Environmental Impact Assessment - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 86

been successfully used by anti-mining advocates to exploit existing nationalist feelings
to create or increase negative community perceptions.

Work Collaboratively with Stakeholders

Strong local opposition to a proposed mine slows the environmental process. An EIA
proceeds more rapidly and smoothly when mining companies are able to build a broad
base of local consensus in support of the project and to maintain a sense of trust and fair
treatment among concerned communities.
Apart from avoiding project delays, environmental assessment is designed as an open,
inclusive decision-making process. Environmental assessment necessarily seeks collabora-
tion with all stakeholders, but particularly project-affected people and host communities. In
a wider sense, however, stakeholders are all the people that perceive themselves to be affected
by the project, including voluntary groups, NGOs, and issue-based pressure groups.
No aspect of environmental assessment is more important than encouraging the partici-
pation of stakeholders, the subject of Chapter Three. A process that is open to public scrutiny
is more likely to rel ect diverse views, and to ensure an outcome that is satisfactory for both
the mining company and the affected communities.
A public outreach programme is a responsibility the mining company should always
consider, since it can generate a positive effect on the environmental review process. When
a proposed project is highly controversial, the mining company is well advised to assign a
skilled community relations specialist to assist in providing the optimal interface with the
local community during project planning and environmental review. The specialist can
facilitate the two-way l ow of information so critical to avoiding unnecessary conl icts. It
is important that such communications on the part of the company be frank and accurate,
presenting a balanced picture of the project, what it will involve and what impacts it will
cause. This should not be a public relations exercise in the sense of selling the project to a

Any attempt to 'gild the lily' is
likely to generate expectations
which can not be realized,
providing seeds of future
problems.

FIGURE 2.4
Principle of Resource Conservation

Pre-Mining Post Mining

In an ideal world, the increase of
renewable capital through social invest-
ment would balance or outweigh
the loss of non-renewable mineral
resource capital over mine life. There
would also be an adequate distribution
of environmental cost and economic
benefi ts.

International
Scale

National
Scale

Local
Scale

Post Mining Pre-Mining

Mine
Operation

Mine Life Mine

closure