There are countervailing trends in the mining industry. More and more companies have adopted corporate policy to improve social performance but seemingly never before has mining been more contested by local communities. The concept of social licence to operate has highlighted the importance for the mining industry of being responsive to community voices. However, there is a risk that if the language of corporate social responsibility, social licence to operate and sustainable development are not matched with innovation in practice and meaningful avenues for community to influence projects that these concepts will fall short of their potential.