Mining project success and stakeholder trust

Thinking of mining in Africa? Junior companies often miss this first step. Here’s what works from years on the ground. I’ve supported mining projects facing political pressure and delays. Some pushed forward too fast. Others took time to build trust, and got results. The difference wasn’t money. It was how they engaged locally. What truly sets winning junior miners apart: ☑️ Local Chiefs First, Not Last ➖ Your mine might be legal. ➖ But without community buy-in, it’s doomed. ➖ Respect, sit down, listen. It's not a checkbox—it's the foundation. ☑️ Forget the Capital, Go Local ➖ Real influence lives in rural towns, not ministries. ➖ Find the people solving daily problems, fixers who know every corner. ☑️ Hire Bridge Builders ➖ You need bilingual professionals: ➖ One foot in Africa, one in the West. ➖ They translate more than language, they translate expectations. ☑️ Listen at Weddings, Not Just Meetings ➖ Informal networks run deep. ➖ You’ll hear more truth at a celebration than in a boardroom. ☑️ Mentorship Over Lobbying ➖ Retired government officials with clean reputations open doors quietly. ➖ They are not gatekeepers, they are guides. ☑️ Earn Trust Early ➖ Don’t wait for conflict to invest in communities. ➖ Drill wells, build clinics, before you move one stone. ☑️ Adapt to Grey Zones ➖ Africa’s mining laws are clear on paper. ➖ But application? Often grey. ➖ Stay close to the ground. Relationships = early alerts. ☑️ Zero-Tolerance Integrity ➖ Every shortcut erodes long-term value. ➖ Formalise payments. Say no to shady favours. It pays back. ☑️ Exit with Dignity ➖ If politics shift, don’t burn bridges. ➖ Exit plans matter. So does your name. ☑️ Stay Humble ➖ Markets fluctuate. Roads break. Regimes change. ➖ But your name and goodwill will carry you back when others close the door. Miners who stay grounded are the ones who return stronger. This isn’t just theory. It’s lived reality, again and again. 🥇 The gold is in the people. 📌 Ever learned a hard lesson in African mining? ♻️ Share if resonated or tag someone who needs this. P.S. If you're exploring projects in SSA, and you're serious about doing it right, I am one message away.

The first session of our Candid Discussions on Resource-Based Development was a rare, refreshingly honest exploration of why resource-based development remains elusive, why avoidable disputes so often materialize—and what we need to do differently. These were some of my own personal take-aways: 💥 A deal that’s “too good” isn’t sustainable. Whether heavily favoring investors or states, asymmetric deals prove politically or economically untenable. Negotiators are incentivized to get the best deal at the time rather than the most durable for decades-long projects. That mismatch becomes combustible when market conditions or political leadership inevitably change. ⚖️  Impacts and benefits fall on different shoulders. Those who live with the environmental and social impacts of mining projects are often not the ones receiving the benefits—and those impacted communities are internally diverse among themselves. Cost-benefit analyses and legal frameworks often ignore this misalignment. 📉 The promise of transformational revenue is rarely met. Very often, mining projects have failed to deliver the fiscal windfalls governments expected. Optimism at the outset routinely outpaces financial reality, leading to disaffection. 🚨 The system is built for escalation, not resolution. Existing legal frameworks—whether under contracts or treaties—tend to push parties quickly into adversarial stances, rather than encouraging sustained dialogue. In the absence of structured, incremental mechanisms to revisit and resolve disputes, companies often resort to the threat—or use—of international arbitration. Once that line is crossed, battle lines harden and the stakes become existential, with multi-billion dollar claims jeopardizing both national budgets and project continuity. ❤️🩹 The trust gap must be acknowledged. Decades of unmet expectations, social and environmental harms, and opaque decision-making have eroded trust among communities, governments, and companies alike. Rebuilding that trust is possible—but only if it’s done honestly, and only if the underlying causes of mistrust are meaningfully addressed. 🔁 Social license is not a box to tick. It must be renewed over time—through genuine, continuous engagement—not assumed based on early consultation rounds that quickly fade from memory. 🧩 We still haven’t built lasting capacity. Despite years of technical support and training, capacity within governments remains fragile—because the systems are complex, the support often short-term, and the people constantly changing. I strongly recommend watching the robust discussion, posted here: https://lnkd.in/eFDZYp4i. This discussion seeded some critical ideas, not often discussed. Now we need to build on them. Thank you so much Todd Clewett Scot Anderson Vanessa Rivas Plata Saldarriaga Nneoma Veronica Nwogu Christophe Bondy Next session in the Candid Discussions series is April 30! (info at the same link) Please add your reflections below! 👇

Your billion-dollar project is one protest away from dead. One blockade. One permit delay. One viral protest. That’s all it takes to kill a project — even if your tech is flawless, your demand is booming, and your investors are ready to write checks. From NOW Vol. 16: =AI in mining is here — not hype. Early adopters are seeing 40% productivity gains, 30% less downtime, and 15% higher recovery rates. =Peru’s copper output is set to smash records — Las Bambas could take the top spot by 2026 — if social unrest and bureaucracy don’t strangle growth. =The U.S. is turning mine waste into strategic minerals — pulling lithium, cobalt, and rare earths from toxic sites while cleaning up environmental scars. =India is eyeing Peru’s rare earths — a geopolitical play that could reshape supply chains if done with real stakeholder trust. =Modern mine developers are rewriting the playbook — embedding community trust from day one because they know LTO is not a box to tick, it’s a survival strategy. All of it means nothing if you lose your Stakeholder License to Operate. You can’t “engineer” your way past local anger, Indigenous land claims, activist campaigns, or a mistrustful press. You either build trust early — or you fight fires forever. NOW Vol. 16 isn’t a feel-good ESG puff piece. It’s a blunt map of the risks, flashpoints, and power shifts that will decide whether you’re still operating in 2030. Read it before someone else reads your obituary. 🔗 veridicor.com/NOW #StakeholderLicenseToOperate #LTO #Mining #CriticalMinerals #EnergyTransition #GreenTech #AIinMining #SocialLicense #ESG #Sustainability #Copper #RareEarths #Lithium #MiningInnovation #RiskManagement #Infrastructure #SupplyChains #VeridicorNOW