Wednesday, 20 October, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Organizer: Richard Smith

Speaker: Barbara A. Filas, Geovic Mining Corp.

Topic: Broad Community Support: The Global Standard for Industry Best Practice

Broad community support is a benchmark for assessing whether or not a technically viable project will successfully move forward. This presentation will provide background into some of the global initiatives that normally oblige such support, and will also address the business case for gaining broad community support for projects in the extractive industries. The stakeholder engagement process will be discussed, along with some tips for effectively communicating with stakeholders.

Biography: Ms. Filas has more than 25 years experience as a mining engineer on more than 30 major projects on six continents, with expertise in a variety of fields including operations, engineering, social and environmental impact assessment, and regulatory support. Such projects involve a diverse portfolio of commodities including uranium, coal precious metals, and base metals, which has yielded a broad knowledge of global mining and resource markets. Prior to joining Geovic, she was the President of the U.S. business of the global engineering firm Knight Piesold, Ms. Filas served as Project Principal in charge of preparing both the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and the Environmental and Social Action Plan for Geovic's Nkamouna cobalt project in Cameroon, Africa. At Geovic, Ms. Filas has been working to further the progress on the Cameroon operations and has also been involved in other resource projects.