Mines and Money @ Resourcing Tomorrow

“It's very hard to make a hole in the ground nature-positive,” Rohitesh Dhawan, CEO of CMM, says. “When you're making a hole in the ground, you're going to disturb nature.” “Less than 0.1%” of the world’s total landmass. Compare that to agriculture, at “somewhere close to 50%”, relatively speaking, the industry’s planetary footprint is a “small portion” of the whole. “For all the metals and minerals, we produce, it’s remarkable how little of the world's land we disturb,” Dhawan says. “But – and it's a big ‘but’ – often where we mine happens in areas where nature is very sensitive to change.”

Issues discussed include:

• Reviewing successful rehabilitation efforts to offset damage in one area with investments in another

• What can be done at the small-scale/artisanal mining end?

• How can nature positive narrative be communicated with shareholders to avoid it being perceived as an oxymoron? Are some ecosystems so fragile that they can never be returned to their former state?

• Incorporating the impact on local communities into the planning

• Reviewing the TNFD (Taskforce for Natural Financial Disclosures). What standards and regulations are in place? Are any further required?

• Why should this matter to investors?

Issues discussed include:

• What solutions are there to make mine rehabilitation economic?
• Evaluating some of the tailings management business models being introduced?
• What is the role of engineering design and innovation?
• What innovations do we see in tailings processing?
• Using low-cost dry tailings disposal to limit water loss
• What further partnerships and collaboration opportunities are being developed to improve tailings management?

Trust is the one commodity that can’t be mined but is critical to the growth of the mining industry. Yet, in many surveys, mining comes bottom when compared to other verticals when it comes to trust. What can we do to address the trust deficit? Issues discussed include: • Understanding is not trust – what is the public’s understanding of the mining industry, and what practical steps can be taken to address misconceptions

• Concrete examples of where trust was gained and lost; what were the bottom line/revenue benefits?
• Building the ‘triangle of trust’ between governments, miners and investors • Innovation happens at the speed of trust. The need for trust between competitors and the importance of co-creation
• Communicating better with shareholders. Building a better narrative
• Why are some sectors, banking, for example, given a free pass when it comes to trust, but mining isn’t?

Some reports predict that as much as 50% of the mining workforce will be retired by 2029. Where will the future supply of talent come from? Issues discussed include:

• How can the mining industry appeal better to graduate employees?
• Diversifying into other industries to increase the pool of talent
• How can the mining industry attract more diversity?
• How does the mining industry rate as a sector as an appealing place to work compared with other sectors? Where is it succeeding? Where is it falling short? The importance of mentorshi