Clicks In A Crisis: Analyzing Newmont Ahafo South’s Digital Strategy For ESG Communication In Ghana’s Mining Sector

Abstract

The increasing centrality of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards in global extractive industries has accelerated the need for strategic digital communication, particularly in developing-country contexts where mining operations significantly influence environmental systems, community welfare, and economic stability. This study examines how Newmont Ahafo South Mine in Ghana employs digital communication strategies to manage ESG-related crises, focusing on employee perspectives as a lens into organizational capabilities, constraints, and implementation realities. Guided by a qualitative case study design, the research integrates three complementary data sources: netnographic analysis of 450 digital posts across Facebook, Twitter/X, corporate websites, and online news outlets (2018-2024); semi-structured interviews with ten employees representing communications, community relations, environment, operations, and management; and media monitoring of crisis-related reportage (2018-2024). This triangulated approach enabled in-depth understanding of communication patterns, internal workflows, crisis response dynamics, and platform-specific affordances. Findings reveal that Newmont's digital crisis communication strategy is multi-platform, adaptive, and sophisticated, yet effectiveness is highly conditional. Employees emphasized that email and SMS remain most reliable for internal and community-level communication, while Facebook and the corporate website serve as authoritative spaces for external updates and reputational signaling. However, substantial challenges emerged including resource limitations (only two full-time communications staff managing multiple platforms), lengthy approval hierarchies slowing crisis responses, digital divides affecting rural stakeholders, and absence of formalized digital communication protocols. Analysis demonstrates that digital crisis communication intertwines with key theoretical constructs. Stakeholder theory manifests in differentiated platform strategies, though digitally marginalized groups face persistent access barriers. Legitimacy theory emerges as communication preserves trust and demonstrates accountability, yet employees note communication cannot compensate for operational grievances. Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) implementation proves inconsistent due to legal and hierarchical constraints, while agenda-setting efforts face challenges from Ghana's polyvocal digital environment where activists, community groups, and media shape competing narratives. The study concludes that effective ESG crisis communication requires not only strategic digital messaging but also organizational capacity, inter-departmental alignment, and substantive operational performance. Recommendations include increased investment in communication infrastructure, formalization of digital crisis protocols, proactive stakeholder engagement, and integrated communication combining digital and traditional channels to bridge digital access gaps. These insights contribute to scholarly discourse on ESG communication in developing-country mining contexts while offering practical guidance for strengthening digital crisis response systems.