Mining Governance Research Articles

Socio-environmental perceptions and barriers to conservation engagement among artisanal small-scale gold mining communities in Southeastern Peru

Artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) poses threats to biodiversity and to the health and well-being of human communities. However, ASGM also economically supports several populations from lower social-economic backgrounds, especially in the Global South. In Madre de Dios (MDD), Peru, ASGM is the most significant economic activity, involving several stakeholders form different levels of governance. To protect this area’s forests and aquatic systems from further degradation, it is necessary to understand the socio-economic background and the impediments to mining formalization, as well as the local perceptions and willingness to engage in conservation. In this study, we aimed to establish the drivers of and barriers to participation in environmental conservation among communities in MDD, which economically rely on ASGM. Using a mixed method approach, we surveyed 85 households in six communities in the MDD gold corridor. Half of participants were cognizant of the effects of ASGM and concerned about deforestation and local decreases in fish and wildlife abundance, declaring willingness to take part in environmental conservation. Native participants in particular expressed concern about land degradation and the action of immigrants. However, several participants reported feeling alienated by government institutions and raised doubts about the intentions of non-governmental conservation organizations, and the purpose of protected areas. Participants in general felt that ASGM-related policies were not realistic and bureaucratic barriers were raised to prevent formalization. Our findings suggest that current policies and communication strategies may hinder efforts to transform relatively prevalent pro-environmental attitudes into matching behaviors, including participation in conservation initiatives. To achieve this goal, more efficient communication and more active involvement of local stakeholders in mining governance and conservation planning are necessary.

The Environmental Compensation Fund: Bridging Liability Gaps in the Deep Seabed Mining Regime

The current transition period from exploration to exploitation in deep seabed mining (DSM) has witnessed efforts on the part of the international community to draft regulations for the exploitation of mineral resources in the Area. The production of the “Draft Exploitation Regulations” has been a priority theme in recent International Seabed Authority (ISA) sessions. Although discussion in reducing environmental impacts has been central to the progressive instrument, some liability gaps and approaches to close such gaps have not come up with desirable solutions. Against this background, the paper underscores the need for an Environmental Compensation Fund (the Fund) to bridge these gaps under the DSM regime. The paper argues that the three provisions about the Fund envisaged in the Draft Exploitation Regulations fall short of adequate deliberation and operational details. To bridge up the liability gaps, some critical issues in operating the Fund need to be carefully considered regarding the establishment, purpose, contributions, and claims for compensation. The paper suggests that the ISA may take the key elements of existing compensation funds, inter alia, the IOPC Funds to improve the operation and function of this Fund.

Industrias extractivas y desarrollo sostenible en América Latina: ¿oxímoron o nuevo imaginario desarrollista?

The objective of this article is to analyze the debate on the relationship between extractive industries and sustainable development during the last cycle of privatization-nationalization of mining governance in Latin America (1990-2015) and, particularly, during the international mining boom of 2000-2013 and its resumption after 2014. The two elements of the study (extractive industries and sustainable development) actually correspond to large-scale mining and “green” economic growth. In the new bearish price moment of the 2010s last five years, the extractive industries are trying to rehabilitate themselves as support of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and as a relevant factor in the recovery of less carbon-intensive economic growth, especially after the devastating effect of the COVD-19 pandemic. The working hypothesis is that, despite the efforts made to improve the reputation of the sector since the end of the 20th century, the relationship between extractive industries and sustainable development is increasingly problematic, as large-scale mining (and the substitution process internal from fossil fuels to metallic minerals that the energy transition will require) significantly affects natural capital that cannot be substituted, thus helping to cross several planetary boundaries.

