From Compliance to Value Creation: The Reality of Cultural Governance and ESG in Mining

In this episode we seek to Louise Porteus, ESG Manager at Thor Explorations, a TSX-V & AIM listed gold producer and explorer focused on West Africa with operations and exploration assets in Nigeria, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire We explore how environmental, social and governance practices have evolved from a compliance function into a key driver of value creation in the mining industry. Louise reflects on the pivotal moments in her career, discusses how ESG expectations differ across jurisdictions, shares how Thor Explorations is leading by example, and offers her perspective on the future of ESG over the next decade.  We also discuss her work supporting Women in Mining and hear her advice for anyone looking to build a career in international ESG and the mining sector. This episode is brought to you by Mining International, a global executive search partner to the mining industry. For bespoke search and advisory services, please visit www.mining-international.org **KEY TAKEAWAYS** - ESG has successfully shifted from a rigid box-ticking exercise into a core driver of long-term value creation and operational viability in the mining industry. - True project stability relies on integrating local community dynamics and cultural governance into decision-making rather than just depending on written local legislation. - Implementing ESG successfully requires a practical, step-by-step approach to data gathering that builds local trust and capacity, rather than overwhelming teams with massive theoretical toolkits. - Advancing women in the mining sector involves moving past token representation and actively training them for hands-on, technical roles that fundamentally transform lives. **BEST MOMENTS** "Most projects didn’t fail because of technical reasons, they failed because of social." "There’s a better understanding that it’s not a tick-box, it’s not just a spreadsheet, it’s actually people that have to put the work behind it and do it." "I’ve been emphatic about bringing what I call cultural governance into our decision-making." "It's not just what you did, but so what? What did that mean? What did that lead to? Did it give more confidence to people?" **VALUABLE RESOURCES** Mail:        [⁠rob@mining-international.org⁠](mailto:rob@mining-international.org) LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ X:              ⁠https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson⁠  YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast⁠  Web:        ⁠http://www.mining-international.org⁠ **GUEST RESOURCES** https://www.linkedin.com/company/thor-explorations-ltd/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/louise-porteus-65b2801/ Website: https://thorexpl.com/ Email Address: lporteus@thorexpl.com thorexplorations@yellowjerseypr.com **CONTACT METHOD** [⁠rob@mining-international.org⁠](mailto:rob@mining-international.org) ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ **Podcast Description** Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.  *This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media.* https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/