Community Engagement

Community engagement is now considered a crucial element of mine planning to mitigate operational risks, streamline channels of communication with local communities, build trust, reduce conflict, and prevent roadblocks throughout the life cycle of a mine.

Local communities expect ownership and participation in the process of a mine’s activities to ensure that adverse events such as land degradation, water pollution and the displacement of communities are avoided. An equitable distribution of benefits that result from mining activities, such as the creation of economic opportunities, needs to be discussed with local stakeholders transparently.

When communities are assured of value creation long after a mine’s closure, whether through post-mining plans, diversification of local opportunities, or alternative livelihood opportunities, mines are much better positioned to operate successfully and sustainably.

Key Client Challenges:

1. What are the best practices for effective communication and building trust with diverse community stakeholders?
2. How can we ensure meaningful participation and representation of local communities in decision-making processes?
3. What strategies can we implement to minimize the environmental and social impacts of our mining activities?
4. How can we create and implement effective benefit-sharing mechanisms that are fair and equitable for local communities?
5. How can we engage with communities to develop post-mining plans and support sustainable development beyond the mine’s lifespan?

Building positive relationships with local communities is now considered a critical component to mine planning, with the growing recognition in the mining industry that quality engagement reduces operational risk and conflict – resulting in a more efficient and sustainable mine.

In many cases, our mining clients have already made significant community contributions which have yet to be recognized. Many have improved productivity, which has resulted in less diesel, chemicals and less water used per ton. In other cases, they have, for decades, built schools, donated laptops, and supplied textbooks for local children and adults. We work with our clients to calculate how these efforts can be converted into ESG credits for investment opportunities.