Indigenous resistance to mining in post-conflict Colombia

Indigenous peoples’ relationship with mining involves tensions and conflicts that intensify in armed conflict and post-conflict environments. Studies of the intersection between mining, armed conflict and post-conflict peacebuilding portray Indigenous people as passive recipients post-conflict natural resource governance interventions. This paper challenges that perspective by demonstrating the active, highly organised and complex roles Indigenous people play in mineral resource governance in a post-agreement environment. Despite Colombian government interest in positioning high value mineral resource extraction as a platform for prosperity and peace, illegal gold mining has become a central source of finance for violent armed groups, and legal mining has been linked to threats to Indigenous rights. Many Indigenous communities in Colombia oppose mining. This paper examines Indigenous participation in natural resource governance concentrating on the resistance to certain forms of mining by the Nasa Indigenous people of North Cauca. It is based on an interpretative, layered ethnographic case study comprising archival research, interviews, and participant observation across various Nasa organisational and territorial domains. I find that the Nasa build on their strong moral and institutional frameworks for resistance to structure and implement a response to mining. I illustrate the Nasa's determinant role in post-conflict mining governance, as well as the moral tensions and dilemmas, and the risks the Nasa face in responding to mining in a violent context.

Editor's letter

This first volume of Latin American Policy for 2021 includes eight academic articles and four perspective essays. The articles cover issues ranging from mining governance to social, criminal, and fiscal policies. Paúl Cisneros opens with a study on the design, dynamics, and outcomes of mining policies in Colombia and Ecuador. Chong-Sup Kim and Seungho Lee then offer a general analysis of corruption in Latin America. They argue that there is a link between natural resources and corruption that is mediated by the workings of a social contract. Jonathan Matusitz and Demi Simi examine the role of U.S. government deception in the handling of the anti-Castro terrorist Luis Posada. They use theory to explain how U.S. federal employees propagated falsehoods and deception for political gain. Nicolás Didier focuses on the relationship between higher education enrollment and the gender wage gap in Chile, concluding that credentials have a differential effect across genders, which can be interpreted as a systematic bias toward “human capital pricings.” Helder Ferreira do Vale proposes a theoretical framework to analyze conditional cash-transfer programs that are the result of a process of social policy innovation in Brazil. His study concludes that Brazil's Bolsa Família and Bolsa Verde show the trajectory of social-assistance development as outcomes of institutional dynamics that attempted to foster social investment and to reduce risks. Jonathan D. Rosen examines tough-on-crime strategies in El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico, finding that fear is a key factor that influences support for mano dura policies. Next, Sylvia Gonzalez-Gorman analyzes the implications of the border wall on economic integration between Mexico and the United States and explores whether it undermines Mexico's goal of economic integration. Finally, Vladimir Hlasny assesses how to redistribute fiscal instruments in Mexico from 2010 to 2014, to ascertain what deficits exist in reporting income and determining tax distribution. He concludes, among other things, that in-kind transfers, cash-like transfers, and direct taxes have the strongest equalizing effects. In the Perspectives section, we have included four compelling essays on current topics. Detlef Nolte, who was the director of the Institute for Latin American Studies (2006–2018) with the famous think tank German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), offers a general overview of the ups and downs of Latin American regionalism. Meanwhile, José Briceño-Ruiz, Thomas Legler, and Juan Pablo Prado Lallande explore the evolution of the Pacific Alliance ten years after its creation. The two final essays consider a hot topic that is very controversial in Mexico, where the federal government stepped back from the major energy reforms implemented in the country in 2013 and 2014. Sergio M. Alcocer, the president of the Mexican Council on Foreign Affairs, a famous think tank, analyzes the repercussions for Mexico’s power industry of the most recent changes in the electricity legislation undertaken by the government. Meanwhile, Feng Zhou, Qiong Tang, and Changchun Zhou, from the Chinese non-governmental organization Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO), reflect on the most recent power outage suffered in the northern part of the country, when Texas gas pipelines froze and natural gas exports to Mexico were halted. Isidro Morales, editor in chief, is affiliated with the School of Social Sciences and Government at Tecnológico de Monterrey, and is an external fellow of the Mexico–United States Center and the Energy Center at Rice University’s Baker Institute.

