A guide to leading practice sustainable development in mining

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Engaging with Indigenous communities The quest for new mineral-bearing fields is taking more and more exploration and mining companies into areas occupied by Indigenous communities. Although the following discussion will focus on the Australian situation, the same basic principles can be applied in North and South America, the Pacific, Asia and many other regions. One of the most important factors shaping the relationship between exploration and mining companies and Indigenous communities is the ability of the parties to communicate effectively with each other. Mining companies and Indigenous communities have their own unique cultures and building strong relationships between the groups is dependent on each party understanding that the other operates within a very different value system. Without this shared understanding, it is difficult to develop enduring relationships that will enable both cultures to coexist amicably, or to manage effectively the issues that arise when mining companies and Indigenous people are working together. The development of enduring and sustainable agreements and relationships are dependent on the mining industry and Indigenous people recognising the importance of cultural differences and exploring ways to adapt, modify, and change cultural practices. The challenge for mining companies and Indigenous communities is to change cultural practices in ways that meet the culturally important or critical needs of one party while accommodating (to the extent possible) the objectives of the other party. Cultural practices and responsibilities in relation to land estates differ markedly between Indigenous communities across Australia. Exploration and mining companies preparing to work with Indigenous people for the first time will benefit from expert advice about those practices and responsibilities. It is important to acknowledge the many protocols associated with working on Indigenous land, for instance the traditional welcome to country, the difference between women’s and men’s business, and ‘sorry business’. Prudent practitioners would seek expert advice on these matters. One situation where advice may be particularly important is when it comes to negotiating land access. Mining companies need to ensure that they are talking to the ’right‘ people, that is those with culturally appropriate responsibilities for country and with the authority to ’speak for country‘. On occasion people may assert such authority when that authority has not yet been widely bestowed or acknowledged according to custom. Similarly, it is also important to understand that, in some parts of Australia, the Indigenous people who have land management responsibilities based on historical connections to the land may be different from the Traditional Owners of that land according to culture. Apart from cultural norms relating to land ownership, management and access, there are many other Indigenous cultural beliefs and practices that may conflict with mining industry norms. It is important for mining companies to understand these cultural differences if companies are to engage successfully with Indigenous communities. For example, there are social customs that Aboriginal people cannot ignore, such as the need to attend funerals, even though their frequency and importance may be difficult for mining personnel to understand. A GUIDE TO LEADING PRACTICE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN MINING 43
Similarly, the need to avoid direct contact with some community members, designated by custom, may be required. Another important example is that Aboriginal community decision making follows cultural norms of consensus based on iterating sub-group discussion and general assembly. Hence the pace of decision making can be slower than what a mining company might prefer and yet, without such a process, any expedited decisions may not stand the test of time. While it is not necessary to understand in detail what these customary norms are, mining companies need to understand they exist and seek expert and local help to work within them. The coal fields of India are located within densely populated areas where local people have lived for generations. The following case study illustrates a new approach to resettlement of the local population thus allowing co-existence of mining and other land uses. MINE: Jharia Coalfields LOCATION: Jharkand, India BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Open pit and underground coal mining AREA OF LEADING PRACTICE: Resource utilisation HANDBOOK(S) REFERENCE: Community Engagement; Working with Indigenous Communities DESCRIPTION OF INNOVATION: As minerals are site specific, mining activity affects the community living on or around the mineral deposit including, both indigenous and nonindigenous land owners or occupiers. In India the mining industry follows the National Rehabilitation Policy. Individual mining companies have their own rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) policies incorporating the National Policy to take care of the project affected people. The compensation for rehabilitation is decided through a socio-economic survey conducted by the state government administration. BCCL inherited more than 100 coal mines in Jharia Coalfields (JCF) from private leaseholders after nationalization of coal mines during 1971-73. Most of these mines were facing various environmental problems and issues of rehabilitation and resettlement of people affected by fires and subsidence in these areas. Government of India approved the Jharia Action Plan (JAP) through Gazette Notification of 12th August 2009. BCCL along with Jharia Rehabilitation and Development Authority (JRDA) have initiated the implementation of this approved Jharia Action Plan. Remote sensing and GIS applications have been utilized to relocate and rehabilitate the affected people with modern amenities such as skill development programmes, safe drinking water and proper sanitation facilities. 44 LEADING PRACTICE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR THE MINING INDUSTRY
Page 1 and 2:
LEADING PRACTICE SUSTAINABLE DEVELO
Page 3 and 4: Disclaimer This publication has bee
Page 5 and 6: 3.0 DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION 61
Page 7 and 8: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Leading Practi
Page 9 and 10: viii LEADING PRACTICE SUSTAINABLE D
Page 12 and 13: 1.0 INTRODUCTION The Purpose and La
Page 14 and 15: Airborne Contaminants, Noise and Vi
Page 16 and 17: Water Management (LP Water) This ha
Page 18 and 19: Site water team Corporate managemen
Page 20 and 21: Sustainable Mining There is no one
