When a large industrial enterprise is in the development stage its promoters generally believe that the world will welcome the project with open arms. Increasingly that is not the case. Mining companies, because their projects are in remote parts of the world have been late receiving this message. A few celebrated cases in the past 5 years have changed the dynamic. People who live in the vicinity of mining projects may or may not be delighted by the prospect of a steady income. In fact, some may be happier harvesting their potatoes or other cash crops - legal and otherwise - and will fight, with weapons if required, to protect their way of life. It is a new world out there.

In response to this, mining companies must be much more sensitive to their neighbours and start much earlier in the development cycle to explain what they are doing. When surveyors show up on your street, do you not instinctively bristle and wonder what those idiots at city hall are dreaming up now? Why would it be different for a rancher or farmer or ‘trying-to-get-away-from-it-all anarchist’? Everyone likes a good neighbour and he who shuts himself in his house and sneaks around with weird looking equipment is not a good neighbour.

So the issue has become how to be a good neighbour without being a big brother or an “open wallet”? The development of a good neighbour relationship clearly must change as the project changes. But being a good neighbour starts as soon as you are in the area and not when the bulldozers show up to ruin the view. This is what I think and my thoughts are not necessarily shared by all. I believe that exploration projects must be undertaken with the view that “If we leave the area because we don’t find any minerals what kind of foot prints do we wish to leave behind?” So what does that look like? Certainly it means explaining to people what is being looked for, what the weird instruments do, how long the project can take, what the steps will be if an orebody is discovered, how the company plans to communicate with their neighbours, how the water may or may not be affected, what noise may be generated and, by the way, if you need help with the cattleguard just give us a shout. It is not difficult stuff but it is a requirement and needs someone to pay attention to it - which means spending some money.

When the exploration occurs in areas of poverty - which covers most of the known world - there is a need to be a good neighbour in a way that disciplines the other neighbours not to keep asking for handouts. Again, it is a process and when people realize they have to make their requests for money in writing they soon stop making the requests unless it is for serious stuff. And then there is an obligation to help. In one of my exploration projects we budgeted $500 per month as aid to the local community. This purchased a Doppler gizmo so that the local doctor could assess pregnant women, a loudspeaker for the local school so that large assemblies could be held, a cement floor for the local shared pharmacy, contributions of prizes for the local fairs. Good neighbour kinds of purchases which every exploration budget should include.

So social development is not rocket science and if it is handled properly from the beginning of exploration it will be pretty much looked after by the time the feasibility study starts and everyone will be comfortable with the prospect of a new and larger neighbour. In fact, if it is really done right then the company’s “good neighbours” will defend the project when the inevitable bad guys show up.

So those are the elements of the feasibility study. They are all integrated into the project economics and tied up in the project deliverables which are discussed next.