Newmont President and Chief Executive Officer, Tom Palmer, Speech at Minerals Week 2023

This week, Newmont President and Chief Executive Officer, Tom Palmer, delivered a keynote address at Minerals Week 2023 in Canberra, Australia.

Read the full speech below.

Thank you to the Minerals Council of Australia for the opportunity to speak with you today.

Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet today, the Ngunnawal, and pay my respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. I extend this respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in attendance. Newmont also supports reconciliation and the Uluru Statement of the Heart as part of our unwavering commitment to being a values-driven business. This commitment includes playing a constructive role in the dialogue around critical social issues in the communities in which we live and work.

As I look around the room today, I have had the pleasure of working with many of you here over my 30 plus years in the mining industry. For those of you who do not know me I am the fourth generation of an Australian mining family. I was born in Broken Hill, as were my parents and grandparents, I grew up in Cobar in far western NSW, studied in Sydney and Melbourne and have lived and worked in mining communities across Australia and around the world. I am also proud to say that my eldest daughter is carrying on that tradition and building her own career in mining. It is also her experiences that are helping me reflect on the leadership role I have in our industry and how we work to address some of the themes that I will discuss today.

The organization that I have the privilege to lead also has a strong heritage in Australia. Almost 60 years ago, Newmont established an Australian subsidiary that operated until the early 1990s when we merged our assets with BHP's gold assets to create Newcrest Mining. Newmont then returned to Australia through our acquisition of Normandy in 2002, adding two assets that we have developed to become Tier 1 and core to our portfolio today - Boddington in Western Australia and Tanami in the Northern Territory.

We are very excited to be on the cusp of further strengthening our position in Australia with the acquisition of Newcrest, creating a company that will set the clear standard for safe, profitable and responsible gold and copper production from a world-class portfolio of top-tier operations - three of which will be here in Australia.

In addition to expanding our operational footprint here, our entry onto the ASX will allow us to attract shareholders from Australia and the Asia Pacific region, positioning Australia as a key, center of gravity for Newmont's global business.

I'm pleased to report that we remain firmly on track to complete this transformational transaction in the fourth quarter of this year. Upon closing, we will begin the important work of safely and responsibly integrating Newcrest's people and assets into Newmont's proven operating model, a way of working which has set us apart as the recognized, sustainability leader in the gold industry.

The core of our transformed business will be an unmatched portfolio of ten Tier 1 operations… each with the scale, mine life, and cost profile to enable us to invest in our industry leading sustainability strategy.

In addition to this industry leading portfolio of Tier 1 gold assets, Newmont will also produce significant amounts of copper, making a meaningful contribution of a critical metal required for the global energy transition.

Those of us who work in the mining industry understand and recognize the necessity, value and role that minerals play in our modern way of life and standard of living.

We also understand the extent to which society, as a whole, is unconscious of its deeply rooted dependency on the minerals we produce.

However, as an industry we do not now, nor will we ever, have the luxury of ignoring societal megatrends and the impacts they have on our workforces, our operations, and our host communities.

I am not here today to deliver a 30-minute spiel about Newmont. I would like to use this time to shine a light on the emerging global megatrends that will directly impact our society and industry… now and well into the future.

In fact, I believe we are on the cusp of an age that will be as consequential and disruptive as the industrial revolution, if not more so.

Whilst Australia may be geographically isolated, we are not immune from these megatrends. We are as vulnerable as any country thanks to interconnected global supply chains, international communication networks and digital platforms, and climate change impacts that do not respect national boundaries.

At the same time, I firmly believe that Australia and the Australian mining industry in particular, are uniquely positioned to lead the world in resourcing the new energy future whilst serving as the role model for safe, sustainable and responsible mining.

As we have demonstrated in the past, I am confident that Australia will be at the forefront of adapting to and then thriving in the face of the headwinds created by the emerging global megatrends.

As I see them, these emerging global megatrends impacting our country, our world and our industry fall into three categories.

First, Society and Investors are increasingly demanding accountability, value sharing, and values-based decision making, and we will need to meet and exceed these demands to remain in business.

As an industry, we are tasked with satisfying society's accelerating needs to resource the new energy future, whilst mining safely and sustainably. Not just because society expects it, but also because our workforces will demand it.

This is where I would like to spend much of my time today, with a focus on our workforces.

Second, the exponential acceleration of technological change, particularly in artificial intelligence and long language models, requires that we temper these game-changing technologies with tried and true humanwisdom and robust social process - translated into people-centric, values-based decisions to responsibly govern and harness these transformational digital innovations for the benefit of people.

