Unlike retail businesses, which thrive and grow as a function of their product quality, good customer service and buoyant consumer markets, mining companies usually do not have direct relationships with the end-user. Instead, they sell their= raw ore or concentrates to other industrial enterprises for further processing and final fabrication into industrial and consumer products. For exploration and mine site operators, the relationships of critical interest are not with the end-user, but rather with the host country’s central and local area governments, as well as with local communities affected by their activities. Their focus must be on establishing, maintaining and strengthening these relationships.
This Guide was prepared by the Mining Association of Canada with some assistance from the Counsellor’s Office early in the process. Its objective is to provide its members and others with a clearer understanding of grievance generation and response dynamics. The discussion is positioned within the context of broader community concerns and provides a summary of the principal response methods currently in use. It identifies the more common design and implementation challenges that companies face in trying to put in place user-friendly and effective mechanisms, and advises on how to address these challenges. It makes an important contribution to the current discussion within the industry on how to design and implement site-level mechanisms that work and have an enhanced potential to result in positive outcomes for both parties.
