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EMBRACING SOFT
ISSUES FOR A
MULTIDISCIPLINARY,
HOLISTIC APPROACH
A
mine’s role as the key driver of change is a lot
different today than it was fifty years ago. In the past
the mine would initiate disturbance and dominate
the level of succession and pace of change. Back then, global
mining companies were closed systems not much affected
by outside influences. They dominated international
markets and monopolised commodity prices. Individual
mines left a lasting impression in the area of operation, and
left their surroundings in an altered, often unrecognisable
state; not always to the benefit of those in whose backyard
they mined.
Not too long-ago management was focused only on internal,
or ‘hard’ issues. In other words, how to mine the ore body
effectively, haul it efficiently and crush the rock optimally.
Management and shareholders were primarily concerned with
earnings and dividends, regardless of how their demands and
needs affected the wider natural and human populations.
In the past, when a mining company decided to venture into
Africa, the geology, and only the geology, was really all that
mattered. Not much was known about the history of the country
or the culture of its people. As the keystone initiator of change,
political or economic risks didn’t matter that much, as politicians
could be ‘bought’ and many of the major mining houses had a
bigger turnover than the GDP of most of the African countries
in which they intended to operate anyway. The possible adverse
effects that their project could have on the natural environment
and surrounding communities was a tertiary concern, at best.
Any suggestion that climate change would threaten their
operations in future, would have been scoffed at. But the world
is a different place today.
Mining has evolved to become a modern, flexible and open
system, and external factors now determine to what extent a
mine will impact its surroundings. Mining no longer enforces
the change alone. Once known as ‘soft issues’ the external
factors have become as vital to the bottom line as the so-called
‘hard issues’.
Before entering an African jurisdiction today, any business,
but especially exploration and mining companies, need
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African Mining Publication
to be fully aware of the community dynamics, the political
history, the regulatory environment, the functioning of the
ecology, and ultimately, how the operation will impact these
ecosystem functions.
Yes, geology is still paramount, but operating in African
countries in 2020 and beyond, will require a holistic,
multidisciplinary approach. To determine the impact
an operation will have in future, requires an in-depth
understanding of all these ‘soft issues’, including climate change.
At a time when African communities are extremely vocal about
their rights, when African governments continue to use resource
nationalism to threaten capitalist ventures, and as the political
and regulatory environment becomes more volatile, mining
companies need to research all the links within the ecosystem
they intend operating in, before they establish their business in
a new country.
To do an exhaustive due diligence study and assess all potential
risks, companies will have to use multidisciplinary experts, and
visit the areas in which they want to operate to learn more
about the different aspects that will affect their operations in
future. Mines will have to improve the natural environment
they operate in, and not just limit their impact. Technology will
have to be utilised to upskill a young, innovative, eager; but
unemployed population entering the first stages of the fourth
industrial revolution.
Meanwhile, shareholders will continue demanding bigger
dividends, but, at the same time, will start asking probing
questions about sustainability and social and environmental
responsibility. Mining companies will remain drivers of change
way into the future, but their fate, and growth, in the end, will
be determined by external factors, and how well they manage,
and not enforce, their internal factors, and ultimately how they
distribute profits equitably to improve the lives of all the people
in the country and regions where they operate.
Leon
African Mining
African Mining January 2020
1