SOCIAL PERCEPTION OF MINING: A METHOD STUDY

Abstract

The success of mining projects depends to a large extent on the support of local communities due to the conditions they can generate for the development of the regions. This support has been referred to as social licence to operate, a concept that relates not only to social development projects for communities, but primarily promotes the establishment of legitimacy, trust and credibility, prior to the start of the first project development. The present research work aims to develop a model to assess whether the impact of mining activity has been positive or negative in the areas where it has been implemented, what mining has done good and bad in the areas where it has been implemented, and what the image of subsoil uses in mining areas is. The application of the methodology developed focuses on Sierra Morena, in Cordoba, being able to extrapolate the analysis due to the observed correlations of the influence of mining in various sectors such as the environment, industry, agriculture, among others. The frequency analysis and the multivariate analysis carried out show that agriculture and the environment still have a negative relationship with mining activity. However, the service sector shows positive responses among all the groups questioned, in an attempt to shape the image of mining. Great opportunities may be offered due to their reactivation for energy purposes or CO2 storage.