From Compliance To Legacy: Mine Closure, Risk Management, And Social Transitions In Mining Territories. A Comparative Analysis Of Experiences In Peru And Colombia D. Méndez del Aguila1 , A. Gonzales 2 Insuco, Peru (Presenting author: diana.mendez@insuco.com) Abstract Mine closure represents a turning point in territories whose history and economy have been linked to extractive activity. Evidence shows that these processes generate complex impacts that deepen inequalities and economic dependencies (Bainton & Holcombe, 2018), but can also become virtuous transitions. From the perspective of Social Performance (ICMM, 2022), the definitive closure of a mining operation should not be understood as a final milestone, but rather as a long-term process that begins in the early stages and represents a social and economic transition in which leadership, expectations, power relations, and visions of the future in the territories are reconfigured. The global energy transition, with coal mines closing and increased extraction of critical minerals, highlights the urgency of innovative and inclusive closure plans that promote just social transition processes. Mine closure is seen as an opportunity for sustainability, territorial governance, and a positive legacy, rather than a source of conflict and vulnerability. In this scenario, Latin America plays a strategic role due to its production of critical minerals and coal, as well as the social and economic challenges faced by territories with mining activity: high economic dependence, weak institutions, conflict, and illegal economies. This positions it as a laboratory for innovation and learning in closure processes and just social transition. Based on case studies in Peru and Colombia, Insuco proposes a strategic social management model that seeks to establish closure and social transition plans that: i. are defined from the early stages of the mining cycle; ii. transcend technical and regulatory obligations to propose a strategic vision of the legacy, anticipating risks, managing impacts and opportunities, and strengthening territorial capacities that promote the transition to a new stage with autonomy, resilience, and relationships of trust; iii. reduce economic and social dependence, proposing corporate social management articulated with the territory's development and governance agenda; and iv. ensure the meaningful participation of local actors through multi-stakeholder dialogue and the generation of evidence on economic, social, and institutional transformations generated in the closure process in the territory. Keywords Mine closure, territorial transition, just energy transition, post-extractive development, territorial governance, socio-economic dependencies, stakeholder participation. 114
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