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Mineral projects in the global South have been subjected to increasing opposition, especially from adjacent communities, ultimately forcing some firms to abandon government-permitted and financially viable projects. Consequently, the mining literature has become saturated with prescriptions for firms seeking to engage with impacted communities. This literature is limited in that: it has primarily focused on conflict-ridden situations; the role of context has been largely ignored; and there has been little validation of what works and why. This thesis responds to these limitations through an assessment of the Canadian firm Kinross Gold at Paracatu, Brazil, where company-community relations have seemingly been healthy for years. Kinross has exerted considerable effort to engage with the community through several initiatives. While not all initiatives have been effective, community relations are strong, especially when compared to other foreign-owned mines in Latin America. However, Paracatu also boasts a diversified economy, and positive population and governance characteristics. This research shows that both context and company practice are important in determining company-community relations.

<p> This paper is concerned with developing a methodology for identifying and measuring the dimensions of community opposition to externality-generating public facilities. It critically reviews the traditional modelling approaches to public facility location. The methodology, by which the dimensions of facility impact might be established for incorporation into political decision-making models of facility location, is then proposed. The results of a pilot empirical test of this methodology, using techniques of non-metric Multidimensional Scaling for the analysis of individuals' perception's, indicate the types of dimensions which might be derived from the application of the methodology to questions concerning public facility location. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)