We are committed to minimizing our environmental impact and working to preserve the natural areas surrounding our operations.

The Company recognizes its environmental responsibilities and the vital importance of ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources and safe conditions for employees and for people living in the areas of its operations.

With an average life of mine of about above 20 years, we take a long-term approach to environmental management across our assets.

By continuously working to improve our environmental performance at every stage of the production cycle, we strive to consistently minimize its environmental impact.

Starting from the design engineering stage, we assess all potential environmental risks and plan our activities to minimize or eliminate these. This is regulated by our officially approved corporate “Standard for Environmental and Social Impact Assessments”. Environmental impact assessment materials are publicly available on our website with contact details for providing feedback.

During construction and field development, we focus on:

• preventing air and water pollution
• waste management and conserving biodiversity
• mine site rehabilitation

To manage these factors, we have developed and introduced a “Standard for the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources, Preventing Environmental Pollution, and Tracking and Reporting Environmental KPIs”, which is applicable to all stages of the life cycle.

We extend our environmental standards to our contractors and vendors. The Standard on Interaction with Contractors on Health, Safety and Environment and the Supplier Code of Conduct were introduced for this reason. Another officially approved “Cyanide management standard” has been introduced to ensure compliance with the International Cyanide Management Code. This corporate standard requires our cyanide suppliers to comply with the Code and prevents cyanide procurement from uncertified vendors.

Polyus has rolled out an integrated HSE and sustainable development management system. This includes an Environmental Management System which incorporates all our environmental protection initiatives.

All of our mining assets are certified in accordance with ISO 14001 requirements. Certification compliance audits are carried out on a regular basis.

On an annual basis, the sustainability reports reflect the quantified results of the environmental management system.

The improved environmental management system has led to a significant reduction in environmental impact charges in excess of the standard rate.

We recognize that climate change can have an influence on infrastructure stability and the effectiveness of policies geared towards environmental safety and the sustainability of water and energy resources. Therefore, one of our sustainable development priorities is reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2015, we joined other ICMM members in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals; goal 12 is to “Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns,” and goal 13 is to “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.”

We are developing a widescale greenhouse gas emission control system and have put together a standard outlining our in-house requirements. We are considering options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout all the stages of our assets’ life cycles.

In August 2022, Polyus published its Climate Strategy developed in line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as well as industry best practices.

The Climate Strategy sets out medium- and long-term goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and suggests measures for promoting decarbonization. In addition, it outlines climate risk assessment, scenario analysis and the internal carbon pricing mechanism.

Polyus has set itself the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. By 2032, the Company intends to reduce direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2) per tonne of processed ore to 40-50% vs the base year of 2020.

Managing air pollution is vital to ensuring the health of our employees, the general public and the natural environment in the areas where we operate. Polyus recognizes the importance of establishing its activities in a way that minimizes emissions.

We aim to cut down on our fossil fuel consumption and maximize the use of low-carbon and renewable energy sources across our operations to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.

In a bid to reduce air emissions, we take measures to ensure that the equipment used on-site complies with international quality standards and optimize the routes taken by motor vehicles. In addition, we are focused on preventing dust pollution and regularly carry out dust suppression initiatives.

We are committed to sustainable water resource stewardship.

Along with other environmental issues, water-related issues and risks are overseen by the Chief Operating Officer and the Operations Committee of the Board of Directors of Polyus.

Polyus is committed to responsible water management in keeping with the approach formulated in the ICMM Position Statement.

Our priority is to reduce the amount of water used per unit of output. To achieve this goal, we:

• control our water consumption
• implement water-efficient processes at our enterprises
• aim to increase the percentage of water that we reuse

Currently, approximately 90% of all process water at our operations is recirculated and used again.

New water is increasingly sourced from the quarry drainage systems and, to a lesser extent, is taken from groundwater sources and surface streams.

Water is purified before it is discharged into aboveground bodies of water: water treatment facilities are upgraded or new facilities constructed at all of our operations, as necessary.

Furthermore, we continuously monitor the quality of groundwater and streams aboveground at our production sites at accredited laboratories, including mobile labs. This is to ensure that any impact from our operations on the water quality does not exceed regulatory limits, and at the same time enables us to identify potential issues as they emerge, and take immediate, corrective action.

Waste generation is an unavoidable part of the production process. Mining wastes are primarily tailings, a mixture of rock and water generated during ore treatment. We aim to minimize the potential environmental impact of tailings.

Our sites comply fully with Russian legislation governing the safe operation of tailings storage facilities (TSFs). Another important guideline for Polyus is the ICMM Position Statement on Preventing Catastrophic Failure of Tailings Storage Facilities. We implement comprehensive risk assessments related to TSF operation. In addition, special attention is paid to the condition of dams, monitoring wells, other protective measures and related utility systems and networks.

Polyus has a responsible approach to safe waste management. The Company focuses on increasing waste disposal or recycling to the fullest extent possible. Polyus implements active measures to improve the efficiency of waste disposal. If waste cannot be recycled or disposed of, the Company neutralizes and disposes it at its own facilities or transfers the waste to specialized contractors. Waste storage facilities owned by Polyus are included in the state register, which confirms their compliance with the effective regulations.

We employ special mining technology and techniques to reduce the footprint of its assets and restrict the scope of land stripping.

Reclaiming disturbed land is also an integral part of our activity and, to reflect this, we have developed a «Standard for Recultivation and Mine Closure». Planning for mine reclamation takes place during the early stages of each project.

As soon as a site is no longer required in the production process, we begin reclamation activity.

We run a range of programmes aimed at preserving biodiversity and conserving wildlife and plant habitats and ecosystems.

