Resources Policy最新文献

{"title":"Formalization from above, resistance from below: Voices of struggle and survival in Ghana's contested artisanal and small-scale mining sector","authors":"Seiba Issifu,&nbsp;Max D. Woodworth","doi":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105847","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105847","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM)—a labor-intensive, low-tech form of mineral extraction and processing—has emerged as a critical livelihood for millions of households in Ghana since 1989, when the Small-Scale Mining Law (PNDL 218) was passed to lift the ban on it. There is consensus in the academic and policy discourses that formalization of ASM holds the potential to tackle the chronic illegality, informality, and environmental degradation in the sector while transforming the economy of mineral-rich communities. Applying a political ecology framework, this paper critically examines how Ghana's formalization initiatives and enforcement regimes marginalize and exclude ASM operators, causing them to respond with counter practices of resistance and subversion. The paper is based on interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) with ASM operators in the Amansie South District as well as a critical review of relevant legal documents relating to mining in Ghana. The paper argues that ASM operators are not passive subjects of exclusionary mineral governance and militarized enforcement that put their livelihoods at risk. Rather they are active, resilient, and creative actors who resist, adapt to, and negotiate survival in a contested mining space. The findings highlight the need for a governance framework that departs from centralized legislation and militarized enforcement to one that considers participatory, culturally grounded, and locally legitimate approaches to formalization, and which aligns with the principles of inclusive development and justice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20970,"journal":{"name":"Resources Policy","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 105847"},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145978593","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A structured approach to assessing market concentration and competition in the aggregate sector: Insights from Israel","authors":"Avri Eitan ,&nbsp;Shira Bukchin-Peles","doi":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105827","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105827","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study presents a structured methodology for assessing market concentration in the aggregates sector, using Israel as a case to illustrate how spatial, institutional, and ownership dynamics interact to shape competitive outcomes. It analyzes how geographic constraints, vertical integration, and regulatory policies shape competition and pricing dynamics in the non-energy extractive sector. Drawing on a unique transaction-level dataset, the findings reveal substantial market concentration reinforced by quarry ownership patterns and high transportation costs, particularly in regions with limited supplier access. Cross-ownership between quarries and downstream concrete plants further restricts competition, as integrated firms prioritize internal supply even when it entails higher logistics costs. The study identifies structural inefficiencies and regional disparities that weaken competitive pressures and increase costs in the construction supply chain. Policy recommendations include expanding quarry supply, revising tender procedures, and divesting cross-owned quarries to foster competition. Beyond Israel, the framework may be replicable in other contexts where comparable spatial, ownership, and transaction-level data exist, but its applicability is contingent on the availability of such data and regulatory conditions. The study contributes to resource policy by offering tools for improving competition, enhancing efficiency, and guiding sustainable development in mineral-based industries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20970,"journal":{"name":"Resources Policy","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 105827"},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145814333","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Is the resource curse persistent? Dynamic causality evidence from resource-dependent economies","authors":"Mikail Pehli̇van","doi":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105855","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105855","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the dynamic relationship between natural resource rents and economic growth in ten resource-dependent economies—Algeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia—over the period 1970–2021. Using a bootstrap panel causality test combined with a rolling-window framework, the analysis captures both the direction and time variation of predictive linkages within the Resource Curse Hypothesis (RCH). The results indicate that natural resource rents exhibit episodic and heterogeneous predictive relevance for growth across countries and periods, rather than a stable longrun effect. Positive predictive episodes are more frequently observed in Qatar, Indonesia, and Egypt, while Algeria, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia display more recurrent adverse episodes. Kuwait and Oman show largely neutral patterns, consistent with limited sensitivity to rent fluctuations. Overall, the findings support a conditional and time-dependent interpretation of the resource curse, emphasizing that the relevance of resource rents for growth varies across historical phases and macroeconomic contexts. The study highlights the importance of accounting for temporal heterogeneity when assessing the resource–growth nexus, rather than relying solely on full-sample estimates.