New Tech, New Deal: Reconceptualizing shared value for the mine of the future

The mining sector is in the early stages of a technology revolution that will fundamentally change the face of mining, just as it already has done in sectors such as manufacturing, finance and communications.

While this is good news in terms of productivity, worker safety, environmental impacts and other metrics, some types of technology will replace significant numbers of low- and medium-skilled workers, and many of the new jobs created will be difficult for locals to fill.

It’s not clear what this will mean for the relationship between mining companies and local communities, who presently rely heavily on the social and economic benefits created by direct employment and employment-related procurement. But it is clear that the status quo will change.

There is a need to assess the impacts of the various new technologies, and to consider in advance what arrangements might address the potential loss of benefits for local communities and host governments.

This is why we are convening a closed multi-stakeholder group of experts in Paris June 20-21 for a roundtable as part of our New Tech, New Deal project.

This event will be used to review the outcomes of the IGF’s baseline study of potential impacts of new technology in mining and to examine the policy options for dealing with these impacts. The group will also explore what actions could and should be taken to progress the most promising options.

This roundtable event is part of our New Tech, New Deal project exploring the impacts of new mining technologies, looking for pragmatic options allowing the mine of the future to make its full potential contributions to sustainable development. This project is a partnership between the IGF, the Columbia Center for Sustainable Investment (CCSI), and Mining Shared Value, supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).