E-GOVERNMENT IN OPTIMIZING NON-TAX REVENUE OF THE MINING SECTOR IN INDONESIA

This research purpose to analyze the strategic and technical to encourage the potential of Regional Contribution of Non-Tax State Revenues (PNBP) of the mining sector is still not optimal in Indonesia given the existing number of inhibiting factors, such as corruption loophole, non-compliance, and inefficiency throughout the mining cycle. Whereas, several demands have raised by the community in mining governance, such as better government services, the need for flexibility and accuracy in formulating policies, and the need for improving the information technology of the PNBP management system. Based on the literature review using centralization and decentralization theory, two conclusions are produced. First, PNBP governance in the mining sector has not implemented e-government in integrating the central government, regional/local governments, Mining Business Permit holders, and competence stakeholders. Second, the e-government implementation should reflect public participation, transparency, and accountability at every stage of mining activities in overcoming the supervision weaknesses and the existing regulatory gaps that have caused the non-optimal of PNBP of the mining sector.

Beyond victimisation: Gendered legacies of mining, participation, and resistance

Mining developments, corporate-community conflict, and participatory community development programs can have diverse gendered impacts on people affected by mining. Thus, changing gendered relations are amongst the social, economic, and political legacies of mining. Despite growing literature on the gendered impacts of mining, little explains how and why particular developments produce divergent legacies. This paper builds on feminist understandings of primitive accumulation and social reproduction theory to understand the rapid economic, social and political change that reconfigures gendered relations between and within groups of men and women. Drawing on research across three case studies in Indonesia, I argue that while mining developments can disproportionately disadvantage women, resistance work and participation in corporate social responsibility programs (CSR) may be empowering. This paper thus moves beyond the ‘women-as-victims’ approach to uncover the social, economic, and political foundations of inequality that may be disrupted or reinforced by mining, participation and resistance. The implications of this for mining governance policy, CSR and NGOs are that gendered legacies of mining depend on how resistance or participation create opportunities to overcome structural inequalities exacerbated by mining.

Customary governance of artisanal and small-scale mining in Guinea: Social and environmental practices and outcomes⋆

In Guinea, attempts are underway by international donors, development practitioners, and the national government to bring artisanal and small-scale diamond mining in line with a formal regulation and parcel allocation system. This formalization initiative in Guinea—along with similar reforms aimed at land tenure regularization across Africa—attempt to superimpose modern legal institutions onto community institutions. Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in Guinea’s Forécariah and Kindia regions is currently governed by customary governance structures and deeply rooted customary institutions for land and property rights management. Thus far, formal structures have failed to replace or integrate with customary institutions. Identifying how to achieve complementarity between informal and formal systems that are defined by deep cultural and structural tensions requires a solid understanding of customary institutions (Ensminger, 1997). This paper analyzes social and environmental practices and ASM outcomes in an area with a history of strong informal customary governance. The study has three research objectives. First, the study seeks to provide a deeper understanding of the customary institutions and systems governing ASM in Guinea’s Forécariah and Kindia regions. Second, the paper draws on empirical analysis of village level quantitative and qualitative data to identify whether and how customary governance and institutional factors affect social and environmental outcomes in the context of ASM. Based on these findings, the paper closes with concrete policy recommendations for promoting greater complementarity between the formal and informal systems. Given the scale and scope of quantitative and qualitative data sources applied to the analysis, this study utilizes the most comprehensive empirical data to-date on ASM in a customary context. As such, this paper presents a unique contribution to the literature around customary governance, resource contestations, and land governance for mining communities and the ASM sector in sub-Saharan Africa.