Where some impact is inevitable, we strive to mitigate and offset this. Polyus conducts biodiversity monitoring and assessment in all its regions of operation in cooperation with research institutes and other specialist scientific institutions that have extensive experience in these areas. Employees responsible for project implementation undergo regular advanced training. The Company also consults with stakeholders in accordance with its Stakeholder Engagement Policy: it holds meetings and reviews biodiversity-related proposals and claims.

Polyus manages its biodiversity activities in line with the Biodiversity Conservation corporate standard, which was updated in 2023. In addition, Risk Assessment and Biodiversity Monitoring guidelines are in place at Polyus.

Our conservation initiatives include:

• cooperating on relevant issues with regional institutions and government agencies on the biodiversity evaluation
• compensation programs for damage to aquatic wildlife (introducing valuable fish species into the local rivers)
• planting young trees

Polyus responds to the results of the environmental impact assessment to ensure preservation of territories where it is critical to maintain biodiversity (animal and bird migration paths, wintering and breeding grounds, etc.).

We do not develop mineral deposits in world heritage sites and nature reserves protected by the regional or federal government. We also actively prohibits poaching by our employees and contractors [in nature reserves and] in the areas adjacent to the Company’s operations.

The Polyus Conservation Area program is ongoing in all regions of our operations. This large-scale program aims to preserve biodiversity and implement best practices for biological resources. As part of the program, Polyus works together with specially protected natural areas, local authorities and other stakeholders on projects aimed at resolving relevant issues related to biodiversity conservation.

Polyus Conservation Area program projects:

• Krasnoyarsk Territory: Monitoring the lynx population in the Krasnoyarsk Pillars National Park in view of high human impact
• Republic of Sakha (Yakutia): Studies to review the status of the Siberian grouse in the southern regions of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)
• Magadan Region: Research expedition to the Chersky National Park and development of its monitoring and protection strategy
• Khabarovsk Territory: Biotechnology measures to support the Amur tiger
• Irkutsk Region: Study of the species diversity and population of wild ungulates

Polyus promotes the ongoing transition to the BAT principles in Russia

BAT refers to those technologies that are most effective in protecting the environment and conserving resources, and which are economically viable, readily available, and have already been successfully adopted by at least one business in the industry.

With the BAT Bureau, we believe it is necessary to develop a separate technical reference guide on the best available technologies in gold mining. This proposal has been supported by the Union of Gold Producers “Technical Working Group 49” focused on developing a technical reference guide: Precious Metals Mining. The technical working group and Company experts have drawn on Polyus’ vast experience in order to present detailed commentary and recommendations as part of this document.

Since 2016, we have been working to ensure that our activities comply with the legislative requirements that apply to the transition to BAT, including registering relevant enterprises with the supervisory authorities. As part of this we are focused on preparing our operations for future integrated environmental permits.

Polyus’ hard-rock mines operations employ 31 out of 43 best available technologies (BAT) listed in the BAT reference book for mining precious metals. In addition, the Company employs BATs outlined in other approved reference books, such as BATs 2-4 in the Wastewater Treatment reference book focusing on the reduction of water withdrawal and wastewater generation, which form the basis for the water stewardship strategy.

Tailings storage facilities are used to store water and waste that come as by products from the mining process and therefore are an inevitable by-product of gold ore mining.

Tailing materials consist of finely ground rock particles and reagent residues, necessary for extracting gold, and reclaimed process water, which is used for their hydraulic transportation.

Since contaminating the environment with these components could significantly impact a region’s ecology, we pay special attention to tailings safety. Polyus has a clean track-record of safety at its tailings dams, with no hazardous incidents related to their integrity and stability.

Polyus strives to minimize any tailings-related environmental risks. The Company’s tailings are stored in remote, inaccessible, or sparsely populated areas. No residential settlements or production facilities are located in potentially dangerous areas near tailings.

Polyus operates a tailings safety monitoring system at all of its facilities. This system encompasses internal industrial and environmental controls, as well as external controls from state supervision services and independent consulting organizations. In addition, at least once a year, representatives from the internal audit function and environmental specialists from the Polyus HSE&SD team conduct inspections of the exploitation safety of tailings.

In accordance with government regulations, we have established mandatory safety criteria for each tailings dump. These criteria have been approved by the respective government bodies.

Polyus also monitors international best practices in this field and has developed its own risk and control procedure matrices related to tailings management.

Polyus also has six non-operational Tailings Storage Facilities.

Polyus fully supports the the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management.

Polyus plans to integrate the Standard across all of its facilities. The Company has formed an internal working group running the implementation of the Standard throughout its business.

According to a preliminary assessment, none of Polyus’ facilities are classified as having ’Extreme’ or ’Very high’ potential consequences of failure, as defined by the Standard. Polyus is therefore committed to ensuring the conformance of all of our facilities with the Standard within five years, or by 5 August 2025. Polyus will publish the final assessment results should they differ from the preliminary ones.

Polyus will continue to make information on the progress of the Standard’s implementation available on its Sustainability website.

See also

• Report on tailings storage facilities
• Polyus supports global industry standard on tailings management
• Special Report on Safety of Tailings Storage Facilities (2019)
• Tailings facilities safety at Polyus: an overview

The sustainable use of resources, environmental protection and mitigation of negative impacts are important areas that the company focuses on.

We are committed to the prompt disclosure of reliable and accurate information to our stakeholders, facilitating effective two-way communication and taking into account their opinions when making decisions on key environmental projects.

According to Federal Law # 174-FZ "On Ecological Expertise" dated 23 November 1995, Decree #999 of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on the approval of the legal framework for environmental impact assessment materials dated 1 December 2020, the Company has established the practice of public hearings to discuss its operational projects. The projects are listed below: