The importance of good communications about mining in Madagascar

QIT Madagascar Mining S.A. (QMM) is part of the Rio Tinto mining company. In 2005, QMM received approval to open an ilmenite mine in Fort Dauphin, southern Madagascar. This project, the largest foreign investment in Madagascar’s history, brings many development opportunities to the country. However, poor communications between the company and the local community have ruined the project.

The Fort Dauphin mine is the first of several mining projects planned for Madagascar with World Bank support. The amount of ilmenite (titanium dioxide ore) will sustain mining operations for at least 40 years. The project also provides an opportunity for Rio Tinto to practice its corporate social responsibility commitments.

However, a report from Panos London, in the UK, shows that the mine has displaced local people from their land, affecting more than 1,000 people. It will also destroy rare pieces of coastal forest and heathland unique to Madagascar. The researcher interviewed 123 people involved in, or affected by, the project. These included landless poor people, local villagers, foreign construction workers, academic experts, non-governmental and government experts, and local business people.

At the start of the project, QMM introduced some initiatives to communicate with local people and resolve their grievances. However, many local people interviewed said that communication about the project was poor from the beginning. Many had little or no knowledge of the changes taking place or the reasons for them.

Differences in understanding about the project have caused conflict and mistrust. The research shows:

• The lack of opportunities to communicate with the mining company caused frustration, with people unable to express their views.
• Some local people were most concerned about the threat to their livelihoods and cultural heritage.
• Other people highlighted Rio Tinto’s lack of development experience and failure to address local issues as major concerns.
• Those with business or landholding interests felt excluded from development plans.
• Conservationists were concerned about the damage to rare biodiversity.

Rio Tinto officials need to listen to, and learn from, others in the development community. Communications with local people must be two-way, involving everyone affected by the project in decisions, rather than just telling people what will happen. The main challenges will be to gain the trust and support of local people, and to balance competing interests. To improve communications, the researcher recommends that these stakeholders:

• build a negotiating forum that has the confidence of everyone involved and is not dominated, or perceived to be, by Rio Tinto; this could be convened by an independent organisation
• prepare a communications strategy that reflects all views
• explain the mining project in a language and level that local people can understand and relate to, taking into account cultural differences
• explain the wider impact of the project on regional development and what this means for the local economy
• ensure proper monitoring and evaluation of the project’s impact on local people and the environment, preferably by independent specialists
• share lessons learned, making sure they are used to guide Rio Tinto’s future corporate social responsibility strategies.

Source(s):
‘A Mine of Information: Improving Communication around the Rio Tinto Ilmenite Mine in Madagascar’, Panos London, by Rod Harbinson, 2007 (PDF) Full document.

id21 Research Highlight: 25 March 2008

Further Information:
Rod Harbinson
Panos London
9 White Lion Street
London N1 9PD
UK

Tel: +44 207 2781111
Fax: +44 207 2780345
Contact the contributor: environment@panos.org.uk

Panos London, UK

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