A guide to leading practice sustainable development in mining

Figure 4.10 – Black shale at Tom Price
Risk in operations
Introduction
The environmental and economic risks of mining are generally well identified and
managed, but social risks remain a more challenging area for the minerals industry.
Social risk can manifest in a variety of ways—through Indigenous issues, community
development, workforce issues and so on. The relationships between social,
environmental and economic risks are often not clearly defined or easy to clarify—yet
they must be incorporated into risk management to ensure the minerals industry
contributes strongly to sustainable development.
The Argyle mine provides an example of the use of risk management in a technically,
geographically, environmentally and socially complex operation (see LP Risk p.10).
In December 2005, Rio Tinto approved a major investment to extend the Argyle
Diamonds mine into an underground block cave operation. As would be expected
for an investment of this size, the feasibility study included a comprehensive risk
assessment covering all aspects of the proposal. These included not only the
financial and technical risks associated with the change to a new mining method,
but also the environmental and social implications. The team charged with assessing
these sustainable development implications focused, in particular, on the impacts of
the decision on two communities, the first the mainly Indigenous regional population
of the East Kimberley area where the mine is located and the second the large
number of people involved in processing Argyle’s diamonds downstream in India—an
estimated 220 000 workers. Team-based workshops were used to address the social
risks and opportunities for the two community areas. The outcomes were readily
integrated into the overall risk register for the project. New controls were developed
for key areas and the residual risks recalculated. The social risks were among the
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