Оптимізація нормативної та інституціональної бази функціонування індустріальних парків в умовах децентралізації

The focus of the article is on the normative and institutional approach to optimizing the further functioning of industrial parks in Ukraine, namely: the need for systemic changes in the innovation and investment sphere to increase GDP growth per capita. The analysis of influence of industrial parks on macroeconomic indicators of a number of countries, and also, stimuli and dynamics of development of industrial parks in national economies of the world is carried out. Automation and maximum normative and institutional simplification of procedures in the creation and operation of industrial parks of foreign countries are stated. Emphasis is placed on the effectiveness of policies to prevent financial abuse in the procedures of state support for industrial parks, as well as the relevant factors enshrined in the legislation of some countries. The analysis of indicators of deindustrialization of the Ukrainian industry simultaneously with sharp "investment hunger" of economy of Ukraine which provokes unemployment, preserves poverty of the population, slows down industrial reconstruction is executed. The list of factors that complicate the implementation of industrial parks is systematized. The state of the regulatory framework for the functioning of industrial parks is analyzed, the presence of a number of draft laws aimed at restarting the idea of ​​creating and maintaining industrial parks is stated. Arguments of significant influence of industrial parks on the development of regional infrastructure and economy are given. It is stated that for many regions the development of industrial parks can be a salvation from repression. The criteria of expediency of their creation and efficiency of work in the regions are systematized. Emphasis is placed on the need to pay attention to regions in need of economic diversification, in particular the old coal regions, which fall under the government's mine closure program. As a concrete example, the analysis of the prospects of economic development of Donetsk region in the framework of the implementation of the Concept of economic development of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in December 2020. An analysis of the latest strategic documents, in particular, the approved Development Strategy of Donetsk and Luhansk regions for the period up to 2030, given the comprehensive analysis, provided proposals for optimizing the regulatory and institutional framework for the formation and effective operation of industrial parks in Ukraine.

Improving the Efficiency of Using Hydraulic Reverse Shovel Excavators on Inclined and Steeply Dipping Fields by Controlling the Overburden Rate

The economic efficiency of open-pit mining is largely determined by the choice of a rational mining regime, which is associated with the problem of averaging the operational overburden rate over periods. At the same time, the authors do not always give recommendations when averaging the operational rates of overburden and the implementation of the selected mode of open-pit mining in practice, most often associated with determining the changing width of the working site throughout its entire existence. The article describes a method for controlling the operational overburden rate when using hydraulic reverse shovel excavators using elements of mathematical modeling of averaging the operational overburden rate, which provides high accuracy of the results and eliminates the influence of the human factor on their calculation.

Recognition of ecosystem-based management principles in key documents of the seabed mining regime: implications and further recommendations

Abstract New human uses on the marine environment, such as deep-sea mining (DSM), have necessitated the adoption of more holistic approaches such as ecosystem-based management (EBM) to secure sustainable development. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the rules, regulations, and procedures adopted by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) represent the main regulatory framework to govern DSM activities. This study aimed to examine whether UNCLOS and ISA documents include references to EBM principles, and if these references vary in documents through time. Following a literature review, 26 EBM principles were collated into 8 general categories, and their adherence to 5 key documents related to the DSM regime was analysed. Results demonstrated a trend in recognizing EBM principles in documents over time, especially in the Draft Regulations for Exploitation. However, the mere recognition of EBM principles in the regulatory framework does not guarantee that the approach will be clearly understood and appropriately incorporated by contractors throughout the process. For such, further clarification on the meaning of the Ecosystem Approach in the DSM context and building the capacity of the ISA Legal and Technical Commission are among the recommendations presented by this study.

Governing deep sea mining in the face of uncertainty

Progress towards deep sea mining (DSM) is driven by projected demands for metals and the desire for economic development. DSM remains controversial, with some political leaders calling for a moratorium on DSM pending further research into its impacts. This paper highlights the need for governance architectures that are tailored to DSM. We conceptualise DSM as a type of complex orebody, which encompasses the breadth of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks that make a mineral source complex. Applying a spatial overlay approach, we show that there are significant data gaps in understanding the ESG risks of DSM. Such uncertainties are compounded by fact that there are no extant commercial DSM projects to function as a precedent – either in terms of project design, or the impacts of design on environment and people. Examining the legislation of the Cook Islands and International Seabed Authority, we demonstrate how regulators are defaulting to terrestrial mining governance architectures, which cannot be meaningfully implemented until a fuller understanding of the ESG risk landscape is developed. We argue that DSM be approached as a distinct extractive industry type, and governed with its unique features in frame.

