A report commissioned by the council from the Australian Centre for Corporate and Social Responsibility has found the community has a generally negative view of the industry and that the cumulative effects of the explosive growth in open-cut mining haven't been well addressed.

Many would say that this is old news, but to be fair, many of the issues addressed in the latest report haven't been closely studied before.

For example, the study recognises the negative health effects on people whose properties are affected by mining proposals but who aren't able to sell without suffering major loss because of potentially long-term uncertainty about the eventual impact of the planned mining.

It also acknowledges that the planning and approval process for new mines has come to be perceived as opaque and not readily open to community input.

Other concerns are more predictable. Dust pollution and its potential health effects, loss of water resources and reduction of water quality and visual impacts on the landscape are among the most obvious community complaints.

Even coal's harshest critics admit the industry's economic benefits, with the proviso that not enough appears to be done to help ensure more of these benefits might outlast the coal resource itself.

Having opened a vital conversation with the Hunter communities affected by mining, the industry is now confronted with the challenge of taking meaningful action.

Responsibility for that rests not only with the industry, but also with the government agencies charged with regulating coalmining. And perhaps most importantly, it rests with the affected communities themselves.

The Minerals Council's Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue aims to make community members better informed about the issues driving the industry's growth.

If this succeeds then the next step - soliciting help and advice from the community about how to meet industry needs without unnecessary social and environmental dislocation and about where lines must sometimes be drawn - will be much easier to achieve.