Mining's Billion Dollar Oversight Could Also Cost Society Net Zero
Haydon Mort
CEO & Founder Geologize Ltd | Social license, neurology and communication | Helping geoscientists in industry and academia communicate powerfully to shift public perception | Inclusion and neurodiversity champion.
Every now and then, the mining industry and our wonderful governments come together, hand in hand, to declare just how much they care about open dialogue and communication with stakeholders. And it truly touches our hearts, doesn't it? The picture they paint is so vivid: a world where everyone understands, where the mining sector and society are singing from the same hymn sheet.
But then, we look around and...oh dear. It appears the same people who are singing praise about communication are about as good at investing in it as I am at turning down free donuts. And that's not very good, folks.
They seem more interested in unlocking the coffers to create an exciting new reality — one where we are free from the chains of Chinese imports. Oh, how delightful. A brave new world where, through public funds, millions upon millions are pumped into innovation. Innovations, they assure us, that'll create a self-sustaining supply chain. Even their shopping list is exhilarating, if a little long-winded: "EXPLORATION, MINING, AND PROCESSING," "DESIGN FOR RECYCLING AND LIFE-TIME EXTENSION," "CHAIN OF CUSTODY," and more. You get the idea.
And just in case you were worried they might miss something, along comes Uncle Sam (and friends) with the Defence Protection Act Title III, followed by corporate titans like Rio Tinto and BHP, adding their own talent and accelerators to this treasure trove of innovation.
Oh, and while we're on the topic of talent – a big shoutout to the mining majors tirelessly wooing high school and college students into the industry. Let's not forget Australia's sterling BHP-backed CoRE initiative leading the pack. Stellar stuff, truly. But let's face it; these programs, as commendable as they are, remain geographically targeted, capturing only a fraction of the potential talent out there. The talent trickle could become a torrent, perhaps even a roaring river if we piqued society's interest more broadly. We're digging alright, but perhaps not deep or extensive enough.
Here’s the big BUT though - if we're in such agreement about needing more upstream production of critical minerals (and it seems like we are), then I hate to be the party pooper, but all these grand schemes are failing at ground zero. In the treasure hunt for solutions, there's one glaring absence, a ghost at the banquet - the development of communication skills. It’s like throwing a party and forgetting to invite the guests. You might have the best DJ and the finest canapés, but without guests, it's just a sad buffet for one.
The digital age calls for more than perfunctory, colour-coordinated social media posts and slick PR machines that satisfy shareholders. We aren't talking about the same old spiel of "your smartphone has X minerals." Nor the overused Instagram carousels that juxtapose a massive haul truck with a consumer's tablet, suggesting a "we produce, you consume" narrative. We’re all stocked up on facts, thank you. What we need is a heart-to-heart, the sort of communication that evokes emotions, incites thought, and stirs empathy.
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We need to pivot towards creating narratives that strike a chord; that resonate with people on a deeper level. And I don’t mean the bottom of the mine type of deep; I mean the 'touched-your-heart-and-made-you-think' type.
Because here's the rub: without the art of meaningful dialogue, mining companies might as well be swinging pickaxes at granite walls. Years, even decades, could pass before they bring those elusive critical minerals to market, repeating the same outreach mistakes of the past. And as they do, they will face a rising tide of public opposition, endless litigation, and regulatory approvals that are about as easy to get as pulling Excalibur from the stone.
It will cost them billions. But in this scenario, our net-zero dreams will remain just that: dreams. Unless, of course, we’re prepared to have a major overhaul in the way we communicate.
So, while this might not be the feel-good, self-congratulatory message you were hoping on a Monday morning, it is a wake-up call. It's not time to panic, but it's definitely time to ponder and plan. Because in this great endeavor, we need to not just extract, but to connect. And that starts with understanding and investing in the power of communication.
Christopher Jackson , Ben Lepley , Wayne Palmer , Jon Schnieders , Chris Greissing , Maria Angela Capello de Passalacqua , Julie Hollis , Julie Lucas , Jeff Townsend , Jessica Scanlan , Josie Vidal , Rick Rule , Thomas Hale , Robert Simpson , Sonia Winter , Richard Lilly
Professor of Geochemistry at Cardiff University / Prifysgol Caerdyd
1 年I think we need to show people that mining not only provides the resources we rely on but that it has been part of human history and shaped the way we lived and our communities since the stone age when finding and extracting flint was key to survival. It's not something that come about with the industrial revolution, although it certainly has accelerated. For better or for worse, the lure of natural treasure has opened up new areas to development and many of cities we live in and the roads and railways we take for granted would not have been built if mining had not happened. Where I live in South Wales, miners built strong communities, they paid for and built hospitals before there was an NHS, advocated for and organized unions and when those unions were strong they helped drive up the living standards for workers in countless other sectors as well. In Europe particularly, we have forgotten this social legacy because anyone born after the end of the 1980's has had "MINING = BAD" drummed into them by educators who think we can live untethered to physical reality and who have created a generation who are happy to offshore resource extraction to the developed world where it's out of sight and out of mind. I hope we can tackle this.
CEO & Founder Geologize Ltd | Social license, neurology and communication | Helping geoscientists in industry and academia communicate powerfully to shift public perception | Inclusion and neurodiversity champion.
1 年Alp Bora
Geologist | Mine-to-Mill Reconciliation | Process Improvement | Project Management
1 年Thought-provoking piece, Haydon, thanks for sharing. I agree with you that at this stage the "if it can't be grown, it must be mined" and "we mine, you consume" messaging is just a trope, and realistically points to a lack of imagination, and potentially, dare I say, plain old arrogance. I've been saying for a while now (admittedly only amongst my friends and peers) that there are two ways we can achieve the oft-touted Net Zero. We either move backwards 200 years, or we have to propel ourselves forwards 100 years. The question is how? Well, it begins with a social license to operate. Without creating these emotional, evocative links with the population, inviting them inside the fenceline, and showing them the benefits they will always see mining as standing apart, something that happens "over there". We as an industry know that we can tie the advancements in technology and quality of life back to the extraction and consumption of raw materials, so let's start with showing people that. Let's start to get in front of people, remove the arrogance, and have a properly human interaction with the public at large.
Mineral Exploration Management Consultant
1 年“What we need is a heart-to-heart, the sort of communication that evokes emotions, incites thought, and stirs empathy.” Go on then; provide a few ideas. You describe the problem well enough, but do you have any specific thoughts about how to do things differently?
The Department of Resources (Queensland) needs a major communications rethink as they are currently peddling that the Arrow Energy #CSG mining of high quality intensive cropping land near Dalby ‘financially stacks up’ which it does for THEM as THEY bank all of the royalties and Arrow banks all of the revenue BUT the fine print is that WE (small farmers) are now suffering hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in losses due to the #subsidence caused by the gas mining, without any compensation while Resources Minister Scott Stewart MP and GasFields Commission Queensland are out and about flogging that this is ‘sustainable coexistence’. The situation is a #NationalDisgrace Colin Lynam