Focus on community and stakeholder relations

As general counsel of a start-up mining company, we focus on contributing to a better, cleaner and more sustainable future, not only by way of seeking to extract essential mineral substances that contribute to the worldwide efforts to further EV production and decarbonisation, but also aiming to implement an entirely new way of mining that produces a minimal impact on the environment and the surrounding communities and stakeholders. As a result, the role of general counsel has been redefined in more ways than one.

It used to be that identifying and quantifying risks and aiming at eliminating or mitigating was standard procedure. However, in today´s world and, specifically, when it comes to local communities and stakeholders of all trades, success is based not only on addressing the concerns and issues that a project elicits, but also on persuading communities and stakeholders to be onboard and captivate them, with the why behind what we do at the company and with what we aim to achieve.

In this regard, a particular focus on anticipating risks and issues, to avoid expending energy and resources unnecessarily is critical. Certainly, this means and translates into engaging with communities and stakeholders from the start, well before much of the critical and relevant work has even begun. Given my cross-functional roles, being the one in charge of corporate affairs and corporate secretary, I find myself in a very privileged position, which allows for a flow of useful information between communities and stakeholders, perceiving any board queries and concerns that contribute to a better understanding of matters that need attention, so as to adequately anticipate problems and possibly avoid them altogether, or minimise the same to a point where they may even not qualify as problems.

In summary, the approach that allows me to anticipate risks, queries and concerns and a host of other considerations which normally demand vast amounts of time and resources once they appear, coupled with a new form of onboarding of local communities and stakeholders will not only prove to be a new and more effective way of fulfilling my role, but also a potential catalyst to truly transform the move from traditional mining to a new more innovative and certainly friendlier and more benign relationship with our environment and those who feel impacted by our business, all of which is consistent and in line with seeking a better future for all.