Underground Multiculturalism: Contentious Cultural Politics in Gold-Mining Regions in Chocó, Colombia

AbstractThis article maps the contentious forms of political life that emerge when multicultural rights and non-formal gold extraction coincide. Specifically, it shows how, in the Colombian department of Chocó, Afro-descendant community councils have produced a unique form of mining governance that, while depending for its legitimacy on everyday uses of Afro-Colombian legislation, consists of the organisation, taxation and policing of mining activities that are in tension with official notions of extractive and multicultural law. In exploring such ‘underground’ cultural politics, the article highlights the limits of state-centric analyses of ‘neoliberal multiculturalism’ and, accordingly, underscores the instrumental role that governed subjects play in the on-the-ground unfolding of multicultural governance regimes.

International River Summit 2019—Part II

International River Summit 2019—Part II

A research framework for studying social impacts: Application to the field of mining

Given the growing amount of attention shown to the social dimension of natural resources and mining governance, there is a need for more informed research-oriented approaches to studying social impacts. This article analyzes the features of Social Impact Assessment (SIA) studies from the academic research perspective and presents a framework for social impact research. By academic research, the article refers to studies on social impacts conducted purely for research purposes, not impact assessment processes.Research is always one aspect of the SIA process. At the same time, there is a lack of general methodological literature offering guidance on how assessing social impacts can contribute to social studies research. The guiding documents on SIA are largely intended for practical-level planning and management processes, which limits their applicability for academic purposes. The proposed framework draws both from traditional social science methods and existing scholarly and guiding literature on SIA. The research framework consists of four interlinked phases: 1) research preparations, 2) background studies (including proposed project, national and local context), 3) fieldwork, and 4) analysis. The framework is designed to direct attention to the relevant aspects of research methods, theory building, fieldwork implementation, and research choices for data analysis. Thus, the framework provides a flexible, but comprehensive, multi-level approach for examining social impacts, which can be adapted for a wide range of social-scientific mining research. The analysis and developed framework will help academic researchers better study the social impacts of mining and make better use of existing SIA studies in academic life.

Gold Mining in the Sahara-Sahel: The Political Geography of State-making and Unmaking

ABSTRACT In the Sahara-Sahel, artisanal gold mining is booming. Fragile Sahelian states arguably provide a most likely case for the ‘resource conflict’ theory to hold, yet ‘resource capture’ can also underpin informal governance schemes through which the co-optation of non-state actors ushers in (hybrid) state-building. While the diversity of empirical cases lends credibility to both theories, the dialectic of proximity and distance – both social and spatial – helps make sense of the different modalities of artisanal gold mining governance in the region. In the Sahelian core of regional states, artisanal gold mining has supported regime empowerment; in the Sahara, it has helped assuage pre-existing tensions; in the Tibesti, it has led to militarisation and conflict.

A brief history of time: Taxation and mineral production in developing countries

This paper investigates the impact of taxation on the lead time from discovery to production by estimating duration models. Using a dataset of 188 gold mines, covering 24 developing countries from 1950 to 2017, both parametric (Weibull), semi-parametric model (Cox model), and non-parametric (Kaplan-Meir estimate) are applied to determine the role of taxation. The study contributes to the literature by showing empirically that according to the level of corporate income tax and royalty, and the nature of the fiscal regime used by a country to capture its share of the revenues stemming from the mineral extraction, the first gold pour take place sooner or later mainly when the corporate income tax is greater than 35% and the royalty rate above 5%. Most importantly, it documents that a progressive mineral regime shortens the length of time as well as a low-tax regime. Lastly, the findings suggest also that increasing prices at the time of discovery and the geological quality of the deposit play a critical role in encouraging investors to come into production earlier.