And third, geopolitical turbulence, often driven by internal demographic changes, migration, deepening political polarization, and economic anxiety is complicating relationships within governments, and between governments, whilst triggering never-seen-before cracks in the foundations of well-established societal institutions.

Together, these megatrends simultaneously animate, interact with, and reinforce one another in ways we cannot predict, giving rise to a growing meta-crisis, one in which we will be expected to succeed in right now, and over the long-term. 

The intensity and velocity of these global megatrends are so universal and disruptive that if, as an industry, we are not agile enough to adapt, align and lead, we will risk losing control of our businesses.

What I will argue for today is that successfully navigating this period of disruptive change will require knowing, integrating, and living our organizations' core values.

Failure to do so will leave us rudderless and at the mercy of these tidal waves of change in society, technology and geopolitics.

On their own, each of these megatrends has the ability to impact our workforces by creating greater confusion, uncertainty and anxiety.

Taken together, their convergence into a potential meta-crisis has the ability to break the critical social bonds between individuals, communities and nations.

The most powerful force that we have as organizations to buffer against, and more importantly, thrive in the face of these global megatrends are workforces who are motivated by and demonstrating our core values in everything that we do.

This cannot and will not happen unless we openly and honestly address the very real problems of sexism, racism, harassment and bullying in our workplaces. And this includes Newmont.

Today, I would like to openly and publicly acknowledge that we - individually as companies and collectively as an industry - have a major challenge to overcome.

Demonstrating our commitment to, and taking action on, these critical problems must align with our vision of safe, inclusive, and sustainable workplaces.

No one should ever feel harassed, threatened, or discriminated against at work.

As leaders, if we are to earn the trust of our workforces and in turn other stakeholders, then we have a solemn obligation to proactively address these problems, head on.

We must ask - what more should we be doing?

This is essential if we are going to attract and retain the best people. We're no longer competing with each other for talent. Thanks to the digital revolution - just one aspect of the technology megatrend - we now find ourselves in a global war for talent with every other industry.

So, for both moral and practical reasons, we cannot exclude or alienate anyone because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, or creed.

As the Chief Executive of Newmont, my role is to thoughtfully navigate these issues and global megatrends by, first and foremost, doubling down on anchoring our business in our purpose: to create value and improve lives through and sustainable and responsible mining.

And this Purpose is underpinned by our core values of safety, sustainability, integrity, inclusion and responsibility.

I would now like to expand a little more on each of these three global megatrends in society, technology, and geopolitics.

Let me begin with Society and social transformations.

The mining industry is not immune from the societal tectonics that are creating new social and political fault lines, as older ones become more pronounced.

Already anxious from the dislocating economic effects of a globalizing economy, due to the pandemic working and middle-class people felt the earth move beneath their feet over the last three years in a way they had not experienced before.

Feeling the effects of job losses or the anxiety of potentially losing one's job, not to mention the loss of millions of lives and crumbling supply chains resulting in product scarcity, the pandemic became fertile ground for social and political rifts to grow.

These widening rifts over pandemic policies were capitalized on by opportunists and groups seeking to harness anger and frustration, whilst leveraging digital and social media to amplify these social chasms to gain or keep power.

Economic dislocation and the resulting government fiscal interventions to prevent complete economic collapse ballooned national deficits and debt.

One consequence of this has been increased attention and focus on the mining industry to contribute more through taxes, royalties, economic development, and social investments, whilst still responsibly supplying the materials to support our modern way of life and the new energy economy.

As we know, creating a new energy economy through renewable power generation and electrification of our transportation systems will require massive increases in the production of minerals such as copper, zinc, cobalt, lithium, amongst others.

According to a study by S&P Global, copper demand is expected to nearly double from 25 million tons today to about 50 million tons by 2035 in order to deploy the technologies needed to achieve net-zero targets by 2050. 

Based on current copper production trends, we will experience copper shortfalls of 10 million tons by 2035.  In fact, by 2050, the world will only be producing 20 percent of the copper needed to meet net-zero climate goals. Bridging this gap will require significantly more copper mines, copper recycling and enhanced copper leaching processes.

This means more deposits need to be discovered and mines built at a pace that seems unlikely given the drawn-out timeframes to secure government and community approvals.

To even come close to achieving this pace, we are going to need to bank as much goodwill and trust as possible by demonstrating that we are responsible actors guided by strong values.

