Can you share a bit about Evolution?
Over the past 10 years we have evolved from a small junior into one of the world’s leading mid-tier gold companies with assets in Australia and Canada. We have built a reputation for reliability and transparency and always aim to leave a legacy where the communities in which we operate are better off.
We aspire to make our people’s time at Evolution a highlight of their career and have developed a culture that challenges, grows, and inspires each and every person at Evolution.
What sets Evolution apart from others in this space?
Our focus on quality:
Quality of people – working hard to attract and retain the best people to build collaborative culture with an entrepreneurial mindset.
Quality of assets – we have built a portfolio of quality long life, low-cost assets that generate sector-leading returns.
A belief that bigger is not better, that margin is more important than volume and every dollar we invest must deliver an appropriate risk weighted return.
How was 2020 for Evolution Mining?
The year certainly presented a lot of challenges but I was very proud of the resilience shown by our people to navigate through COVID-19 and get on with the job to deliver a record year for our business.
What are some of the opportunities as well as the challenges you foresee for the year ahead?
Opportunities lie in innovation, technology, and M&As, but the main challenge remains COVID-19 travel restrictions.
I think as a sector we would attract more generalists by focusing on growing profitability
Do you see room for more generalist investors to enter the mining investment space? What is the atmosphere around mining investment that you’re seeing right now?
The level of interest from generalist investors is relatively low so there is certainly room to attract more investment in the space, but I’m concerned that the Australia sector is already going down the path of chasing growth by diluting the quality of our businesses. Generalists still have the scars from the train wreck when the gold price stopped going up 10 years ago and I fear we will end up exactly the same way this time round. Rather than focusing on growing production, I think as a sector we would attract more generalists by focusing on growing profitability.
How is M&A impacting the gold mining and investment space now?
The gold sector has been very active in M&A in recent times. We have grown our business through acquiring assets in highly endowed gold districts and adding value through a focused exploration approach and investing in projects that generate appropriate returns for the risks we take. We have also been an active seller of assets and have been successful in upgrading the quality of our asset portfolio over time.
How is ESG playing into Evolution’s operations and investment decisions today?
Evolution’s three key focus areas in ESG are reducing emissions, water security, and severe weather events. We incorporate all of these into our life-of-mine planning and when assessing projects to invest in.
Do you see the public perspective around mining shifting due to the increased focus on ESG?
I am hopeful that the increased focus on ESG shines a light on all the really positive things we do as an industry. We have always had a strong focus in this area but in recent years we have definitely committed to be more transparent about how the work we do benefits our
stakeholders.
