Mining Stakeholders Unlock Mutual Opportunity by Focusing on Dialogue

LIMA, PERU--(Marketwired - Apr 25, 2013) -  A wide array of stakeholders in mineral development have cooperated in helping develop a new tool aimed at mitigating the misunderstanding and conflict that now fuel mining disputes around the globe, according to a report released today by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

The report, "Mineral Value Management -- A Multidimensional View of Value Creation from Mining," provides insights gained from the World Economic Forum's Responsible Mineral Development Initiative (RMDI). The study introduces a new tool, Mineral Value Management (MVM), designed to enhance understanding among diverse stakeholders of how value is created by mining. MVM measures and communicates the needs and expectations of stakeholders.

The RMDI initiative included a global survey of mining stakeholders. It found that governments, local communities, and mining companies approach mineral development with widely divergent perceptions and aspirations about its benefits and costs. Creating a better understanding of these differences is the key to establishing trust and constructive collaboration, according to the report, which was produced in the initiative's third year of ongoing work. Such an approach can be an effective way for companies to engage with and create increased value for stakeholders.

"Many mining companies invest significant resources in areas such as community infrastructure, environmental management and economic development," said Roland Haslehner, a Vienna-based BCG partner and member of the RMDI Advisory Group. "Establishing an understanding of needs and expectations across a range of dimensions can help more effectively direct these resources."

The RMDI survey also found that expectations and drivers of value varied widely depending on the stakeholders' country of origin and level of economic development. In Africa and Asia, for example, governments were generally less positive than other stakeholders about the current value creation of mining but significantly more positive about the future.

MVM is an analytical tool developed to facilitate stakeholder dialogue. It will be used in multistakeholder platforms being piloted by the World Economic Forum as part of the RMDI project in 2013. The platforms are designed to provide a neutral setting for dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders with the aim of actively advancing responsible mineral development at both national and regional levels.

MVM measures and compares perceptions and expectations across seven dimensions of value. It accounts for the full range of effects -- cultural, psychological and environmental -- as well as more familiar and readily measurable economic and financial effects. MVM also takes into account that value created from mining can take the form of both benefits and costs.

"Financial value is important, but it is not the only measure," said Stephen D'Esposito, an advisor on the project and president of RESOLVE, a nonprofit organization that promotes collaborative resolution of public issues. "Anything that matters to stakeholders and affects their view of mining -- be it a new road development that benefits local businesses or impacts on traditional cultures -- needs to be included."

A copy of the report can be downloaded at www.bcgperspectives.com.

To arrange an interview with one of the authors, please contact Eric Gregoire at +1 617 850 3783 or gregoire.eric@bcg.com.

About The Boston Consulting Group
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