On 5-6 October, under sponsorship of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, over one-hundred participants from approximately fifteen soums and five bags from Umnugobi aimag attended a two-day workshop on the Mine Life Cycle, including exploration, development, construction and closure, and the roles of local government, citizens and communities in each of these stages.
The second day of the workshop focused on: an introduction to minerals and metals, activities in the Mine Life Cycle, environmental and socio-economic impacts and benefits of mining, and how mining can work for your community. These four topics are part of a ten-module series that the project is developing as part of its public education campaign on mining issues:
The workshop included discussion of international case studies highlighting collaboration among national and local governments and citizens and industry to mitigate and effectively manage mining impacts and maximize possible benefits and provided a forum for dialogue about local mining issues and potential mechanisms for handling mining-related conflicts.
The workshop provided participants with materials on the topics and a ‘toolkit’ with examples of partnership agreements and Memorandums of Understanding between communities and industry and other tools to help communities prepare for mining impacts and benefits. The project trained two members of the Two Hills Council, a civil society organization formed during OT negotiations to encourage pubic participation and consultation in mining issues, to facilitate this first community-focused workshop on mining issues.
Feedback from participants indicated that the training modules were extremely useful, particularly the information on international best practices and how people and communities can get involved to maximize opportunities and create benefits from mining.
There was an overwhelming request for follow-up training and in depth discussion of mining issues raised in the workshop. The project intends to complete the ten modules and initiate a training-of-trainers (TOT) program early next year to expand its national public outreach and education on mining issues.
The second day of the workshop focused on: an introduction to minerals and metals, activities in the Mine Life Cycle, environmental and socio-economic impacts and benefits of mining, and how mining can work for your community. These four topics are part of a ten-module series that the project is developing as part of its public education campaign on mining issues:
- An introduction to minerals, mining and the Mine Life Cycle
- Activities in the Mine Life Cycle
- Environmental and social impacts in the Mine Life Cycle
- Environmental and social mitigation and management
- Environmental and social monitoring and auditing
- The Mine Life Cycle and the legal and regulatory framework
- Public participation within the Mine Life Cycle
- Mine closure and reclamation
- Corporate social responsibility and the Mine Life Cycle
- How to make mining work for you and your community.
The workshop included discussion of international case studies highlighting collaboration among national and local governments and citizens and industry to mitigate and effectively manage mining impacts and maximize possible benefits and provided a forum for dialogue about local mining issues and potential mechanisms for handling mining-related conflicts. The workshop provided participants with materials on the topics and a ‘toolkit’ with examples of partnership agreements and Memorandums of Understanding between communities and industry and other tools to help communities prepare for mining impacts and benefits. The project trained two members of the Two Hills Council, a civil society organization formed during OT negotiations to encourage pubic participation and consultation in mining issues, to facilitate this first community-focused workshop on mining issues.
Feedback from participants indicated that the training modules were extremely useful, particularly the information on international best practices and how people and communities can get involved to maximize opportunities and create benefits from mining.
There was an overwhelming request for follow-up training and in depth discussion of mining issues raised in the workshop. The project intends to complete the ten modules and initiate a training-of-trainers (TOT) program early next year to expand its national public outreach and education on mining issues.