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20970,"journal":{"name":"Resources Policy","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 105855"},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146038702","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nature-positive rare earth governance: Japan's strategy in a China-dominated system","authors":"Qinxue Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105852","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105852","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rare earth elements (REEs) are critical to decarbonization and digital infrastructure, yet their supply chains exhibit pronounced structural asymmetry and highly uneven environmental footprints, with China controlling roughly 69 % of global mine output and around 85–90 % of refining capacity. This article reviews Japan's rare earth security strategy as a resource-poor but technology-intensive economy along three axes: (1) the geological potential, environmental trade-offs, and realistic development role of deep-sea REY-rich mud within Japan's exclusive economic zone, especially deposits around Minamitorishima Island; (2) the structural divergence between China's integrated, volume-oriented “mine-to-magnet” system and Japan's specialization in high-purity, high-value segments; and (3) portfolio diversification through Australian and Southeast Asian partnerships, domestic recycling, and governance tools oriented toward ESG and nature-positive outcomes. Methodologically, the paper employs an exploratory three-scenario framework for 2030–2035 (conservative, central, ambitious). Rather than a formal quantitative model, these scenarios serve as heuristic tools, informed by recent USGS and IEA projections, to examine how non-Chinese capacity expansion and policy interventions could reshape Japan's supply security. The analysis shows that, although Minamitorishima Island's deep-sea deposits hold significant resource potential regarding heavy REEs such as Dy and Tb, substantial techno-economic hurdles (costs &gt;50 USD/kg) mean they function primarily as a high-cost strategic reserve for extreme contingencies rather than a commercially competitive substitute. Japan's comparative advantage instead lies in high-purity separation, heavy-rare-earth-lean magnet design, and advanced circularity. In the central scenario, China's share of global mining moderates to around 50–55 % by 2035, allowing Japan to move towards a diversified supply matrix. The findings suggest that resilience for resource-poor economies is achieved not by replicating China's scale, but by combining diversification with reduced environmental intensity, and by embedding nature-positive principles—contingent upon aggressive policy support for circularity and traceability—into supply-chain governance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20970,"journal":{"name":"Resources Policy","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 105852"},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146038231","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The long-run price versus the price in the long term for mineral and energy commodities","authors":"Juan Ignacio Guzmán","doi":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105822","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105822","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Long-term price assumptions for mineral and energy commodities underpin multi-billion-dollar investment decisions and resource policies, yet the industry's standard metric – the long-run price – is often misused as a forecast rather than what it truly represents: a static equilibrium benchmark. This paper clarifies the crucial distinction between the long-run price (a cost-based competitive equilibrium level) and the price in the long term (an expected, stochastic path of future market prices), showing how conflating the two can lead to systematic planning errors. Through a historical review and a detailed copper case study, we document persistent multi-year deviations of actual prices from cost-derived incentive price levels, driven by investment lags, boom–bust cycles, policy shocks, and technological change. We then propose a more robust conceptual framework for long-term price estimation under uncertainty. The framework retains the supply-cost “incentive price” as an anchor but embeds it within a dynamic model that incorporates: (1) probabilistic price trajectories (reflecting volatility and cyclical mean reversion), (2) real-options-based investment triggers that exceed simple breakeven levels, and (3) a second anchor – a very long-run price (VLRP) – to capture evolving structural forces like resource depletion, innovation, and substitution. By linking the mid-horizon long-run price to this distant-horizon VLRP, we generate internally consistent price scenarios rather than a single-point forecast. This risk-aware approach yields actionable guidelines for both firms and policymakers. Mining companies can make better investment timing and hedging decisions, while governments can design more adaptive policies (e.g., sliding-scale royalties, strategic reserves) to avoid procyclical pitfalls. Overall, the paper's contribution is conceptual although practical recommendations are made for its application. The paper bridges the gap between static equilibrium theory and real-world price dynamics, introduces the VLRP concept as a moving long-term anchor, and demonstrates how incorporating uncertainty and flexibility can improve long-term commodity price planning for both industry and policy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20970,"journal":{"name":"Resources Policy","volume":"112 ","pages":"Article 105822"},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145748416","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Social change and social conflict in Zambian Copperbelt mine communities","authors":"Lisa Kwaleyela ,&nbsp;Miles Larmer","doi":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105815","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105815","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Social conflict has risen in Zambia's Copperbelt region in the past decade, as new private mine owners confront mine communities unwilling to accept the unequal and (from their perspective) unjust distribution of mining wealth. The historically low level of social provision by these mine companies is, this article argues, a significant generator of community grievances and broader social conflict. Company-community relations and social provision – mainly in the form of Corporate Social Responsibility programmes - are however particularly problematic because they are based on an outdated construction of community identity that foregrounds (mainly male) employees and their families. This fails to recognize the transformation in mine community composition, governance, and representation that has taken place since privatisation in the late 1990s/early 2000s, creating more diverse communities that are however profoundly affected by mining activity. This article, drawing on research conducted in Zambia between 2022 and 2023, argues that the marginalization of actually existing mine communities – both in representational terms and in recognition of their specific grievances – has contributed to rising social conflict in the region. Our research further demonstrates a complex interplay of the legacy of earlier company social provision for, and problematic representation of, mine communities and community identity and claim-making based on their collective memory of this earlier period.