Promoting socially responsible mining

On Friday, 20 September 2013, the Kenyan Australian Alumni Association (KAAA), in collaboration with the Kenya Chamber of Mines (KCM), hosted a breakfast at the Nairobi Serena Hotel for Ian Satchwell, Director of the International Mining for Development Centre based in Perth, Australia.

In attendance was the Australian High Commissioner to Kenya, HE Mr Geoff Tooth, Principal Secretary for Mining in Kenya Dr Richard Ekai, Alumni from several Australian universities, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) staff, KCM members, Government of Kenya representatives, the University of Nairobi academic fraternity and the Australia Awards team from Nairobi.

The topic of discussion was ‘The business case for socially responsible mining’, which focused on the social impact of the mining industry and how mining affects communities and governments alike, and what can be done to mitigate some of these effects and benefits. Mr Satchwell spoke about the lack of adequate trained resources in the field in both Australia and Kenya. He urged the government to have an integrated policy on industry, education and training and not just focus on hard infrastructure in order to develop sustainable mining.