Mansfield Minera's Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

"This document reports the results of a field study that was conducted October 11-15, 2011. After a description of the context (company, area, and social and environmental factors) and of the field observations, the results are discussed in terms of relationships at play and of the degree of alignment between the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) "Principles and Guidance" of "e3Plus, Framework for Responsible Exploration" and Mansfield Minera's CSR practices. Relationships are a core competency of Mansfield Minera. From the very beginning of its operation it created company-wide awareness of CSR and its importance and made a conscious decision to embrace CSR in its operations. Mansfield Minera applied its core competency of building and maintaining relationships throughout the CSR implementation process, using an informal approach. This appears to be a natural extension of the company's internal value system to its interactions with the society of which it forms part. Mansfield Minera's approach aligns remarkably well with the e3Plus Principles described in the PDAC's "Principles and Guidance" booklet. Mansfield Minera's experience shows that it is possible for small companies to design and implement a CSR strategy without going broke when the following key ingredients are in place: leadership and values of principals and management; time and patience; natural talent of key players; management style; and rootedness in the region. Of these, only time may be an insurmountable barrier for many exploration companies. However, this may change if investor attention being paid to community relations keeps increasing at its current rate."