Indigenous Peoples Issues - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 677

through one-on-one briei ngs. Where the number of stakeholders is too large for this
approach, information can be provided through representatives of each stakeholder
group. In the case of a single indigenous community this may be one or two community
leaders. In Australian aboriginal communities, the Land Councils help to disseminate
information.
Many companies work through Community Liaison Groups which are established with
the dual purpose of informing the stakeholders and providing a forum for feedback to the
company. Each member represents a different stakeholder group. The company should
help form such liaison groups and pay any expenses involved; however, the members
should be selected by the stakeholders whom they will represent.
From the time when it becomes apparent that there is real potential for a mining oper-
ation, it is very important to supply accurate information and make sure that it is fully
understood. Most Indigenous Peoples have never seen a mining operation and can have
little appreciation of its nature or scale. Care should be taken to explain the downside of
mining, as people unprepared for sudden change may otherwise react with outrage when
confronted with reality. Care should also be taken not to exaggerate the benei ts, as unful-
i lled expectations are another source of outrage. Again, computer modii ed photographs
are very helpful in getting the story across, including warts and all depictions.
Taking community representatives on visits to operating mines can be a valuable means
of informing people on the nature and magnitude of mining. However, this applies only
when operations visited are reasonably similar to the planned operations.

Most Indigenous Peoples have
never seen a mining operation
and can have little appreciation
of its nature or scale.

Taking community
representatives on visits to
operating mines can be a
valuable means of informing
people on the nature and
magnitude of mining.

Negotiations

For negotiations to succeed, trust and understanding must be developed between the
indigenous community and the mining company. When negotiating with an indigenous
community, a mining company should identify its aspirations and the assets it is prepared
to trade. It should also predict what assets and aspirations the indigenous community is
likely to bring to the negotiation. A clearly dei ned and realistic negotiation framework
for regional development, rather than an open-ended and generic settlement, enables min-
ing companies to provide what they are prepared to deliver without compromising their
long-term core interests. Maintaining the l exibility to change this framework is obviously
important. However once agreed, the arrangement can only be renegotiated with full par-
ticipation of both parties. A company should appreciate that during the life of the mine the
community's expectations may change. This should be seen as legitimate, as community
issues will obviously evolve over the typical mine life and as the inevitable cultural changes
take hold and a full appreciation of the character of the mine and its effects develops in the
community. Clearly, the more fully the impacts of the mine are communicated, and the
more effectively the negotiations recognize and anticipate these changes, the less the prob-
ability will be of having to renegotiate an agreement during the mine life. A suggested
negotiating framework is summarized in Table 16.2 and Figure 16.1 .
Governments also have an interest in negotiations between mining companies and
indigenous communities. These interests include:
●

A company should appreciate
that during the life of the mine
the community's expectations
may change.

Political considerations relating to public and international perceptions of respect for
indigenous rights and sustainable development;

●

Economic considerations relating to market perceptions of investment risk and gov-
ernment commitment to development, and

●

Institutional considerations including the relationship between state and national legi-
slation in controlling local political and economic interests.