Whilst the global mining industry generates nearly $2 trillion US dollars annually in economic and social contributions - including $255 billion here - apart from some local recognition and acknowledgement in certain communities and countries like Australia, the world at large continues to view us with suspicion.

This is in part due to the darker legacy of mining from decades ago, but also the high-profile tailings dam disasters in our recent past.

Will throwing more money at the issue change how we're perceived and accelerate the pace at which new projects are brought online? Perhaps. But we all know the margins our businesses generate, and there's a point at which projects and operations become economically unviable. As such, we need to think more than just transactionally.

This will require us to leverage the capability, creativity and goodwill of our workforces and community partners to anchor our decisions and actions in people-centric approaches.

It is about establishing and maintaining long lasting relationships built on trust and respect. Relationships that have at their foundation the creation of safe, healthy and equitable workplaces.

Workplaces that value differences and ensure everyone feels safe, and are safe. Trust and respect are built from this foundation as our workforces are members of our neighboring communities who are, in turn, constituents of their respective nations.

The second megatrend I'd like to discuss is the impact of rapidly advancing technology.

Whilst technology has helped make our businesses safer, cleaner, more efficient and productive, the velocity of technological change today is altering social and economic dynamics in ways not seen since the industrial revolution.

Some of the technological benefits we've seen at Newmont in recent years include automation and remote operations - in particular post the lessons learnt from the pandemic.

Automation is helping us mitigate safety risks, reduce emissions and improve efficiency. Specifically, autonomous vehicles, automated drilling, remote operations, and asset monitoring are critical to how we mine today and, even more so, in the future.

In fact, many of these technological innovations in mining were pioneered right here in Australia.

Back in 2011, I led the team that commissioned the first fully autonomous haul fleet in an operating mine - at Rio Tinto's Yandicoogina in the Pilbara.

Ten years later, Newmont became the first gold mining company to commission a fully autonomous haul truck fleet at our Boddington mine in WA.

This was also the first application of autonomous haulage in a deep open pit mine - providing us with a clear edge with the application of this technology.

In addition to the cost and productivity improvements, it is the safety improvements from the application of this technology that are the most significant.

Since we implemented this technology at Boddington two years ago, we have seen:

• Zero workplace injuries from haul fleet operations;
• A 50% reduction in vehicle damage;
• A 90% reduction in tyre damage;
• And prior to its implementation at Boddington, we typically recorded more than 3,000 micro-sleeps by our operators each year. That number is now zero and a significant fatality risk has been eliminated.

Building on this experience, and as part of Newmont's commitment to address the impacts of climate change, we are also challenging ourselves and our equipment manufacturers to take risks in order to drive innovation and more rapidly develop sustainable solutions to reduce emissions.

In 2021, Newmont announced a $100 million strategic alliance with Caterpillar to develop, build, test and then deploy in operating mines both battery electric open pit and underground trucks, before the end of this decade.

Also, as part of our road map to achieve our 2030 emission reduction targets and our 2050 net-zero ambition, we are working to implement energy efficiency improvements at our operating sites and working with our suppliers to reduce emissions in power generation and transportation. This includes advancing renewable power for both our Boddington and Tanami operations here in Australia.

At Newmont, we are using artificial intelligence algorithms and machine learning to monitor air and water quality, as well as the condition of wildlife and other natural resources. 

But like any technology, AI, including Large Language Models like Chat GPT, are advancing and self-learning so rapidly that even their own creators are not sure how they are able to do what they do.

In fact, earlier this year more than 1,000 technology leaders and researchers working on AI signed an open letter warning that these technologies present, and I quote, "profound risks to society and humanity." In short, AI's exponential advancement is creating unknown unknowns.

We must prepare our businesses and our workforces to responsibly navigate these technological opportunities and threats by anchoring ourselves in our core values so that we can all make moral and people-centric decisions in fast-moving and complex situations either driven or exacerbated by technology.

The third and final megatrend I'd like to discuss is the influence of geopolitics on where we explore, invest and operate.

Geopolitical developments have hugely material impacts on the supply and demand of individual commodities, including gold and copper.

As I mentioned earlier, internal societal changes, political rifts, and economic anxieties can drive geopolitical turbulence within governments and between governments.

Last year, Newmont contributed eleven billion US dollars in direct economic contributions through salaries, taxes, royalties, payments to governments, and community contributions, with two billion US dollars in Australia alone.

Of this two billion dollars in economic value we generated here in Australia:

• $272 million involved employee wages and benefits; and
• $440 million was paid in taxes to state and federal governments.

