Your trusted source of evidence-based resources for building mining sustainability capability

The Sustainable Mining Community is a public platform that centralises credible information, useful tools and collaborative spaces to help lift environmental, social and governance (ESG) capability across Queensland and Australia’s critical minerals sector. Find out more on the About page. Sustainable Mining Community is an initiative led by AusIMM, in partnership with the Queensland Government.

The platform is open to all stakeholders in the minerals industry including community groups, First Nations representatives, industry leaders, resources professionals and investors.

Sustainability underpins the mining industry’s ongoing viability and ensures that it delivers long-term benefits to the community. A sustainable mining sector enables: 

• ongoing development of mining regions
• investor confidence
• regulatory compliance
• global competitive advantage
• access to premium markets that require traceability and responsible sourcing
• benefits to First Nations groups. 

The pillars of ESG (environmental, social and governance) are a framework that helps the mining industry operate sustainably. It focuses on three areas: protecting the environment, supporting communities, and running businesses responsibly.

The Sustainable Mining Community aims to:

• strengthen sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) knowledge and capability across the sector 
• build a shared understanding of sustainability expectations 
• support development of Queensland and Australia’s critical minerals
• create space for diverse voices, including First Nations perspectives
• enable practical learning through case studies, tools and expert insights.

Ask the Expert allows users to submit sustainability-related questions on topics such as ESG reporting, engagement, decarbonisation, heritage protection and regulatory requirements. Responses come from approved subject-matter experts and are published in an easy to understand way. Please note: the purpose of the Ask the Expert feature is informational only. It is not a platform for commercial promotion, legal advice, or corporate advocacy.

This is a curated calendar maintained by the Sustainable Mining Community that includes:

• Workshops and training sessions
• Community roundtables
• First Nations–led cultural and knowledge-sharing events
• Industry conferences
• Technical masterclasses
• Regional capability-building programs.

Yes. The Sustainable Mining Community encourages:

• case study submissions
• content that features ‘lessons learned’ 
• community perspectives
• First Nations insights
• tools, checklists or templates that others can use. 

Contributions are reviewed to ensure quality and cultural appropriateness. 

Visit the Submit a resource page here to learn more.

ESG stands for environmental, social and governance. It’s more than a checklist; it’s a way of operating that considers how mining affects people, the planet and long-term decision-making.

In practice, this can look like:

• designing projects to avoid or minimise environmental harm
• partnering with communities to share benefits and reduce risks
• building internal accountability through ethical business practices.

Many regulators, investors and community members now expect mining companies to demonstrate ESG performance, not just talk about it. The Sustainable Mining Community offers tools and examples to help navigate those expectations.

Unmanaged ESG risks can lead to:

• loss of community trust and social licence to operate
• project delays or regulatory action
• reputational damage and investor withdrawal.

Examples include unmanaged dust, housing pressure from FIFO workforces, or failure to engage meaningfully with Traditional Owners.

The Sustainable Mining Community includes real-world case studies that show how proactive ESG planning helps avoid these outcomes and deliver shared benefits.

Great question. ESG reports can be dense, but there are simple ways to interpret them:

• look for the key indicators (e.g. emissions, local employment, heritage impacts)
• check if performance is improving over time
• see if there’s third-party verification or community input.

We’re developing explainer content to help make ESG data more digestible. In the meantime, check out our Tools section for plain-language guides and checklists.

Cumulative impacts happen when multiple projects or pressures add up to affect a community or environment. One project alone may be manageable, but when added to others, it can tip the balance. For example:

• several projects competing for the same housing stock
• increased traffic, noise or dust across a region
• pressure on local health and emergency services

A good Social Impact Assessment will identify these layered impacts and propose collaborative solutions. Visit our library to explore cumulative impact frameworks and examples.