The need for transparent communication in mining: a case study in lithium exploitation

ABSTRACT

Society’s progress and living standards depend on the exploitation of raw materials. For centuries, its exploitation had kept pace with humanity’s demand. Lithium is a critical element, essential to the development of green technologies, to decarbonization process, and for our daily life. In Portugal, there are high-quality Lithium deposits, with the Barroso-Alvão region holding a significant one. In this region, the mining possibility raises communities’ societal concerns. Although exploitation is a needed asset for geoscientists, communities present a contrary position. Then, what is the reason for this conflict? A questionnaire was conducted amongst inhabitants (N = 61) from two communities to determine their perceptions concerning the transparency of communication by the specialists, media, and exploitation companies. The results revealed insufficient clearness leading to the population’s disapproval. Geoethical dilemmas were raised such as the need for reliable communication and the geoscientists’ role in informed consent. Underlying to geosciences education and communication, citizens’ engagement activities are required for the forming of accurate opinions about the demand for georesources.

KEYWORDS:

• Case study
• earth sciences communication
• ethics
• public awareness

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by: (i) the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme innovation programme under grant agreement n°869274 – Project GREENPEG: New Exploration Tools for European Pegmatite Green-Tech Resources: ii) the Strategic Funding (ref. UIDB/04423/2020 and ref. UIDP/04423/2020), through national funds provided by the Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research, and Technology Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).