Theory of change for the mineral Exploration - INFACT project
- 1Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology, Exploration, Dresden, Germany (l.ajjabou@hzdr.de)
- 2SRK Exploration Services
The INFACT project aims to reinvigorate mineral exploration in Europe by engaging society and using new technology and research to improve mineral exploration practice. The consortium is formed of geo- and social scientists working together to achieve a new vision of mineral exploration. As a key part of INFACT, expert stakeholders from across Europe and other jurisdictions such as Australia and Canada have been engaged in a series of online and face to face discussions to determine and address identified challenges to exploration and a way to overcome them.
Five key environmental and social challenges and barriers to exploration in Europe have been determined by INFACT through a mix of qualitative and quantitative research. These were (i) existing land use, (ii) the cost of mineral exploration, (iii) public perceptions and negative attitudes toward the exploration and mining industry, (iv) sustainability and the environment, and (v) governance and regulatory structures and processes.
Through a series of workshops and interviews, discussing ways to address these challenges and barriers, a vision for mineral exploration and mining in Europe was created:
- Mining in Europe should contribute to local and regional sustainable development, enabling a low carbon economy through environmentally and socially acceptable extraction of critical raw materials(CRM). This will involve:
- The European Commission developing and enforcing rigorous and binding legislation with respect to all mineral exploration activities;
- Increased investment contribution for exploration of CRM within Europe;
- Exploration companies being required to adopt environmental and socially acceptable good practice;
- Increased awareness of the importance of mining to support a low carbon economy and improved public trust in the process;
- Creation of socio-economic shared value through adoption of multi-stakeholder collaborative planning and visioning; and
- Exploration companies achieving and maintaining a Social Licence to Operate;
The work presented will determine a way to ensure socio-environmentally sustainable supply of raw materials and the key steps required to achieve this vision.
How to cite: MacCallum, C., Russill, J., Kirsch, M., Ajjabou, L., Salam, I., and Bennet, L.: Theory of change for the mineral Exploration - INFACT project, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-18416, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-18416, 2020
Comments on the display
AC: Author Comment | CC: Community Comment | Report abuse
I liked you paper and I agree with what you are trying to achieve. However, the realities of implementing your vision are very challenging, and many cannot be solved through directives, as you realized. A good starting point would be for university geology curricula to pay much more atention to "the social", something few do. Second, you did not mention time as an important variable. Realizing your vision requires much patience, perseverance, and time. Third, does a European organization of explorationa companies exist? I have been a member of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada for more than 30 years and since the late 90s the PDAC has been pushing social responsibility and has developed an extensive toolkit (e3 Plus). In spite of all this good work, many exploration companies still have problems. My own work suggests that dveleoping relationships and creating a transformative dislogue will hlp, but success is not assured
Dear Jan,
Thank you for your interest and comment on our abstract.
We fully agree that including ESG in university curricula is an essential step for a mentality shift and implementation of our "Theory of change". We share your concern on time and see the INFACT project as an impulse in creating a broader community awareness around the topic of social and environmental performance.
We look forward to discussing it further with you on Thursday.
Leila Ajjabou, Cathryn MacCallum, Jon Russill and Moritz Kirsch
I liked you paper and I agree with what you are trying to achieve. However, the realities of implementing your vision are very challenging, and many cannot be solved through directives, as you realized. A good starting point would be for university geology curricula to pay much more atention to "the social", something few do. Second, you did not mention time as an important variable. Realizing your vision requires much patience, perseverance, and time. Third, does a European organization of explorationa companies exist? I have been a member of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada for more than 30 years and since the late 90s the PDAC has been pushing social responsibility and has developed an extensive toolkit (e3 Plus). In spite of all this good work, many exploration companies still have problems. My own work suggests that dveleoping relationships and creating a transformative dislogue will hlp, but success is not assured
This is a very important project in which responsibilities towards society are a target of its activities.
I agree with Jan Boon's comments. I know that achieving tangible goals in acceptable times is a great challenge. I'm in the International Advisory Board of the INTERMIN project, and I realized the complexity of training operators in mining activities from a scientific and technical point of view.
Modern times require very complex skills and abilities, also in social and ethical aspects. And only adequate education and training can give them appropriate tools and capacity to face and solve problems. Introducing geoethics in University curricula is a key. But changes need time.
Thank you for this great project.