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Building on previous collaborations, City Science is developing MineScope, a community-engagement platform for the mining industry. The prototype uses the controversial Dominga project (a proposed iron and copper mine in Coquimbo, Chile by Andes-iron) as an exploratory research test site.
Dominga was selected because its environmental review process and public debate have generated extensive technical, environmental, and social documentation. The work is intended solely to test and illustrate MineScope’s potential, and does not constitute an assessment, endorsement, or redesign of the project.
The platform integrates spatial layers and publicly available technical, environmental, and social information to develop a contextual understanding of the project area. It identifies a range of community perspectives (including supportive, opposed, and conditional positions) rather than representing the community as a single viewpoint. Since we are using synthetic data, any generated community profiles are clearly labelled as “synthetic—not surveyed residents”.
The platform visualizes potential exposure across nearby settlements and identifies possible community benefits associated with different project scenarios. Since we are using synthetic data, all outputs are clearly labelled as illustrative simulations and distinguish between existing infrastructure and proposed improvements.
The platform enables comparison of three alternative locations for the mine’s tailings deposit, based on available project documentation and spatial data. Users can select each location through the interactive map, updating the corresponding site-performance and stakeholder-balance indicators. Exploratory alternatives are clearly distinguished from the documented project location.