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20970,"journal":{"name":"Resources Policy","volume":"112 ","pages":"Article 105815"},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145748419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lithium extraction from mining and mineral processing wastes","authors":"Lucie Bartoňová ,&nbsp;Helena Raclavská ,&nbsp;Barbora Švédová","doi":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105790","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105790","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Due to increased demand on energy storage sector and limited worldwide reserves of lithium, sustainable and reliable sources of this critical metal are being sought. Mining and mineral-processing wastes remain one of world's largest waste streams and proper management of these wastes provides multiple benefits – saving natural resources, reducing supply risk and enhancing environmental performance. Therefore, in terms of their possible use as a cheap and available source of Li (and other valuable elements), the review paper evaluates various mining, industrial and mineral-processing wastes – waste aluminosilicates (including B clays), bauxite processing residues (including red mud or overhaul slag), coal gangue and coal ash, Sn-W clay residues and other wastes (e.g., rare earth molten salt electrolysis slag). The paper discusses physical, chemical and biotechnological methods used for Li extraction from these materials and documents that efficient extraction is technically feasible. To enhance the economic viability, co-extraction of Li and other critical elements (REE, Al, Rb, Cs, Ge, Ga, V, etc.) is evaluated as well. In addition to technologic and economic implications, overall framing of Li extraction from secondary sources in the context of environmental and social sustainability is discussed as well.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20970,"journal":{"name":"Resources Policy","volume":"112 ","pages":"Article 105790"},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145621931","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mining Is Dead. Long Live Geopolitical Mining: Why critical minerals and strategic power will define the next global order, 2025","authors":"Hugo Morão","doi":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105800","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105800","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20970,"journal":{"name":"Resources Policy","volume":"112 ","pages":"Article 105800"},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145691319","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Peaceful development: Natural resources, global agendas and conflict in Africa","authors":"Fabrice Ewolo Bitoto ,&nbsp;Nelson Derrick Nguepi ,&nbsp;Cerapis Nchinda Mbognou ,&nbsp;Ruth Dzokou Petnga","doi":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105796","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105796","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Natural wealth, such as precious minerals, has often been blamed for driving armed conflict. The aim of this study is twofold. Firstly, the study aims to reexamine the impact of natural resource dependence on the likelihood of conflict in Africa. Secondly, to examine the moderating role of development programs in the relationship between natural resources and conflict in Africa. The analysis carried out on data from 40 African countries over the period 1996–2022 yielded several main results. Firstly, natural resource rents significantly increase the probability of conflict in Africa. Secondly, the interaction between natural resource rents and development programs, namely the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and Agenda 2063, reveals contrasting effects. While the SDGs and Agenda 2063 significantly reduce the likelihood of conflict, this is not the case for the MDGs. Indeed, the MDGs focused more on poverty reduction and did not include all dimensions, whereas recent development programs are more inclusive and integrate the dimensions of governance, peace and security, partnerships, and conflict prevention. The SDGs place greater emphasis on environmental sustainability and the management of natural resources, which could help ease tensions around rents. These results are robust to various consistency checks. We suggest that governments continue efforts to promote greater ownership of recent development programs in Africa.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20970,"journal":{"name":"Resources Policy","volume":"112 ","pages":"Article 105796"},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145691321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Managing resource rents, trade openness, and energy transitions: Evidence on ecological load capacity from newly industrialized economies","authors":"Md Mustaqim Roshid ,&nbsp;Reday Chandra Bhowmik ,&nbsp;Bablu Kumar Dhar ,&nbsp;Sohidul Islam ,&nbsp;Shaharier Arafat Sumon ,&nbsp;Andreia de Bem Machado","doi":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105821","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105821","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding how resource rents, trade structures, and energy transitions shape ecological sustainability has become a critical policy challenge for newly industrialized economies (NIEs). This study assesses how these structural drivers influence ecological resilience, measured through the Load Capacity Factor (LCF), across seven NIEs from 1990 to 2020. By explicitly justifying LCF as an integrated indicator capturing both ecological pressure and biocapacity regeneration, the study positions LCF as analytically suitable for resource-policy analysis relative to pollutant-based metrics. Using a heterogeneous-panel econometric framework, we examine long-run associations between natural resource rents, trade openness, renewable energy use, technological progress, and geopolitical risk with LCF performance. Results indicate that GDP exhibits an inverted-U relationship with LCF, trade openness is associated with reduced ecological capacity<strong>,</strong> and renewable energy shows a consistent positive association. Resource rents correlate with lower LCF, reflecting extractive dependence, while technological progress displays transitional effects linked to uneven absorptive capacity. Geopolitical risk shows mixed but sometimes adaptive associations. These findings collectively demonstrate how rents–openness–energy transitions interact to shape structural sustainability. By offering the first integrated assessment of these factors within an LCF framework for NIEs, the study clarifies its conceptual contribution to resource governance and outlines evidence-based pathways for aligning rent management, trade structures, and clean-energy transitions with long-term ecological stability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20970,"journal":{"name":"Resources Policy","volume":"112 ","pages":"Article 105821"},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145797123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}