Communities
Partnering with communities
Social performance
Our purpose, We mine copper sustainably to energise the future, guides how we engage with the communities in which we operate. We aim to deliver a long-lasting, positive contribution, recognising that social performance is essential to our social licence to operate. Social performance reflects how effectively we manage our direct and indirect impacts on local communities and other stakeholders, both negative and positive.
FY25 marked a key milestone in our approach to managing human rights and social performance, as we launched our Human Rights and Social Performance Group Standard. This standard defines minimum requirements for the business and embeds social performance into governance and decision-making. It provides a consistent, predictable approach to how we engage with communities, manage social risks and uphold human rights.
Group socio-economic contribution
We contribute to local and regional socioeconomic development by:
- Employing local people providing stable and meaningful work opportunities.
- Upskilling local people in both direct and ancillary mining services.
- Paying taxes and royalties that support governments to deliver essential services.
- Procuring local goods and services to stimulate the local economy.
- Investing voluntarily in communities through in-kind contributions, donations, sponsorships and partnerships.
In FY25, our total socio-economic contribution exceeded $877M. To read about this further visit page 68-69 of Sandfire’s 2025 Annual Report.
Communities 5 Year Goals
Collaborate with host communities to generate enduring socio-economic benefit, beyond the life of our mines.
Global Milestones
- Targets in place at each asset to increase local employment and development of skills and capabilities.
- Programs in place demonstrate the growth of sustainable income sources independent of mining.
Support the development of thriving communities by partnering to provide sustainable social, economic, and environmental benefit.
Global Milestones
- Community investment plans are developed at each asset through external consultation, identifying community needs and reflecting their aspirations.
- Long-term multi-stakeholder programs developed to address community needs and align with Sandfire ESG pillars and our priority UNSDGs.
- Participatory monitoring and reporting programs are in place that demonstrate social, economic, and environmental benefits.
Build strong and mutually beneficial relationships with Indigenous, Land Connected and Tribal Peoples across our value chain to deliver positive economic, social, and cultural outcomes.
Global Milestones:
- Strengthen processes to identify and address the needs of Indigenous, Land connected and Tribal Peoples, ensuring their participation in decisions affecting them in alignment with global best practice.
- Representation of Indigenous, Land Connected and Tribal Peoples across Sandfire’s value chain reflects the composition of host communities.
Secure ongoing broad-based support from our host communities.
Global Milestones:
- Strengthen and embed a Stakeholder Engagement Standard and a Social Impact Assessment Standard globally.
- Embed social dimensions into priority decision making processes.
To view the status against each of these milestones visit page 206 of Sandfire’s 2025 Annual Report.
Community Investment
Learn about our commitment to developing multi-stakeholder partnerships to help deliver sustainable community programs.
Local Content
Learn about Sandfire’s contributions to economic development through the procurement of local goods and services.
Indigenous Peoples
Learn about our commitment to participating in meaningful engagements, respecting cultural heritage and local customs, and valuing diversity of backgrounds and cultures.