Led by John Price, AMI’s Managing Director and leader of AMI’s Mining Practice, this month’s Coffee Chat panel features some of the LAC mining region’s top corporate affairs professionals: Ana María Gómez (Anglo Gold Ashanti Colombia), Brent Bergeron (Pan American Silver), and Carolina Ordóñez (New Pacific Metals). The panel discussed the evolving role and challenges of corporate affairs in Latin America’s mining sector.
Among the key highlights of the Chat:
• Mining risks used to be primarily below the ground, but have now shifted with the advancement of technology. So much of the unpredictability of what lies beneath the soil has been clarified and the risk now really lies above ground.
• Ignorance about mining is widespread. It is a company’s job to show what mining brings to the table through its macroeconomic and microeconomic impacts. Corporate affairs has to develop a set of general principles and messages to share, regardless of stakeholders status, and then adjust it depending on the particular stakeholder’s interests.
• Mining companies have had success by engaging with local associations, such as the mining association, business association, and other local clusters to demonstrate what mining really is. Bringing people to the mine site itself changes their minds, after recognizing high industry standards.
• Corporate affairs has shifted from a focus on relationships with national governments toward regional governments. Mining companies need a strong relationship at the local level, while still managing conflict at the national level.
• Both mining juniors and majors need early geopolitical due diligence before entering a country. Companies tend to grow by acquisitions, which often require more disclosures. When acquiring new assets, mining companies also inherent the site’s historical baggage.
• Within the next two year, governments in the region will face fiscal challenges. Mining companies will be asked to support, and need to focus distributing aid near the mine site.
In addition to these main points, the Chat also focused on questions from the audience. Click below to see the full Mining Coffee Chat, including detailed, insightful answers from the panel to audience questions.
Mining Coffee Chats are monthly meetings in which AMI explores important topics affecting the mining industry. The Chats are held via Zoom during the first Tuesday of every month at 11 a.m. ET (New York) time, usually featuring expert speakers and always allowing for attendees to obtain answers to the challenges that face them during COVID-19 and beyond.
If you have not already registered for Mining Coffee Chats, please click here to do so.
To find out more about AMI’s consulting work in the area of risk management for mining in different areas, please explore our recent webinar on rebuilding sustainable operations post COVID-19, case studies, our whitepaper on 7 key risks, and our analysis articles, which cover topics such as industry outlooks, political risk, operational risk, reputational risk and more.
