In recent history, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become synonymous with large business organizations' philanthropic contributions to society. Obviously in the mining industry, because of the nature of its activities in affecting both environment and people, the demand for this voluntary activity from multinational mining companies (MNMCs) by society has become inevitable. This function of CSR had been achieved through the utilization of community engagement discourse with external communities. The main purpose, amongst others, of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of Papua New Guinea (PNG) Ok Tedi mine's community engagement discourse in responding to local community development demands in compensation for adverse environmental impact in its riverine area. It will highlight the critical signifi cance of community engagement discourse as a prime mover in facilitating the achievement of corporate social responsible development projects or lack of it pertaining to a group of mine-affected riverine local community in PNG.

This paper examines how one indigenous community in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG) views the social responsibility initiatives of OK Tedi Mining Ltd (OTML). This mining operation has been controversial since its inception, and various operators of the mine have sought to engage the community and to undertake a number of CSR-related projects. Insights gained from four focus groups amongst the Ok Tedi River indigenous communities show that while some members of the community are satisfied with the company’s efforts at the macro level, many have reservations about the effectiveness of the programs at the micro level on the village and family unit. The implementation of CSR activities are slow and in many instances do not effectively address stakeholder concerns.