DESIGN OF STATE CONTROL REGULATIONS IN MINERAL MINING VALUE ADDED ACTIVITIES

The Constitutional Court has given the Constitutional Court the interpretation of state control or the right to control as a guide in mineral mining governance activities. The problem arises when this estimate has not been able to be properly implemented in mineral mining governance arrangements. The presence of Law no. 3 of 2020 which is expected to have implications for the greatest possible prosperity of the people with the presence of a form of full state control in activities to increase added value has not been able to answer this problem . This study aims: (1) to determine whether the regulation of the concept of state control has been accommodated in value added activities as regulated in Law no. 3 of 2020, (2) to determine the appropriate design for the concept of state control to achieve the goal of state control . This research is a normative legal research. The research was conducted by means of a literature study that examines primary and secondary legal materials and uses a conceptual approach. The data that has been collected were analyzed using descriptive qualitative methods. The results of this study concluded that: (1) Regulation of the concept of state control has not been accommodated in value added activities as regulated in Law no. 3 of 2020. Even the right to control the state as interpreted by the Constitutional Court tends to be ignored. (2) The regulatory design for the concept of state control that is appropriate for achieving the goal of state control is that it must have a strong legal and institutional substance and have a vision for Indonesia's industrialization in the future. The substance of the law must refer to the mandate of Article 33 paragraph 3 of the 1945 Constitution and the sustainable institutional management model.

Workshop processes to generate stakeholder consensus about post-mining land uses: an Australian case study

A major challenge in post-mining land use planning is identifying areas of consensus among engaged stakeholders about major concerns and suitable post-mining land use and land management. This paper takes as an example, the Bowen Basin, a major coal-mining region in Australia where several mines are approaching closure stages but consensus on post-mining land use in this region is yet to be established. This paper examines the use of workshop processes to generate consensus among different stakeholder interests about priority issues and acceptable post-mining land use(s) in this region. Four decision-making workshops about post-mining land use were used in this study. Results show that facilitated group workshop processes involving diverse stakeholders could lead to a broad consensus about key options for future land uses at an individual site level; and also lead to the identification of the factors relevant to land-use decisions to be considered for each case study. These findings guide mining companies and government regulators about why and how to involve local and regional stakeholders in post-mining land-use decisions, and the extent to which group processes can lead to convergence of diverse interests.

STRENGTHENING OF THE SURFACE LAYER OF THE WELD PARTS WHEN TURNING BY CUTTERS WITH PSTM “KIBORIT”

The results of an experimental study of hardening of the surface layer of parts deposited by electric arc welding with Np-30KhGSA wire under a flux layer of AN-348A are presented, when machined with cutters equipped with replaceable non-milling plates RNMN 070300 made of polycrystalline superhard material (PCBN) based on cubic boron nitride «ciborite». The influence of mining regimes on the surface microhardness and the thickness of the hardened surface layer of parts is studied. The nature of the lines of equal microhardness indicates a less significant effect of the cutting speed compared to the depth of cut and feed and a close degree of influence of changes in the latter. Processing speeds have less effect on the thickness of the hardened layer compared to the depth of cut and the amount of feed, although the latter has a less intense effect. The greatest hardening of the deposited parts was achieved by turning with a cutter with rake angles of (40–50)°. Treatment with chisels with PCBN «ciborite» with large negative values of the front angle γ is accompanied by the creation in the processing area of such a level of thermobaric load, which leads to structural changes in the surface layer of parts, namely, a layer of weakly etchable hardening structure – unstructured martensite H50 = 5700–5920 MPa, which is 1.8–2.1 times higher than the microhardness of the main weld material. The thickness of the reinforced deposited layer during blade-hardening processing with a tool with PCBN «ciborite» is 60–80 μm, due to the low carbon content in the material, the presence of ascending diffusion of carbon and intense plastic deformation in the contact zone. The results show that blade-hardening machining with tools with PCBN is an effective method of controlling the performance of machine parts, such as their wear resistance.