Foster Community Engagement and Benefit-Sharing

Introduction

Existing forums and methods for stakeholder engagement rely on competitive debate at best, creating barriers to honest communication and consensus-building. Rational, multidimensional idea generation and problem-solving for sustainable mineral production, use, and logistics is almost impossible. A new way for stakeholders to engage is needed. CAPSI provides that forum and method.

CAPSI provides the Exploratory IntelliConference as part of a IntelliConference Series to uncover the breakthroughs in each dialogue. The Exploratory IntelliConference method is known as IntelliSynthesis. The Exploratory IntelliConference takes place asynchronously over two months. Followed by the Summary IC and the Action IC. During this period the online CAPSI Multilogue on all the dialogues is regularly updated with summaries of breakthrough information.

Core Question

What optimal volumes, locations, and design elements of essential mineral mining and processing can industry and community stakeholders, including company management, association leaders, unions, environmental organizations, and community advocacy groups agree on for a profitable and sustainable mineral mining industry?

Round One Dialogue Questions: Mineral Supply Chain Framing

1. Which stakeholder groups do we want to have a voice in this IntelliConference?
2. What are the continent’s “essential minerals?”
   1. What factors do we apply to determining the “essential minerals?”
   2. What factors do we apply to determine how much of each essential mineral we need and want?
   3. What volumes of mineral supply are needed to support the clean energy transition?
3. What are the current volumes of each essential mineral supply?
4. What are the current locations of each essential mineral supply?
5. What are the supply chain components for production, processing, and consumption?

Round Two Dialogue Questions: Environmental Framing

1. What environmental concerns do we want to address in how minerals are mined?
2. What environmental concerns do we want to address in how minerals are processed?
3. What environmental concerns do we want to address in how minerals are used and recycled?
4. How do we best assess the environmental impacts of each step in each mineral's supply chain?
5. What are the opportunities for conserving the use of each essential mineral?
6. What has to happen to accommodate reducing the consumption of individual minerals when deemed beneficial to the environment?
7. When harmful environmental impacts are deemed unavoidable for any supply chain activities, how do we mitigate them?
8. What steps must be taken to communicate anticipated environmental impacts with transparency and trust?

Round Three Dialogue Questions: Community Issues

1. What community concerns must be effectively addressed?
2. What are the environmental risks of mineral mining?
3. What are the degrees of risk between varying mineral mines?
4. What concerns for the transportation of minerals, ores, and products must be addressed?
5. What factors have to be addressed for mineral companies to use "Best Available Technology" throughout the life of the mine
6. How can potential health risks to communities be mitigated?
7. What steps can be taken to minimize or eliminate against aesthetic degradation?
8. How can communities maintain their sense of "place attachment?"
9. How do mineral activity managers generally relate to community concerns?
10. What approaches enable citizens' in accurately assessing risk?
11. What steps can mitigate citizens' concerns around mine and facility closures?
12. What steps can mineral companies take to improve relationships with communities?
13. What steps can be taken to increase the community's trust in mineral companies?

Round Four Dialogue Questions: Aligning Interests

1. How can citizens be motivated to appreciate how the greater good advances their self-interests?
2. What would enhance citizens’ trust in governments and private enterprises?
3. How can the community's awareness of proposed mining activity be communicated?
   1. Switch from DAD (decide, announce, defend) to ADD (announce, discuss, decide)
   2. Community-oriented mining increases domestic participation in the global mining boom and makes supply chains more equitable and resilient.
   3. Mineral mining in North America alleviates our foreign dependency.
4. What strategies promote the acceptance of new mines?
5. What understandings encourage stakeholders to support local mines?
   1. We rely on minerals for almost every aspect of modern life.
   2. China is a significant global mining and processing leader.
   3. Shipping minerals by sea negatively impacts the environment, negating the benefits of products made with minerals, such as electric car batteries and wind turbines.
   4. Mining for coal occurs at the surface, leaving large scars on the land, while mining for minerals occurs at a further depth in the earth, leaving less visible effects.
   5. Show pictures of past successful projects.
   6. Communicate the safety and environmental record of essential minerals mining.
6. What socioeconomic gains result from mineral production?
   1. Mining is the first link in value chains.
   2. Mineral wealth undergirds community economic vitality.
   3. Mining enhances a regional cultural identity.
7. How can mining companies relate productively with communities and community leaders?
   1. How can mineral companies increase openness and transparency?
   2. What decision-making protocols have been used effectively?
   3. What steps can mineral companies take to acknowledge the validity of citizen’s concerns?
   4. How can mining companies and community leaders agree on development implications and responsibilities?
      1. Infrastructure upgrades
      2. Increased traffic pressure on transportation infrastructure
      3. Increased population
      4. Increased demand for housing and potential home price escalation
      5. Increase demand for public services, e.g., school enrollment, hospitality, medical services, recreation sites, public lands
   5. How can mining companies and community leaders develop a "Community Benefits Agreement?"