Framework for mining community consultation based on discrete choice theory

Abstract

The significance of local community acceptance to the success of a mine cannot be over-stated. Project sustainability has implications for local community acceptance as the development and operation of a mine can be viewed as a development intervention with concrete social, economic and environmental impacts. Although, some work has been done to understand these relationships, very little has been done to quantitatively model the relationship between project sustainability and community preferences. This paper presents a framework for quantitative community consultation for mining projects based on discrete choice theory. The paper establishes the most appropriate choice model and uses a review of the literature to select key determinants of mining community acceptance. Recommendations are made for future research to implement the proposed framework. This framework will allow engineers and regulators to better evaluate community input.