4: Company perceptions of FPIC
This project focuses on FPIC and corporations by considering the policy and practice of four
London-listed (FTSE 100) companies: BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Xstrata. They
are among the world’s seven largest (by market capitalization) mining companies,140 and each has
either a significant or growing number of projects directly affecting indigenous peoples. As industry
leaders, their policies and practices are influential outside of their own portfolios. The four are also all
members of the ICMM. Business units, subsidiaries and companies belonging to these four majors
which are included in the scope of the project include De Beers Canada, which is 80% owned by
Anglo American; Groote Eylandt Mining Company Pty Ltd (GEMCO), which is 60% owned by BHP
Billiton plc, and under its management control, and 40% owned by Anglo American;141 and Energy
Resources Australia (ERA), which is 68.4 per cent owned by Rio Tinto.
In addition to these four major mining companies and their three subsidiaries, a Canadian junior
mining company, Inmet, which is attempting to establish a copper mine in the lands occupied by the
Ngobe people in Panama, was included in the research, on the grounds that it was cited in company
interviews and ICMM documentation as a possible example of good practice in relation to consent
seeking in the context of relocation.
Interview Scope
Interviews were held with the above mentioned companies with the objective of clarifying concerns
and perspectives in relation to the principle of FPIC and its operationalization. The issues raised
in the interviews can be divided into two broad categories. The first relates to FPIC in corporate
policy and the drivers for its future inclusion. The second relates to the operationalization of FPIC in
practice and addresses corporate perspectives on definitional ambiguities as well as challenges to
and potential mechanisms towards its operationalization. The interviews sought to focus on tangible
examples where these challenges were encountered as well as practices which the companies
regarded as facilitative of FPIC operationalization.
Ngöbé community at the headwaters of the Caimito River, Donoso Province, Panama.
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Making Free, Prior and Informed Consent a Reality