Mining Developments and Social Impacts on Communities: Bowen Basin Case Studies

Abstract

Mining activities in Australia tend to be cyclical, with boom and bust times impacting upon associated communities. However, little information exists to classify key impacts or to identify how they vary across mining service towns. In this paper, qualitative social impact assessment techniques have been used to independently assess post-development impacts of mining on six communities in the Bowen Basin in Queensland, following the boom in coal prices between 2003 and 2008. The communities are similar in that they all have at least one mine in the vicinity and have more male than female residents but they differ in town histories, and the size plus growth rate of both their permanent and temporary populations. While the mining boom has been generating social and economic impacts, the pattern of the impacts appears to vary across communities depending on the size of the impact, community structure and history, and the extent to which a non-resident workforce is involved.