sustainability Committee of the Board, supported by our COO and VP Sustainability & External Affairs, monitors Company performance and drives our approach to occupational health and safety (OHS) management.
OHS management systems have been implemented and are maintained at all Alamos mines, which cover 100% of our on-site workforce. Our operations in Mexico have employed OHS management systems based on ISO 45001, while the systems of our Canadian operations are based on other recognised risk management guidelines. Each of these systems are subject to internal and/or external audits.
Our OHS management systems have been developed by internal health and safety professionals in collaboration with senior mine management. Workers are offered participation in the continual development and evaluation of the OHS management system through formal joint management-worker health and safety committees, which exist at each of our three operating mines sites. These committees meet monthly at Young-Davidson and Mulatos, and ten times annually at Island Gold. They are tasked with carrying out workplace inspections, communicating safety information to workers, and addressing health and safety-related concerns and suggestions of the workforce.
HEALTH & SAFETY SPOTLIGHT
In 2022, the Mining Chamber of Mexico (CAMIMEX) presented the Mulatos Mine with the country’s most prestigious distinction for health and safety excellence – the Silver Helmet Award. The award recognises companies with superior health and safety management systems that continually bolster the vision for and reality of safety in the workplace. Mulatos was the winner of the ‘Open pit with more than 500 employees’ category.
Table 2.3
Workers Covered by an Occupational Health and Safety Management System | Young-Davidson | Island Gold | Mulatos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Workers Covered | 830 (100%) | 987 (100%) | 1,716 (100%) |
| Workers Covered by an Internally-Audited System | 830 (100%) | 987 (100%) | 1,716 (100%) |
| Workers Covered by an Externally-Audited System | 0% | 0% | 1,716 (100%) |
Training
All employees and contractors must complete mandatory induction and health and safety training as a condition to entering and working at our sites. Our Home Safe Every Day program must also be completed by all workers (employees and contractors) at Mulatos, and all employees at Young-Davidson. The program has not yet been implemented at Island Gold. The objectives of the Home Safe Every Day program include: sharing the status of our safety performance and culture; establishing a broad commitment to our values; teaching behaviours that emanate personal safety leadership; ensuring an understanding of individual accountability and the Internal Responsibility System; sharing general tools for safety; and sharing how safety can be integrated into our work. Further, specific safety leadership training is provided to all frontline staff at the supervisor level and above to reinforce leadership principles.
We also administer job-specific safety training to supervisors, heavy equipment operators, and other specialist trades and professions to ensure they are capable and qualified to perform their roles. Training programs can use both internal and external instructors while addressing a combination of safety-related and broader skills development, depending on employee roles – ranging from working at heights to computer skills development.
Table 2.4
Training Hours for Occupational Health and Safety and Emergency Management | Young-Davidson | Island Gold | Mulatos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of employees trained | 725 | 479 | 529 |
| Average hours of training per employee per year | 40 | 122 | 21 |
All Alamos mines and projects provide employee training to assist in preventing and managing occupational illness, and also voluntarily offer a number of non-occupational healthcare services, programs and resources. Island Gold and Mulatos maintain on-site medical centres equipped with nursing staff prepared to address any health concerns raised by employees or contractors, regardless of whether or not issues are occupationally-derived. Further, at Island Gold, flu shots, mental health counselling, an on-site fitness centre, and physiotherapy services are provided. An on-site fitness centre is also provided at Mulatos, and information regarding non-occupational disease prevention (such as heart disease and cancer) is regularly relayed to workers through email and on-site posters, with the topic of focus being updated monthly. While the Young-Davidson Mine does not host a full-service healthcare centre (as the workforce resides locally and therefore maintains regular access to external health systems), informational bulletins regarding non-occupational health topics such as cancer awareness, mental health, and smoking cessation are provided on-site. A Mental Health First Aid course is also taught by the on-site Employee Health Advisor.
