Corporate Social Responsibility

Being a responsible corporate citizen means protecting the natural environment associated with our business activities, providing a safe workplace for our employees and contractors, and investing in infrastructure, economic development, and health and education in the communities where we operate so that we can enhance the lives of those who work and live there beyond the life of such operations. We take a longterm view of our corporate responsibility, which is reflected in the policies that guide our business decisions, and in our corporate culture that fosters safe and ethical behaviour across all levels of Platinum Group. Our goal is to ensure that our engagement with our stakeholders, including our workforce, industry partners, and the communities where we operate, is continued, mutually beneficial and transparent. By building such relationships and conducting ourselves in this manner, we can address specific concerns of our stakeholders and work cooperatively and effectively towards achieving this goal.

Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”)

ESG Approach

The Company and Waterberg JV Co. are committed to conducting business in a responsible and sustainable manner. Our core ESG values are:

  • to maximize the positive effect of our projects and operations for all stakeholders;
  • caring for the environment in which we operate;
  • contributing to both the short-term and long-term development of our host communities;
  • ensuring safe and secure workplaces for our employees;
  • contributing to the welfare of our employees and local communities; and
  • promoting good corporate governance, through openness, transparency, and accountability.

We are working to develop a set of performance indicators to measure and monitor key environmental, social sustainability and governance activities at the Waterberg Project. We wish to achieve a high level of understanding and commitment from those who carry out our day-to-day activities. Our social performance indicators aim to cover social risk management, grievance management and community investment. Our environmental performance indicators aim to cover environmental impact mitigation, audits, water, energy, greenhouse gas emissions (“GHG”) and environmental remediation and rehabilitation. Health and safety performance indicators are also to be recorded and monitored.

ESG Reporting and Assessment

The Company’s ongoing ESG analysis continues to refine the set of performance indicators to measure and monitor key environmental, social sustainability and governance activities at the Waterberg Project. We wish to achieve a high level of understanding and commitment from those who carry out our day-to-day activities. Our social performance indicators aim to cover social risk management, grievance management, community investment and human rights. Our environmental performance indicators aim to cover environmental impact mitigation, audits, water, energy, GHG emissions, and environmental remediation and rehabilitation. Health and safety performance indicators are also to be recorded and monitored.

The Company has worked with Digbee since 2021 to independently assess its ESG development and disclosure at both the corporate and project level as it moves toward the construction phase of the Waterberg Project. The Digbee ESG platform is aligned with over 25 global reporting standards to generate an appropriate ESG score for development stage mining companies and address real risk.

As part of the Waterberg Mining Right application process the Company developed a wide ranging set of studies and plans in relation to potential ESG impacts. These studies and plans were leveraged to form the basis of the Digbee ESG assessment and subsequent outcomes.

For 2023, an independent team of ESG experts evaluated the Company’s ESG submission against a set of rigorous and standardized scoring criteria. To ensure accuracy and credibility, these scores were finalized after being peer reviewed. As of September 2023, Platinum Group achieved an overall score of BBB with a range of C to AAA based on the information provided. This score is an improvement from the BB score achieved in 2022.

For additional information, please refer to the Company’s 2023 Annual Information Form available on Sedar+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on Edgar at www.sec.gov.