Dynapro: Responsibility and Investment in Mining Communities

Q: What is Herencia Minera?

A: Herencia Minera is a program created in conjunction with the Sonoran Mining Cluster to highlight the contributions made by mining companies in the communities they work in. Promoted with the hashtag #HerenciaMinera, the purpose of the program is to encourage the cluster’s member companies to increase their investments and return it back to our communities by promoting the positive effects and results of the investment. By sharing the success stories from these community initiatives, we hope others will want to join and share their stories and contribute as well.  

Q: Who has participated in the program?

A: To date, we have published interviews with Alamos Gold, Argonaut Gold, Cananea Comunidad, Fresnillo, Grupo México, and Vinfidem. The Sonoran Mining Cluster and Dynapro have shared the videos through their networks. Alejandra Alvarez, the content developer behind Herencia Minera at Dynapro, has done an excellent job facilitating and publishing the interviews. Thanks to Alejandra´s commitment to this program, the project has become a reality.

Q: Why did Dynapro want to start Herencia Minera with the Sonoran Mining Cluster?

A: We wanted to share the great stories that help to balance the unfortunate perception of mining companies with their impact on our economy.  Unfortunately, negative environmental impacts and events are often what make the headlines. We want to focus on the positive effect the mining industry has on people’s lives and the well-being of communities. We felt that it was time for someone to step forward and offer a more objective perspective. We will showcase the community work that mining companies initiate and commit to.  We visit these communities on a weekly basis and can see that positive change and impact highly outweigh the negatives.

The Sonoran Mining Cluster is a dynamic group of mining professionals who share their passion for mining and spread positive news to a large network. We are thankful because their platform gives us the opportunity to share our stories.

Q: How do you envision Herencia Minera encouraging more investment back into communities?

A: I believe there are two opportunities that will help drive bigger investments back into communities. The first is to encourage suppliers to get more involved. For the most part, mining companies make the larger investments. Nevertheless, it is important to highlight that suppliers are working and profiting equally from the mines. Herencia Minera would like suppliers to invest as well, and we believe more companies could get involved to increase the overall investment.

The second is by changing the overall perception of mining in general. We do this by showcasing and educating people about mining’s positive impact. We believe we can positively influence public perception. Once the public’s perception has been changed, we believe the mining industry will have greater success and will contribute even more to the community.  We understand this is a very challenging task and are aware of mining’s negative effects. However, we see many more positives than negatives because we are on the frontlines. We want to share our observations with the communities. The launch of #HerenciaMinera has shown us that perceptions can be changed. People say they were unaware of the positive impacts the mining industry has had on the community, but now they realize the benefits that mining provides to the families living there, who on many occasions lacked adequate living conditions.  Imagine trying to live in quarantine with inadequate conditions, no clean water, through a pandemic like Covid-19.

Q: What does the future hold for Herencia Minera?

A: We started Herencia Minera in Sonora and quickly realized we needed to share this initiative and get more people involved, both in Mexico and across the world. The next step for us is to introduce Herencia Minera to the rest of Mexico, the US and Canada. These are the markets where we mainly work and have seen positive results.  From there, we hope other companies and individuals will help us carry the torch, promoting mining companies and the positive changes they bring to communities.   We invite suppliers and stakeholders in the industry to share the positive changes they see mining companies making around the world.