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FIXED (AUTHORITIES)- Governments should broker regional assistance for mines, industry group states

The world's governments must do more to persuade indigenous groups and regional communities to support mines that produce crucial minerals needed to power the energy transition and fight climate change, the head of a. prominent industry group stated.

Mines around the world progressively face opposition for. spiritual, other or environmental factors, with pressure appearing to. magnify in the previous year after authorities in Panama, reacting. to protests, shuttered a mine that supplies 1% of the world's. copper.

Yet efforts to stem an increase in worldwide temperature levels have. increased the use of photovoltaic panels, electrical automobiles and other. technologies that are constructed with large quantities of copper, nickel. and other vital minerals.

If federal governments are serious about combating environment change,. they must find a method for some jobs to advance rather than. expecting business and host neighborhoods to work out between. themselves, Rohitesh Dhawan, CEO of the International Council on. Mining and Metals, informed on the sidelines of the World. Copper Conference in Santiago this week.

Now that we have governments more actively engaged in. increasing the supply of vital minerals ... that includes a. obligation to help broker a reliable and trusted. relationship between the market and affected communities,. said Dhawan, who joined ICMM in 2021 after a career in. consulting.

We can't have a circumstance where governments are completely. hands off.

London-based ICMM, whose 24 members including BHP. and Glencore represent roughly a third of the world's. metals production, is evaluating its policy first crafted a. years earlier on how miners must interact with Native. communities, Dhawan stated, in what is called free, previous and. notified approval (FPIC).

There's a requirement for reframing and a need for a sincere. discussion about where does the responsibility of a mine start. and end, and where does the obligation of federal government start. and end? Dhawan said.

While governments have the primary duty to. obtain FPIC, market has a function to play in supporting that. review process, specifically on looking for permission for a mine's local. impact, Dhawan said.

The mining market, though, should not necessarily develop a. mine if it gets federal government approval however not local assistance,. he included. Everyone advantages when we shift to a low carbon. economy, however the effects are always regional.

MARKET LEADERS

The tension between the increasing need for copper and. established opposition was a central style today at the. Santiago conference, which organizers said was attended by more. than 500 people.

Everyone asks for decarbonization, however what we deal with all. the time is absolutely a battle in every permitting process,. stated Roland Harings, CEO of Aurubis, Europe's largest. copper manufacturer.

Executives acknowledged the market has not constantly had the. best credibility, particularly after deadly mining accidents in. recent years.

We require to be able to show that we will partner with. host communities in a more responsible and long-lasting manner,. stated Jonathan Rate, CEO of Teck Resources, which. operates across the Americas.

That was echoed by executives from Codelco, Chile's. state-owned copper giant, along with BHP and others.

Mining is good for the world, but it needs to be done. well, said Simon Collins of Australia's South32, which. is developing a zinc mine in the United States that has the. support of President Joe Biden's administration.