Mining with social license: Case study of Kylylahti mine in Northern Karelia, Finland

Abstract

The aim of this article is to explore successful practices for gaining social acceptance and social license to operate (SLO) in mining. There is a lack of analysis on why the good examples have been good, or what the features are of those mines and their local management through which they have earned a good level of SLO. This article explores a mining company's local acceptance and its management practices for community relations, in a case that has been well accepted among the local community. The case is the medium-sized Kylylahti multi-metal mine in Eastern Finland, in the small municipality of Polvijärvi. The study is based on semi-structured interviews and qualitative content analysis. The analysis uses the three-dimensional framework of legitimacy, credibility and trust for understanding the preconditions for SLO. Regarding the acceptance, one can note that the general legitimacy for mining among the local people has been wide. Being historically a mining area is a big plus for getting SLO, but one must note that it has nothing to do with what the company does or does not do. In the Kylylahti case, the following social impacts were considered important in terms of affecting SLO: realistic expectations in relation to concrete local and regional development and employment, opportunities for local contracting, opportunities for required housing and services; good management of local environmental and landscape concerns and increased traffic; and use of nature for recreation. When analyzing SLO, it's important to understand the differences between mines; opportunities and challenges for getting SLO can be very different. Therefore more conscious differentiations between mines according to their size, duration, community relations and impacts should be made. In addition, it is important to understand that not every narrative creates ‘emotional expectations’ per se. As a result, in practice, the conditions for SLO are the result of a mix between the local mining narrative and the behavior of the mining company.