Integration of stakeholder engagement practices in pursuit of social licence to operate in a modernising mining industry

Abstract

The concept of mining modernisation has become topical in the quest for sustainable mining, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements. This is not surprising considering modernisation's important role in the current context of the 4th and anticipated 5th industrial revolutions. A mining company's success, competitiveness and sustainability largely hinges on its ability to proactively envision the future mine and plan an implementation pathway now rather than passively responding to its inevitable unfolding. Although the application of digital transformation has seen a slow, but steady uptake in the mining value chain, progress has largely been much slower in the stakeholder engagement space. This has been observed across the mining industry regardless of geographic location despite stakeholder engagement's central role in securing a social licence to operate. Much of the debate has focused on whether stakeholder engagement delivers a social licence to operate, and on the various stakeholder mapping and engagement frameworks. The fundamental aim of this review is to map the digital transformation of the mineral industry with a specific focus towards understanding how stakeholder engagement practices could be integrated in a mine's modernisation strategy to deliver a social licence to operate. In particular, we address: (a) the slow, but steady uptake of technology with potentially adverse effects on stakeholders, such as mining mechanisation, high underground pumping capabilities, and digital exploration; (b) how an understanding of responsible mine modernisation could influence the way the industry deploys people-centric technology for sustainability; (c) how considering stakeholder engagement as network building provides a valuable lens to understand digital transformation for social licence; (d) the promise of responsibly modernised engagement practises for the future mine; and (e) implications of responsibly modernised stakeholder engagement on skillsets of the future. Combining these topics effectively creates a stable mining network, thereby significantly reducing conflicts in mining ecosystems. Technology transformation in the mining value network will be more successful and sustainable if it does not lose sight of the need for a robust integrative stakeholder engagement approach.