As important as the dollars and economic development Newmont generates, are our partnerships with local governments, Indigenous communities, and civil society organizations to create shared value and improve lives.

A few examples include:

• At Tanami in the NT, our Yapa Crew offers a skills development and employment program for the Warlpiri people and has been designed to consider cultural practices, knowledge and responsibilities.
• For over 20 years, our Yapa Crew has been an integral part of our team, playing an important role in the ongoing success of the mine.
• At Boddington in WA, the Gnaala Work Ready Employment program is an entry-level employment program for people from the Gnaala Karla Booja region. Participants undertake a 12-week training program before moving into permanent roles with the company.
• And, we also partnered with the Melbourne AFL club to support their work in promoting key health initiatives to local communities in Central Australia.

Whilst we're proud of the work we've done in Australia and elsewhere, we know that societal and government demands and needs only increase.

Our work as leaders in the resources sector extends well beyond the boundaries of our operations and into local communities, civil society organizations, legislatures, ministerial, and presidential offices.

As leaders in the mining industry, if we are to navigate resource nationalism and turbulent geopolitical trends so we can satisfy society's rapidly growing demand for the minerals we produce then we are going to have to quickly adapt and invest the time, energy, resources and skills needed to focus on regular, quality engagement with governments and other stakeholders.

Values-based governance, transparency and accountability are all critical to helping stabilize the geopolitical environments in which we operate so that we can create a degree of certainty that will satisfy our shareholders, whilst living up to the commitments we make to our other stakeholders. The world will not meet its climate targets if we are not able to do this.

These megatrends in society, technology and geopolitics animate one another in ways we cannot predict.

However, under any scenario, the responsible production of gold, copper and other minerals remains the only way we can generate sustainable value for our workforces, our communities, our host countries and our shareholders whilst supplying the essential resources necessary for the new energy future.

As I stated earlier, the most powerful force we have to buffer against and thrive in the face of these emerging global megatrends are our workforces motivated by and demonstrating core values in everything we do.

Successfully navigating through this period of disruptive change will require leveraging the capability, creativity and goodwill of our workforces and community partners to anchor our decisions and actions in morally sound, people-centric approaches.

Whilst the challenges ahead of us are significant and unprecedented, I firmly believe in the ingenuity and resolve of our teams to rise to the occasion and capitalize on emerging opportunities to overcome and ultimately thrive in the face of the headwinds confronting us.

Thank you for making time to listen today.

About Newmont

Newmont is the world's leading gold company and a producer of copper, silver, zinc and lead. The Company's world-class portfolio of assets, prospects and talent is anchored in favorable mining jurisdictions in North America, South America, Australia and Africa. Newmont is the only gold producer listed in the S&P 500 Index and is widely recognized for its principled environmental, social and governance practices. The Company is an industry leader in value creation, supported by robust safety standards, superior execution and technical expertise. Newmont was founded in 1921 and has been publicly traded since 1925.

At Newmont, our purpose is to create value and improve lives through sustainable and responsible mining. To learn more about Newmont's sustainability strategy and initiatives, go to www.newmont.com.

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Additional Information about the Transaction and Where to Find It

This communication is not an offer to purchase or exchange, nor a solicitation of an offer to sell securities of Newmont Corporation ("Newmont") or Newcrest Mining Limited ("Newcrest") nor the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction nor shall there be any such issuance or transfer of securities of Newmont or Newcrest in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. This communication is being made in respect of the transaction involving Newmont and Newcrest pursuant to the terms of a scheme implementation deed dated May 15, 2023 (the "Scheme Implementation Deed") by and among Newmont, Newmont Overseas Holdings Pty Ltd, an Australian proprietary company limited by shares, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Newmont, and Newcrest and may be deemed to be soliciting material relating to the transaction. In furtherance of the pending transaction and subject to future developments, Newmont will file one or more proxy statements or other documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). This communication is not a substitute for any proxy statement, the Scheme Booklet or other document Newmont or Newcrest may file with the SEC and Australian regulators in connection with the pending transaction. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF NEWMONT AND NEWCREST ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT(S), SCHEME BOOKLET AND OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY IN THEIR ENTIRETY IF AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISION WITH RESPECT TO THE TRANSACTION AS THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PENDING TRANSACTION AND THE PARTIES TO THE TRANSACTION. The definitive proxy statement will be mailed to Newmont stockholders. Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of the proxy statements, the filings with the SEC that will be incorporated by reference into the proxy statement, the Scheme Booklet and other documents containing important information about the transaction and the parties to the transaction, filed by Newmont with the SEC at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. The disclosure documents and other documents that are filed with the SEC by Newmont may also be obtained on https://www.newmont.com/investors/reports-and-filings/default.aspx or by contacting Newmont's Investor Relations department at [email protected] or by calling 303-837-5484.