RISK IDENTIFICATION AND RESPONSE
Proactive risk identification is a critical component of our OHS management system. Alamos workers are trained on the routine use of the Five-Point Safety System, which requires that whenever an individual approaches a working situation, they (1) check the entrance to the workplace; (2) determine whether the workplace and all equipment are in good condition; (3) determine whether others are working safely; (4) commit an act of safety; and (5) determine whether others can and will continue to work safely. In Mexico, further training is administered annually to capture the health and safety training requirements of the Secretary of Labor. In Canada, all Ontario-based employees at the Young-Davidson and Island Gold mines must complete the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development’s Worker Health and Safety Awareness training. This mandatory training reinforces the importance of exercising caution at work, and makes clear workers’ rights to refuse unsafe work and report risks and hazards without reprisal. Through this training and clear communication of the Internal Responsibility System (which sets forth the responsibility of every individual in keeping the workplace safe), our workers are competent in the application of risk assessment and minimization tactics. When new hazards or risks are identified, working procedures and relevant management systems are updated accordingly.
A function of the joint management-worker health and safety committee at each site is to conduct routine inspections to identify potential safety risks. Some work-related hazards that have been internally identified as posing high-consequence injury risks at our mines include working at heights; energy isolation; confined space entry; lifting, rigging, and hoisting; driving; the use of explosives; earth/ground movement; hazardous substances; and heavy machinery. Each of these hazards has been assigned its own company-wide Health and Safety Standard, outlining the minimum requirements to safely navigate these hazards and mitigate risk. With respect to occupational health, some illnesses and diseases that were identified in the reporting period as potentially affecting our workforce include musculoskeletal disorders; repetitive strain injury (RSI); and noise-induced hearing loss.
HEALTH & SAFETY SPOTLIGHT
Through the Island Gold Employee Wellness Program initiated in January 2022, licensed physical therapists work with Island Gold staff on-site seven days a week to:
- Complete inspections of workplaces to identify ergonomic hazards and coach employees on injury prevention;
- Attend Safety Huddles and Safety Meetings to deliver presentations on ergonomic hazards and controls, and lead stretching exercises;
- Work with the Occupational Health Nurse to create and monitor personalised Return to Work Programs for injured employees, and provide any treatment directed through WSIB Claims;
- Complete an ergonomic assessment/physical demands analysis for all job roles and their specific tasks using a risk-based approach;
- Develop personalised and job role-specific Injury Prevention Plans where tasks are identified as having a high ergonomic risk; and
- Provide physical therapy treatments for employees by appointment at the camp facility.
When health and safety incidents occur, they are reported and investigated through a standardised system. Reports are initially made to the supervisor, who conducts a preliminary investigation with involved parties to gather facts and statements regarding the incident. Depending on the consequence and potential severity of the incident, reports are escalated to the specific degree prescribed by our Incident Classification, Investigation & Reporting Standard.
All Alamos operations are equipped with Mine Emergency Response Plans (MERPs) and trained Mine Rescue Teams to address extreme and emergency situations on site. MERPs outline the responsibilities, response procedures and preventive measures that are essential to the effective and timely management of emergency situations, and are a critical component of our health and safety risk management systems. Mine Rescue Teams receive additional training under the MERP to prepare them for site emergencies including first aid, firefighting, and the use of specialised tools. For our underground operations, mine rescue teams receive additional training including the detection of and protection from mine gases, and the use of self-contained breathing apparatuses.
Alamos considers and seeks to prevent all potential occupational health and safety impacts at our operations, including those linked to the operations, products, and services of other businesses with which we share a relationship when they exist at our sites.
PERFORMANCE
We monitor employee and contractor safety performance using a combination of leading and lagging indicators to track long-term performance and reinforce strong safety behaviours and culture. Leading indicators include the number of safety interactions, meetings, near misses and hazards tracked by our safety teams and workforce, and lagging indicators include the number and type of incidents, including injury rates. Each site publishes monthly safety performance reports that outline the number and type of incidents and investigations, and any resultant mitigation efforts and training. Safety performance is reviewed by the Alamos leadership team monthly, and quarterly business reviews are led by our CEO, COO and CFO.
