Why telling better stories is critical to the future of mining – by Alisha Hiyate (Canadian Mining Journal – March 2021)

http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

Our sector has long lamented the disconnect between the importance of metals to modern life and urbanites’ ignorance of – and even disdain for – mining.

In part, mining’s perception problem comes from the fact that as raw materials, the metals and minerals the sector produces are so removed from the consumer.

The big exception of course, is diamonds, which still have not fully recovered from the “blood diamond” tarnish. Blockchain initiatives to trace mined gems from their source to the customer – put in place by both De Beers (Tracr) and Lucara Diamonds (Clara) – are positive initiatives on this front.

But, even though the diamond sector is well aware of the power of branding (Diamonds being Forever and all) and speaking directly to consumers, the sector hasn’t been willing enough to tell the many positive stories it has to tell with regards to its contributions to the economies of countries such as Botswana and Canada, and to local communities.

That’s just as true for the wider mining sector, and it’s becoming more and more clear that the industry needs to learn how to reach out to the public, beyond investor and stakeholder groups.

For the rest of this column: http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/features/why-telling-better-stories-is-critical-to-the-future-of-mining/