Corporate social responsibility: A unifying discourse for the Mining Industry?

The public perception of mining as an economic activity that generates harmful environmental impacts has generated both a corporate discourse of social responsibility (CSR) to legitimise mining activities and also anti-mining discourses. Both discourses use science to support their claims, yet they rarely agree on a scientific solution. The concept of discourse community may help us to understand the disconnect between mining companies and stakeholders. It is unclear whether the discourse of corporate social responsibility will improve understanding among stakeholders and lead to mutually acceptable resolutions to conflict