Akers, and three co-authors, reported in Journal of Mining Engineering in later October, 2022 that to understand why some Americans view mining with trepidation, the historical context must be established as a framework for interpretation and public relations (PR) improvement. The authors claim that culture is impacted by nature, from the food we eat to the minerals we mine (Rogers and Steinfatt, 1999), and this mutual connection is termed nature culture (Okrusch, 2010). The nature culture that developed around mining relies on the historical image of the industry, which reinforces the misperception that mining and environmental stewardship are mutually exclusive. PR in modern mining struggles to present the new standard of mining and show the public why mining is essential. The vast mineral demand that mining strives to meet for each American (Minerals Education Coalition (MEC), 2020), but this demand has been overshadowed by mining's environmental history.
The mining industry has changed both technologically and culturally. These changes have been slow, which encourages many to continue viewing mining and environmental consciousness as mutually exclusive. This popular perception of mining turns modern mining engineers into marginalized persons, which increases the difficulty of effective communication since the marginalized person lies· outside of his/ her adjacent culture groups (Ellemers and Jetten, 2012; Rogers and Steinfatt, 1999). This controversial dynamic will be analyzed through two case studies in this article: Pebble Mine, owned by Northern Dynasty Minerals (NDM), and Black Butte, owned by Sandfire Resources America Inc. (SRA).
Pebble has, to date, failed in all of its attempts to become permitted due to concern for the water and the fish. Black Butte dealt with the same problems, on a smaller scale, but was able to become permitted. These two mines will be discussed in detail including local history, mine setting, mining history in America, prevalent culture groups, technology development and intercultural communication competence (ICC). The mining industry needs to evaluate its ICC skills since ICC directly determines the effectiveness of PR. Based on Barna's Stumbling Blocks for intercultural communication, method suggested in the hope of easing the permitting process for future mines by developing ICC.
The authors concluded that high anxiety. Fear and stress contribute to creating a high anxiety environment (Barna, 1994). These are more likely to appear when there is conflict (Barna, 1994), and since mines are controversial projects, high anxiety inevitably envelopes the surrounding interculture communication. Mining is perceived fearfully by the public, and each group protesting Pebble and Black Butte's development is united in fear and anger at the potential risks, but with the historical face of mining, is it any wonder that people fear this industry? There would be no need to rally to "Save Our Smith" or "Stop Pebble Mine" if there was not a prevalent fear of everything that could go wrong. This social and environmental anxiety seeps into the individual lives of others and continues to negatively impact attempts at PR from the industry.
[So, where are the references in this article? Without having the references cited in this article, there is no way to check on the author's verasity. Therefore, the article, without such, is useless to the people who woulfd like to be informed]
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