October 2006, Australian Government Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources
The concept of 'community' is commonly used in the minerals industry to indicate the geographic community in the operation's area of interest. In the context of the mining industry, an example of where the 'community' of a mine may be broader that just people living in the surrounding area is where the mine is a fly-out or drive-in drive-out operation and the workforce and their families live in a distant town or city. Leading practice now identifies two related ways in which mining companies can interact with people: community engagement and community development.
This handbook addresses community engagement and development, a theme in the Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program. The program aims to identify key issues affecting sustainable development in the mining industry and provide information and case studies that illustrate a more sustainable basis for the industry. There are a number of other themed handbooks in the series, which aim to complement this handbook.
The importance of the social dimension of sustainable development is acknowledged in key industry policy statements such as the International Council on Mining and Metals’ Sustainable Development Principles and the Minerals Council of Australia’s Enduring Value framework. Among other things, signatories to these frameworks undertake to ‘contribute to the social, economic and institutional development of the communities in which we operate’ and to ‘engage with and respond to stakeholders through open consultation processes’. In the same way, a growing number of small, medium and large companies have adopted policy frameworks which emphasise that community considerations are integral to each stage of a mining operation, from design and construction through to operation and closure.
This handbook provides guidance to mining industry practitioners on how these higher level policy commitments can be translated into improved practices at the mine site. It focuses on the challenges that companies may encounter as they engage with local communities and seek to contribute to their long-term development, using case studies to illustrate how these challenges have been addressed in particular contexts.
Specific aims are to:
- outline the benefits to companies and operations of engaging with, and contributing to, the development of communities
- provide a framework to help operations and companies assess the maturity of their current approach to dealing with communities
- describe the basic steps involved in effectively planning and managing for community engagement and development
- set out key principles that should guide these activities
- highlight examples of evolving good practice.
The primary audience for the handbook is management at the operational level; the key level for implementing leading practice arrangements at mining operations. The handbook is also relevant to people with an interest in leading practice in the mining industry, including community relations practitioners, environmental officers, mining consultants, governments and regulators, non-government organisations, neighbouring mine communities, and students. All users are encouraged to take up the challenge to continually improve the mining industry’s sustainable development performance and apply the principles outlined in this handbook.
