Involving the Public - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 133

public involvement may help to clarify legal and regulatory requirements and help to avoid
the project becoming controversial in the later stages. In most jurisdictions governments
form ofi cial commissions to evaluate environmental impact assessment studies. Commission
members are intimate stakeholders in the environmental assessment process.

The Company's Shareholders

Various names are common to describe the owners of a mine. Owners and sponsors are the
most common ones but other names - project proponent or juniors and majors in particu-
lar, depending on the size of the mining company - are also used. Owners are key movers
of a mining project. Owners and their shareholders have a vested business interest. Their
focus is (quite naturally) on the economic viability of the project and, ultimately, its proi t-
ability. Their mandate is to maximize shareholder value.
While environmental and social issues are 'among many' issues to be addressed, own-
ers realize the need to shape the mining project to ensure long-term success. Today few if
any owners deliberately avoid environmental or social issues. Problems, if they occur, are
due to a combination of lack of experience, optimism ('things won't go wrong'), a lack of
urgency ('we'll do that task tomorrow'), the difi culties in working with different cultures,
a lack of trust on both sides, and lack of local reward because taxes are paid to central cof-
fers, to give just a few reasons (Zemek 2002).
A common view is that mining projects with substantial external funding are usu-
ally more environmentally sound than those funded mostly by the owners themselves, as
bank guidelines (particularly in a consortium with a multilateral institution or a Equator
Principles Financial Institution) are often much stricter than the in-house ones of mining
companies. Equally, majors are more likely to impose rigorous environmental safeguards
on project development than juniors.
The extent of public involvement in a mining project more often than not depends on
the mining company involved. National companies, especially when government owned,
often enjoy strong national and administrative support, and few international stakeholders
such as international NGOs raise opposition to a proposed mine development. In devel-
oping countries with a strong central government, local public involvement is often also
limited. Similarly, junior mining companies do not fall immediately on the radar screen
of international NGOs, and neither are they seen as cash cows by local interest groups. In
contrast international mining corporations attract, from the very outset of mine explora-
tion, national and international attention. Public interest and hence public involvement is
large, both at home and in the host country.

The extent of public involvement
in a mining project more often
than not depends on the mining
company involved.

Multilateral Financial Institutions

Multilateral i nancial institutions (or multilateral lenders) are created and funded by gov-
ernments. Their role is broader than just providing equity or debt for proi t, as they are
supposed to contribute to the development of lesser-developed countries, promote envi-
ronmentally and socially responsible investment, or help with education and awareness. In
strictly i nancial terms the key word is 'additionality'; they are not supposed to replace the
commercial banks, but to provide 'additional' services where commercial i nancial institu-
tions are unable or unwilling to provide i nance. Multilateral lenders active in the mining
sector include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the
World Bank Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)