Despite some great promotion (sometimes a little too great!), the mining industry has had little to show for itself over the past 20 years. Share prices, valuations, access to capital, cost of capital, recruitment… the list goes on. This is despite huge strides forward to address historical legacy, new technology to improve exploration, and the introduction of sophisticated capital that has begun to improve investment returns.
How can the sector break the glass ceiling? How do we rebuild the confidence and trust that can inspire investment, improve valuations, and drive growth in both exploration and new development alongside our stakeholders?
While mining impacts less than 0.1% of the world’s landmass, it also drives 45% of the world’s economy. These facts, when combined with the needs of modern society to better understand the industry for the products it provides, require an extraordinary effort to demonstrate responsible mining and earn trust.
If there’s a sector of the mining industry we can learn from moving forward, it’s the exploration and development stage companies. They are the ambassadors of the mining industry, they inhabit and integrate into communities in thousands of locations around the world, they are not blighted by legacy, and have inspirational and entrepreneurial leaders.
Changing the status quo
Today, there are two core things that are helping rebuild the credibility of the mining industry:
- Responsibility
- Communication
Permitting in most well respected mining jurisdictions already requires companies to demonstrate how they are, or plan to be, responsible operators. Access to Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) or European sustainable finance is dependent on a commitment to responsible production.
Equally, countries such as Chile have recently demonstrated a harder stance on their permitting. Where will this mine sit on the GHG emission curve? What are or were the social implications of moving an entire village? Have baseline studies been sufficient to offset biodiversity or archaeological risk?
Digbee can help all mining companies get ahead of this curve, reduce permitting risk, reduce time to access capital, and improve engagement with key stakeholders.
Communication of these attributes will increasingly differentiate companies and projects with investors and other stakeholders. Beyond this, we as a sector need to demystify our story – looking at a typical mining company corporate presentation will leave the average person “befuddled”.
Companies who embrace new communication methods and credibly outline their journey to responsible development can mitigate risk and improve valuation.
Explore further
If you’d like to hear more on this subject, we’d recommend the Mining Stock Daily podcast below featuring Steve de Jong, the CEO of VRIFY. Steve clearly outlines how modern communication methods of drill hole and other data can turn a boring and complex presentation into an interactive, engaging, and value-add discussion – helping both investors and local communities to better visualise the mines of the future.
Mining Stock Daily
‘Mining Technology and VRIFY’s Next Era of Communication Tools’
28 July 2023