On November 29th, a tragic accident involving an underground mine vehicle at our Young-Davidson Mine resulted in the death of an employee. At our operations, the loss of life is the most severe and unacceptable result of any business-related incident. This devastating event was responded to with an urgency and attentiveness that reflected this understanding. Underground operations at Young-Davidson immediately ceased work while the incident was thoroughly investigated by local authorities, our internal health and safety professionals, and senior management. Based on investigation results, remediation plans were implemented, while findings and lessons learned were shared with all workers at every Alamos operation. Support and resources have been provided to the employee’s family and those impacted by the incident, and Alamos recognises that we must not stop there. The most critical element of our response is the improvement of our safety systems, practices, and culture to strive for the eradication of workplace fatalities at our operations.
The occurrence of a fatality nullifies the achievement of all other health and safety targets and goals in 2022. In the wake of this incident, Alamos is not highlighting other health and safety achievements in 2022 beyond providing standard data.
Table 2.5
Company-Wide Safety Performance (Employees and Contractors)3 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fatalities | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| High-Consequence Injuries4 | – | – | – |
| Near-Miss Incidents | 214 | 143 | 119 |
| First Aid Injuries | 104 | 162 | 93 |
| Medical Treatment Injuries | 23 | 39 | 46 |
| Restricted Work Injuries | 48 | 48 | 30 |
| Lost Time Injuries (LTI)5 | 2 | 10 | 5 |
| Total Recordable Injuries (TRI) | 74 | 97 | 81 |
| Near-Miss Frequency Rate | 4.59 | 2.96 | 3.26 |
| Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR)6 | 0.06 | 0.21 | 0.14 |
| Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (TRIFR)6 | 1.55 | 2.01 | 2.22 |
| Hours Worked | 9,551,100 | 9,648,258 | 7,309,487 |
Alamos is in the process of improving the way we track and report occupational illness. To date, incidents of injuries and occupational illness have been aggregated – as equal weight and response is attributed to both types of event. Alamos looks forward to separating these indicators in future reports and, where necessary, making clear any restatements of information from prior reporting periods.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
At Alamos, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, pregnancy, disability, genetic characteristics, or any other arbitrary characteristic unrelated to an individual’s job performance. There were 0 incidents of discrimination reported at any of our operations in 2022.
Composition of Workforce7
Table 2.6
| Male | 86% |
| Female | 14% |
| <30 Years Old | 21% |
| 30-50 Years Old | 56% |
| >50 Years Old | 23% |
In August 2022, an employee engagement survey was circulated to all employees at our Canadian operations, projects, and offices (the Young-Davidson Mine, the Island Gold Mine, the Lynn Lake Project, and our Toronto Head Office) to offer an opportunity to voluntarily self-identify against seven Diversity metrics. The following information was obtained.
Figure 2.1
Gender Identity
655 Responses
Figure 2.2
Sexual Orientation
632 Responses
Figure 2.3
Indigeneity
634 Responses
Figure 2.4
Race
655 Responses
Figure 2.5
First Language8
784 Responses
Figure 2.6
Primary Language9
747 Responses
Figure 2.7
Persons with Disabilities
655 Responses
Text descriptions of each chart
Our employment selection process emphasizes diversity, equity, inclusion, workplace safety, and employee welfare. Harassment of any kind is prohibited, and we will not knowingly employ any person, contractor or supplier who does not subscribe to our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. Our business success depends on our ability to recruit and retain motivated people who share our commitment to inclusion. We are committed to paying a fair and living wage to all employees, and pay equal compensation for men and women based on their roles, responsibilities and work experience. To attract strong candidates, we pay above average starting wages and offer a variety of employee benefits, including progressive family supports.