Participants in the Transaction Solicitation

Newmont, Newcrest and certain of their respective directors and executive officers and other employees may be deemed to be participants in any solicitation of proxies from Newmont shareholders in respect of the pending transaction between Newmont and Newcrest. Information regarding Newmont's directors and executive officers is available in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC on February 23, 2023 and its proxy statement for its 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on March 10, 2023. Information about Newcrest's directors and executive officers is set forth in Newcrest's latest annual report dated August 19, 2022 as updated from time to time via announcements made by Newcrest on the Australian Securities Exchange ("ASX"). Additional information regarding the interests of these participants in such proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in any proxy statement and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC in connection with the pending transaction if and when they become available.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created by such sections and other applicable laws and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Australian securities laws. Where a forward-looking statement expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief is expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. However, such statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance and financial condition; and often contain words such as "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "will," "would," "estimate," "expect," "pending," "proposed" or "potential." Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements relating to (i) the pending transaction to acquire the share capital of Newcrest, timing and closing of the pending transaction, including receipt of required approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions; (ii) estimates of expected synergies; (iii) estimates of expected incremental cash flow generation and portfolio optimization opportunities; and (v) other expectations regarding the combined business.

Estimates or expectations of future events or results are based upon certain assumptions, which may prove to be incorrect. Risks relating to forward looking statements in regard to the combined business and future performance may include, but are not limited to, gold and other metals price volatility, currency fluctuations, operational risks, increased production costs and variances in ore grade or recovery rates from those assumed in mining plans, political risk, community relations, conflict resolution, governmental regulation and judicial outcomes and other risks. In addition, material risks that could cause actual results to differ from forward-looking statements include: the inherent uncertainty associated with financial or other projections; the prompt and effective integration of Newmont's and Newcrest's businesses and the ability to achieve the anticipated synergies and value-creation contemplated by the pending transaction; the risk associated with Newmont's and Newcrest's ability to obtain the approval of the pending transaction by their shareholders required to consummate the pending transaction and the timing of the closing of the pending transaction, including the risk that the conditions to the pending transaction are not satisfied on a timely basis or at all and the failure of the pending transaction to close for any other reason; the risk that a consent or authorization that may be required for the pending transaction is not obtained or is obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the parties and others related to the Scheme Implementation Deed; unanticipated difficulties or expenditures relating to the pending transaction, the response of business partners and retention as a result of the announcement and pendency of the transaction; risks relating to the value of the Scheme Consideration to be issued in connection with the pending transaction; the anticipated size of the markets and continued demand for Newmont's and Newcrest's resources and the impact of competitive responses to the announcement of the transaction; and the diversion of management time on pending transaction-related issues. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors, see Newmont's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC as well as Newmont's other SEC filings, available on the SEC website or www.newmont.com. Newcrest's most recent annual report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022 as well as Newcrest's other filings made with Australian securities regulatory authorities are available on ASX (www.asx.com.au) or www.newcrest.com. Newmont and Newcrest do not undertake any obligation to release publicly revisions to any "forward-looking statement," including, without limitation, outlook, to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this communication, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Investors should not assume that any lack of update to a previously issued "forward-looking statement" constitutes a reaffirmation of that statement. Continued reliance on "forward-looking statements" is at investors' own risk.

Synergies and value creation as used herein are management estimates provided for illustrative purposes and should not be considered a GAAP or non-GAAP financial measure. Synergies represent management's combined estimate of pre-tax synergies, supply chain efficiencies and Full Potential improvements, as a result of the integration of Newmont's and Newcrest's businesses that have been monetized for the purposes of the estimation. Because synergies estimates reflect differences between certain actual costs incurred and management estimates of costs that would have been incurred in the absence of the integration of Newmont's and Newcrest's businesses, such estimates are necessarily imprecise and are based on numerous judgments and assumptions. Synergies are "forward-looking statements" subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual value creation to differ from expected or past synergies.

As used herein, Tier 1 / World-class asset is defined as +500k GEO's/year consolidated, average AISC/oz in the lower half of the industry cost curve and a mine life >10 years in countries that, on average, are classified in the A and B rating ranges by Moody's, S&P or Fitch.

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