2019 Proceedings Report

Summary of Discussion Sessions
Mining & Energy
The Miner of the Future
Participants noted that in today’s operating environment, people skills and
community engagement knowledge is as important to a miner as technical,
engineering qualifications. Academia should therefore be approached more
decisively by industry, and vice versa, to design and promote an academic
offering that includes community engagement related subjects.
Finally, it was emphasised that community engagement could not be
outsourced. The mining and energy industry is going through a significant
transformation process, and as such, it cannot afford to delegate communityrelated
issues. Rather, working with the community should at all times reflect a
top-down approach that starts from CEOs and extends to the operational
teams on the ground. Everyone should be in tune with the community and the
engagement strategy.
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