Table 2.7
Parental Leave in the Reporting Period | Alamos Total | Young- Davidson | Island Gold | Mulatos | Lynn Lake Project | Hermosillo Office | Toronto Head Office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employees Entitled to Parental Leave | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Employees that Took Parental Leave | Male: 32 Female: 14 | Male: 9 Female: 3 | Male: 7 Female: 5 | Male: 16 Female: 3 | Male: 0 Female:0 | Male: 0 Female: 3 | Male: 0 Female: 0 |
| Employees Who Returned to Work After Parental Leave | Male: 29 Female: 9 | Male: 7 Female: 2 | Male: 6 Female: 1 | Male: 16 Female: 3 | Male: 0 Female: 0 | Male: 0 Female: 3 | Male: 0 Female: 0 |
| Employees Still Employed 12 Months After Returning from Parental Leave10 | Male: 17 Female: 7 | Male: 1 Female: 0 | Male: 0 Female: 1 | Male: 16 Female: 3 | Male: 0 Female: 0 | Male: 0 Female: 3 | Male: 0 Female: 0 |
| Employees Still on Parental Leave at Year End | Male: 3 Female: 5 | Male: 2 Female: 1 | Male: 1 Female: 4 | Male: 1 Female: 4 | Male: 0 Female: 0 | Male: 0 Female: 0 | Male: 0 Female: 0 |
Labour Relations
As is outlined in our Human Rights Policy, which is in part guided by the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, Alamos respects and looks to uphold internationally proclaimed human rights for our workforce. With gold being internationally recognised as one of five conflict minerals, we apply specific attention in avoiding complicity with human rights abuses such as child labor and modern slavery (which includes forced and compulsory labor). We have determined through internal assessments that none of our operations are at significant risk for incidents related to these offenses, and we condemn them in the strongest possible terms. We expect our suppliers and business partners to share this commitment and implement policies and processes that support respect for human rights. We also clearly outline our commitment and expectations within our business contracts. Alamos supports the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas, and has adopted the WGC’s Conflict-Free Gold Standard to operationalise this commitment. Our independently verified Conflict-Free Gold Report summarises our annual conformance to this standard.
All Alamos workers are afforded the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining via our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and applicable labour laws. In Mexico, 306 of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements, and the minimum requirements of these agreements are also applied to non-unionised workers. We do not believe that the right to exercise freedom of association and collective bargaining is at risk at any Alamos location. In 2022 there were no disputes between labour and management resulting in strikes, lockouts or other work stoppages.
Table 2.8
Collective Bargaining Agreements | Young-Davidson | Island Gold | Mulatos |
|---|---|---|---|
| % of Employees Covered | 0 | 0 | 57 |
Alamos management communicates with the workforce early and often regarding operational changes. When possible, workers are given 90 days’ (approximately 13 weeks’) notice of changes that may impact them. However, a specific notice period is not stipulated by the Collective Bargaining Agreement at our Mulatos site, and there is no regulated amount of notice for the rest of our non-unionised employees regarding operational changes.
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- Compiled using Full Time Equivalency.
- Inclusive gender information is provided in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion section. Only male and female indications are currently tracked at the time of hiring.
- For a breakdown of Safety performance by site, please visit our Data Tables.
- Untracked. Alamos is looking to improve our data collection techniques to include this indicator in future reports.
- Lost Time Injuries total does not include Fatalities, reported separately in table.
- Per the recommendations of ICMM, Frequency Rates are calculated based on 200,000 hours worked and include lost time injuries and fatalities.
- For a site-by-site breakdown of workforce Composition, please visit our Data Tables.
- Respondents were asked what language they first learned at home as a child and still understand today.
- Respondents were asked what language they speak at home most often.
- This data was compiled by capturing the number of employees who returned from Parental Leave in 2021 and remained employed with Alamos 12 months later (in 2022).