ABSTRACT
The Social License to Operate (SLO) is becoming increasingly prominent in the discourse of the mining sector as a central element of corporate responsibility strategy in order to minimise the risks to business. Recent tragedies in the sector in regard to the rupture of dams challenge the discourse and practice of the SLO strategies in contexts of social vulnerability. The imbalance of power between companies and the community, coupled with the strong economic dependence of the region, favour a process in which companies guarantee acceptance of the mining project while the environmental and social risks to the community are hidden. Faced with this scenario, research advocates the integration of Social Impact Assessment (SIA) in SLO strategies in order to mitigate negative impacts and expand the benefits of mineral projects. Based on a constructivist approach, the perception of the affected communities in how they understand and experience these impacts is valued in order to guide them and provide mitigating and compensatory measures. Here we present a conceptual model that incorporates the contribution of SIA to an effective SLO process in contexts of social vulnerability, with special emphasis on the importance of establishing participatory processes.
