Key insights
- Comprehensive physical risk assessment across operations and critical supply chains, covering six major climate hazards.
- Future exposure quantified under three IPCC-aligned scenarios, guiding site-level adaptation planning.
- Operational resilience strengthened, ensuring long-term value creation in a high-risk industry.
“With EarthScan, we’ve moved from reacting to extreme weather to preparing for it, protecting our operations and the communities that rely on them.”
— Operations Leadership, Orla Mining
Company snapshot
- Industry: Mining & Metals – Gold Production
- HQ: Vancouver, Canada
- Portfolio: Operating gold mine in Mexico, Canada, USA, and Panama
Orla Mining Ltd. is a Canadian gold mining and exploration company with operations in North and Central America, including the Camino Rojo mine in Zacatecas, Mexico. The company is dedicated to building profitable, responsible mining operations with strong commitments to environmental stewardship, community engagement, and long-term sustainability.
Operating in regions highly exposed to climate change impacts, Orla recognised the need to integrate physical climate risk into operational and strategic planning. By partnering with Mitiga Solutions and leveraging EarthScan, Orla can now quantify climate risks across key hazards, develop adaptation measures, and demonstrate resilience to investors under TCFD.
“EarthScan turned climate uncertainty into actionable intelligence for our teams on the ground.”
— Operations Leadership, Orla Mining
The challenge
Mining operations face unique exposure to climate change. Extreme heat can threaten worker safety and equipment performance. Drought can disrupt water-intensive processes critical to operations. Wildfires and extreme precipitation can damage infrastructure, delay production, and create significant financial losses.
For Orla Mining, which operates in regions like Zacatecas, Mexico, these risks are not hypothetical, they are material to the company’s long-term viability.
Historically, Orla had relied on historical climate patterns to assess operational risks, but the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events made this approach inadequate. The company needed to:
- Understand future physical risks at its operational mine and advanced exploration projects.
- Quantify exposure under multiple emissions scenarios to inform investment and adaptation strategies.
- Align with investor expectations under frameworks like TCFD by demonstrating a forward-looking approach to risk management.
Without credible, site-specific insights, Orla risked operational disruptions, increased costs, and reduced investor confidence in an industry already under scrutiny for its environmental and social impacts.
“Mining has always managed risk, but climate change introduces uncertainties we can’t ignore. We needed reliable, science-based answers.”
– Operations Leadership, Orla Mining
What Orla Mining did with EarthScan
To address the growing physical risks to its operations, Orla Mining partnered with Mitiga Solutions to integrate EarthScan’s climate intelligence into its risk management framework.
Use case 1: Asset-level hazard analysis
EarthScan was used to assess all operational and advanced exploration sites against six key hazards: heat stress, extreme precipitation, extreme wind, drought, wildfire, and flooding.
- Each asset was evaluated based on its specific location and operational characteristics, providing a granular view of exposure to climate-related risks.
- This data helped site teams identify their most critical vulnerabilities and plan targeted mitigation measures.
“EarthScan showed us exactly where we’re vulnerable, and where to act first.”
Use case 2: Scenario-based risk quantification
Using three IPCC-aligned climate scenarios: Business-as-Usual (SSP5-8.5), Emissions Peak in 2040 (SSP2-4.5), and Paris-Aligned (SSP1-2.6), Orla quantified how risks will evolve through 2025, 2030, and 2050.
- Provided probabilistic forecasts of key hazards, such as increased wildfire frequency and drought severity.
- Informed capital allocation decisions by incorporating Climate Value at Risk (CVaR) insights into long-term planning.
Use case 3: Integrating insights into operations
The results of EarthScan’s analysis are now embedded into site-level adaptation planning:
- Water management strategies are being refined in response to projected drought conditions.
- Emergency preparedness plans have been updated to address rising wildfire and extreme rainfall risks.
- EarthScan outputs complement Orla Mining’s annual sustainability report, aligned with TCFD
“EarthScan turned climate uncertainty into actionable intelligence for our teams on the ground.”
EarthScan’s impact on Orla Mining
EarthScan has enabled Orla Mining to transform climate risk from a reactive challenge into a strategic advantage.
By conducting asset-level hazard assessments and scenario-based risk quantification, Orla now has a clear understanding of how climate change could affect its operations and critical supply chains. This insight allows the company to prioritise adaptation measures, such as enhanced water management for drought resilience and improved emergency preparedness for wildfire and extreme rainfall.
These actions have strengthened operational reliability, reduced potential financial losses, and reinforced investor confidence by demonstrating that climate risk is being managed in line with TCFD recommendations.
“With EarthScan, we’ve moved from reacting to extreme weather to preparing for it, protecting our operations and the communities that rely on them.”
— Operations Leadership, Orla Mining
With EarthScan, Orla Mining has built a science-based foundation for resilience, ensuring its operations can withstand a changing climate while continuing to deliver long-term value.
Need to safeguard critical operations against climate risks?
EarthScan equips companies like Orla Mining with site-specific, scenario-based intelligence to protect assets, strengthen resilience, and meet investor expectations.
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