TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – In a world where mining companies are having to increasingly turn to remote and undeveloped areas for resources, community relations can make or break a project.

Hong Kong-based consultancy Allan & Associates warned in a paper this week a single ignored incident could snowball into a major problem for a mining firm, far more likely to hamper and even halt an extractive or infrastructure project than conventional security or criminal threats.

It dubbed this the "pig in the road effect", where something perceived to be a minor event is ignored by a company, for example, an employee knocking down a pig belonging to the local community with her/his car.

Nothing is done to remedy the situation, which then escalates to a catalyst that mobilises opposition from within the community or among an external group or organisation to the project.

"Paradoxically, it may be the seemingly insignificant nature of such an incident that prevents it being reported and passed up the on-site command chain, transforming a readily mitigated accident into a far more complex situation," Allan & Associates said.

Companies needed to pay attention to building schools and hospitals in communities surrounding their projects, but even doing this could result in unintended consequences, the consultancy said.

Case in point: building schools could undermine the authority and status of faith-based groups that had traditionally filled this role. Health provision could expose local political networks to criticism as well as create a level expectation that may be difficult to maintain.

"The ‘soft' threat to operational continuity becomes as serious, if not more so, than the direct physical threat posed by violent political or criminal groups," said Allan & Associates.

"A military presence, armed guards, well-lit fences and elaborate movement controls offer no protection against this threat as the moment for mitigation will have passed."

Edited by: Creamer Media Reporter