Page 22 and 23: Mining the resource efficiently. Th
Page 24 and 25: Efficiency SUSTAINABLE MINING PRACT
Page 26 and 27: LOCATION: Vilabouly District, Savan
Page 28 and 29: Leading Practice The handbooks in t
Page 30 and 31: 2.0 PRE-DEVELOPMENT: MINERAL EXPLOR
Page 32 and 33: The application of high standard en
Page 34 and 35: The Business Case for Sustainabilit
Page 36 and 37: The information obtained from these
Page 38 and 39: conditions are appropriate. In NSW,
Page 40 and 41: Such richness also brings challenge
Page 42 and 43: The dunefields of Shelburne Bay had
Page 44 and 45: Community Engagement in the Early S
Page 46 and 47: Baseline studies and social impact
Page 48 and 49: Upon completion of the study, resea
Page 50 and 51: The scenarios envisaged for the Wat
Page 52 and 53: 2. Reflections on the significance
Page 56 and 57: Figure 2.9 - A New Township under C
Page 58 and 59: Geochemical assessment aims to iden
Page 60 and 61: Regardless of the project phase (ex
Page 62 and 63: Evaluating Performance: Monitoring
Page 64 and 65: For these reasons, it is important
Page 66 and 67: Risk Management and Exploration Exp
Page 68 and 69: Post-mining & closure Resource deve
Page 70: level of family diversity was maint
Page 73 and 74: Introduction The development and co
Page 75 and 76: MINE: Mt Todd LOCATION: Near Kather
Page 77 and 78: Airborne Contaminants, Noise and Vi
Page 79 and 80: Biodiversity Management During Deve
Page 81 and 82: Rather than taking a generic approa
Page 83 and 84: Step 2: Working in collaboration On
Page 85 and 86: course was designed to train and pr
Page 87 and 88: Adjustments for changes in the mine
Page 89 and 90: indicators of high importance durin
Page 91 and 92: Operating major mining projects pre
Page 93 and 94: the earliest stage of development,
Page 95 and 96: Watercourse diversions In order to
Page 97 and 98: Figure 3.7 - Morwell River after di
Page 99 and 100: tailings disposal techniques contin
Page 101 and 102: Figure 4.2 - Predicted blast overpr
Page 103 and 104: Responsible management of biodivers
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Leading practice management of wate
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MINE: Pierina Mine LOCATION: Distri
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Weipa - a sustainable approach to t
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Adopting the International Cyanide
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Box 1: Major recent incidents invol
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MINE: Chatree gold mine LOCATION: P
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The audit outcomes also highlight t
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Mercury for gold recovery in small/
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Figure 4.9 - Geological control to
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highest rating group for the whole
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Figure 4.13 - Beverley uranium mine
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from 2.5 - 3.0 tonnes/man-shift to
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Figure 4.17 - Sunrise Dam TSF Taili
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Dry stacking bauxite residue is now
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Once the water is used underground
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The Rio Tinto “Excellence in Wate
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Background Image: Sourced from GOOG
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Company policies and government reg
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5.0 MINE REHABILITATION AND CLOSURE
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Closure involves the implementation
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Biodiversity and Closure Introducti
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e better than the high standard bei
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Figure 5.7 - Pasture and shelter tr
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The Argyle Diamonds case study (see
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support and on site accommodation a
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Having the right information to mak
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Figure 5.13 - Misima after rehabili
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In January 2011, the PNG government
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MINE: Former lignite mines LOCATION
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Fig 5.16: Former Minister Stein Coa
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Figure 5.19 - Rehabilitated mine si
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Figure 5.21 - Pit water treatment p
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Final Rehabilitation Rehabilitation
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Figure 5.23: Aerial view of Area 4
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Landform construction In general, e
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The Hsin-Chen Shan quarry terrain i
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Figure 5.29 - Spreading topsoil at
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Risk Management Risk at closure and
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During the 1980s and 1990s, a numbe
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An example of direct vegetation is
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Water Management Central to a mine
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Department of Resources, Energy and
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GLOSSARY AND ACRONYMS Abandoned min
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Biodiversity offsets Conservation a
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Cultural heritage Cultural heritage
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Engagement At its simplest, engagem
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High rate thickener A thickener thr
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NAPP Net Acid Producing Potential,
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Product stewardship This is perhaps
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Risk management process The risk ma
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Sustainable development Sustainable
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A guide to leading practice sustainable development in mining

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