Overview of risks, challenges and benefits of implementing social media in mining industry contexts.

1. The Risks, Challenges and Benefits of Using
Social Media in the Mining Industry
Zoë Mullard - InfoMine
Dr. Dirk van Zyl - UBC Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering

2. Overview
• Introduction to Social Media
• Research Methodology
• Findings: Applications of Social Media
• Risks and Challenges of Social Media
• Benefits of Social Media
• Pilot project: InfoMine’s Continuous Conferences
• Recommendations
• Conclusions

3. Introduction to Social Media
Source: http://www.mwsolutions.ca

4. Net Effect of Web 2.0
• Equalization between amateurs and
professionals
• Increased expectations for access to
information
• Reduced power to control messages
and marketing

5. Research Background
Conservative Negative legacy
Mining Industry
industry
CSR and community
Scrutinized standards engagement investments
Web 2.0 and
Stakeholders
Access information Information sharing
Express concerns Create social networks

6. Statement of Problem
Inquiry into Web 2.0 communication tools is needed
to determine their impacts on mining operations and
business communication strategies.

7. Research Questions
Research Questions Research Objectives
How are stakeholders in the To outline the current uses of social
mining industry using Web 2.0 media in the mining industry
tools?
To develop understanding about how
Can these tools be used to Web 2.0 tools relate to transparency
enhance stakeholder and corporate social responsibility
engagement? norms in the mining industry
What opportunities and risks are
associated with using these To provide guidelines for a social
tools? media strategy in the mining industry

8. Theoretical Frameworks
1. Communications Theories
2. Stakeholder Engagement Processes
3. Social Capital

9. Key Themes
Public
Communications Engagement Social Capital
Transparency: access to information/people
Credibility: provision of trusted information
Authenticity: original, genuine

10. Research Methodology
Website Observations
Interviews
Site Name of Group/Organizations Social Media Affiliation
1. Society of Mining Engineering (SME) Facebook Mining
2. Alcoa Facebook Mining
3. Fuera Barrick Facebook Civil Soc.
4. LaFarge Facebook Mining
5. LaFarge Twitter Mining
6. Rio Tinto Twitter Mining
7. Barrick Gold Twitter Mining
8. Argentina Mining Twitter Mining
9. No Pebble Mine Twitter Civil
10. RightsandTitle Twitter Civil
11. Republic of Mining Blog Mining
12. IThinkMining Blog Mining

11. Data Analysis
ATLAS.ti - Qualitative Interview Analysis
Quantitative Analysis - Interviews and Website Observations

12. Findings: Use of Social Media
Web 2.0 Tools Currently Being Used
Other
9%
Blogs
LinkedIn 24%
11%
Flickr
6%
Wikis
YouTube 6%
7%
Facebook
Twitter
20%
17%

13. Applications of Social Media Relative to
Mining Issues
Mining Industry Government & Regulators Civil Society
• Industry • Project management • Raising
promotion • Internal information awareness
• Investor relations dissemination • Promoting
• Recruitment • Monitoring events
• Project stakeholders • Recruitment
management • Discussion,
reflection &
protest

14. Challenges
• Culture of communication
• Organizational change
• Human and financial resources
• Determining and measuring value
• Lack of industry leadership
• Unrecognized and unproven
• Contextualization of information
• Management of audience expectations

15. Perceived Risks
• Communication technology changes
• Information co-optation/ manipulation
• Exposure to critics Privacy concerns
• Cannot replace face-to-face
• Legal ramifications
• No exit

16. Benefits
• Increased dialogue and collaboration / Diminishing silos
• Flexible platforms
• Facilitate building and strengthening relationships
• Outreach to larger audiences
• Opportunity to tell “good news” stories & influence
reputation

• Monitoring community sentiment

17. Indicators of Success
• Community
– Growth & distribution community and networks
• Engagement
– Response to efforts on platforms (conversations)
– Time spent on sites
• Influence
– Share of conversation
– Sentiment - positive, negative

18. InfoMine’s Continuous Conferences
• Ongoing conferencing - sharing,
collaborating & networking
• Flexible platforms
• Contributors accountable
• Strengthening relationships of
technical community

19. Strategies
Three approaches:
1. Full integration
• Active site, policies, & dedicated resources
2. No integration
• No application of social media
• Monitoring, but no impact on decisions
3. Partial integration
• “We are just dipping our toes in the social media water.”
• Trial & error approach

20. Recommendations
• Develop Strategy
• Set objectives
• Identify opportunities and challenges
• Be flexible
• Determine scope and scale
• Develop indicators
Listen Understand
Engage

21. Conclusions
• Moderate application in the mining industry
• Need to overcome perceived risks
• Not a replacement for face-to-face
• Leadership required
Source: edgewatertech.files.wordpress.com

22. Information Society and the Mining
Industry
The network economy is founded on technology,
but it can only be built on relationships. It starts
with chips and ends with trust.
Kevin Kelly - Wired Magazine