Engaging Communities and Indigenous Rights-Holders in Water-Related Decision-Making for Mineral Processing
Dr Jocelyn Fraser and Dr Nadja Kunz
Water now represents one of the most significant risks facing the mineral exploration and mining sector. There are concerns about water availability, water quality, and the potential for conflict between water users in the vicinity of mining projects. Between 2000 - 2017, water-related issues were implicated in 58 percent of mining cases lodged with International Finance Corporation’s Compliance Officer Ombudsman (CAO), an independent recourse mechanism that responds to complaints from project-affected communities. Such statistics provide context for why there is a need for greater community input to project design decisions that affect the water-related priorities of rightsholders and other stakeholders.
The research described in this report investigated approaches to community engagement used by mineral exploration and mining companies when options for water and tailings management are being considered. The objective was to understand the barriers that communities and Indigenous rights-holders face in engaging with exploration and mining companies on issues related to water management. The research is situated within the social considerations and stakeholder engagement theme of the CEEC Global Water Initiative’s “Water Wheel.”
Six semi-structured interviews were used to explore the perspectives of individuals with considerable experience in industry-community engagement. Respondents represented different regions of Canada and included individuals with heritage from four distinct Indigenous Nations and respondents who work for, or as consultants to, the mineral exploration and mining sector.
The majority of respondents felt that the most common approach to community engagement within the mineral exploration and mining sector was to meet regulatory requirements to inform the public about exploration or proposed mining projects. However, in Canada, where there is an increasing focus on the importance of Indigenous reconciliation, there is an expectation that companies will begin to adopt approaches to engagement that create opportunities for co-design, co-decision-making, and greater collaboration between companies and communities on issues of mutual interest.
In the area of water and tailings, interviewees pointed to tactics to support more effective engagement and collaborative management. Information on these ideas can be found in the “Advice” section (p.13-14), with additional ideas included in Appendix D. Respondents agreed there is a role for mineral processing engineers in community engagement, provided these individuals can build trust with holders of traditional knowledge and other citizen scientists and engage in a manner that makes specialized technical knowledge accessible to all.
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