The role of benefit sharing agreements in mine closure: a golden opportunity or a square peg for a round hole?

As the mining industry rises to the challenge of a pending onslaught of mine closures, increasing attention is being focussed on the social aspects of mine closure and how best these can be managed. Historically, mine affected communities have had limited agency in the closure process, and the track record for positive social outcomes post mine closure is poor. As a tool which has been widely adopted by the mining industry, in part at least to rebalance the power dynamic between companies and communities, there is a growing expectation that such agreements should be better utilised in the closure period. This paper assesses how the positive attributes typically ascribed to benefit sharing agreements could be utilised at the time of closure. Experience to date highlights a significant gap between the expectation that benefit sharing agreements cover the full lifecycle of mining and the extent to which closure is substantively addressed in existing agreements. Rather than simply calling for this gap to be addressed, the analysis suggests that, unmodified, benefit sharing agreements negotiated years in advance of mine closure are not necessarily well placed to deliver the agency communities anticipating a social transition deserve or the clarity of objective companies seek. While there are opportunities for modifications to better align benefit sharing agreements with the challenges associated with mine closure, further research is needed on this topic and expectations of what benefit sharing agreements can deliver in their current form in the mine closure space need to be tempered.