International Exchange for Children in the Morenci Copper Mine Area

We, Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. (SMM) and Sumitomo Corporation made a new donation of $210,000 to support educational activities at Morenci Unified school district in Arizona, a site of our operations.

The donation was made through the “Sumitomo Scholarship Fund” in Morenci district . As scholarship funding, it will provide support for activities including a program of education and international exchange to be newly conducted at local middle and high schools.

Through this donation, we are determined to further deepen ties of coexistence with the community in Morenci and continue contributing to local advancement and development of human resources.

At the donation ceremony

■Relationship with Morenci
Located in Arizona, the Morenci district contains the Morenci Copper Mine, one of our major operation sites, we began participating in the management in 1986, and our relationship with the region has continued for more than 30 years. We are not confined only to business activities related to operation of the mine. We also support the advancement of the local community. In the field of education, we established the Sumitomo Scholarship fund and have been continuously supporting education for high school students since 1987.

■Background of the donation
SMM and Sumitomo Corporation believe that companies ought to coexist with local communities and contribute to their advancement through their business activities.
This belief has been steadily carried on beginning right from our operations at the former Besshi Copper Mine (in the city of Niihama, Ehime Prefecture), which was the foundation of Sumitomo’s development. Our donation to the new program of education and international exchange at the middle school and high school in Morenci will serve as support for the community in the field of education. We made this donation because it is what we believe in.

■New program of education and international exchange
In the new program, selected students from the middle school and high school in Morenci will visit Japan for education and training. This year, we are inviting students from Morenci to visit the city of Isa in Kagoshima Prefecture, where Hishikari Gold Mine, one of our key operation sites in Japan, is located. There, we will encourage international exchange with local students. Some of the activities will be conducted in cooperation with the Isa Municipal Government.
【Main activities in Isa, Kagoshima (tentative)】
・Tour of the Hishikari Gold Mine
・Mining community exchange gathering with local students
・Experience of staying at local homes