Samuel Antwi , Stephen Bugu Kendie , Emmanuel Yamoah Tenkorang , Simon Mariwah
{"title":"Drivers of artisanal and small-scale mining in the Denkyira area, central region of Ghana","authors":"Samuel Antwi , Stephen Bugu Kendie , Emmanuel Yamoah Tenkorang , Simon Mariwah","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101569","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101569","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examined how social pressures push people into artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in the Denkyira area in the Central Region of Ghana. A mixed-method approach was used. Random sampling was used to select 183 registered miners and their workers while convenience sampling was used to select 190 unregistered miners and their workers. Purposive sampling was used to select seven key informants. Binary logistic regression and frequencies were used to analyse the quantitative data while the qualitative data was analysed thematically. The study found that miners used their material success acquired through mining to entice others to engage in mining. Based on this finding, the study recommends that stakeholders interested in stopping the menace of irresponsible ASM activities should focus on creating social norms that work against the display of wealth and worldly success.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"20 ","pages":"Article 101569"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142651036","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"“All we have left is to defend our reserve”: Social structures and community resistance to large-scale gold mining in the Manuripi Wildlife Reserve in northern Bolivia","authors":"Janpeter Schilling , Claudia Pinzón Cuellar , Rebecca Froese , Diana Figueroa , Miguel Villavicencio , Luise Werland , Regine Schönenberg","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101574","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101574","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article presents a case of community resistance against industrial large-scale gold mining (LSM) in the Manuripi National Amazonian Wildlife Reserve in northern Bolivia. Most of the reserve's population depends on collecting Brazil nuts and other non-timber forest products. Recent plans to start LSM on land pose an existential threat to the forest-based livelihoods and environment of the reserve. Hence, the communities are resisting LSM. As previous studies have stressed the importance of social relations, networks and institutions to organize resistance, the article investigates how communities living in the Manuripi Reserve draw on social structures to resist the planned LSM. To address this question, we develop a framework that combines insights from the literature on political ecology and resistance in order to analyze context conditions, the threat of LSM, and the responses to it. Based on fieldwork conducted in 2022 and 2023, our analysis shows that the communities are strengthening their existing forest-based livelihoods as a form of everyday resistance and utilizing the reserve's management committee for organized resistance against LSM.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"20 ","pages":"Article 101574"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142651034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alexa Britton , Luis Olmedo , Christian A. Torres , James J.A. Blair
{"title":"Hydrosocial imaginaries of green extractivism: Water-energy transitions and geothermal lithium development at the Salton Sea in Imperial Valley, California","authors":"Alexa Britton , Luis Olmedo , Christian A. Torres , James J.A. Blair","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101567","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101567","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lithium is considered an “energy transition mineral” for mitigating climate change because it is a key component of batteries for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. Even though it is framed as green, lithium mining has significant impacts on communities and ecosystems, especially in relation to water. This research takes a hydrosocial approach to examine the benefits and burdens of a proposed alternative method to avoid the harmful impacts of conventional lithium mining from brine evaporation or open-pit mining, by pairing geothermal energy production with direct lithium extraction (DLE) in the Salton Sea region of California. Government and industry proponents have framed this novel technology as an environmentally superior process, and boosters seek to transform the southeast edge of the Salton Sea in Imperial Valley into \"Lithium Valley.\" We examine the emergence of green extractivism in Imperial Valley through three hydrosocial imaginaries: (1) reclamation; (2) restoration; and (3) recovery. Reclamation offers a lens through which to critically analyze the foundation of the Salton Sea, which is deeply rooted in colonialism, dispossession and industrialization. Restoration encompasses the environmental and public health impacts that a receding sea level and agro-industrial waste streams have on the region. Finally, geothermal lithium development has been framed by tech entrepreneurs, energy firms and resource managers as a process of “recovery” that would deliver community benefits and cleaner energy, while evading negative connotations of mineral “extraction.” Drawing from collaborative research and action for environmental justice, this study contributes to community engagement on the proposed Lithium Valley development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"20 ","pages":"Article 101567"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142651048","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Community voices: Assessing the benefits and concerns of mining in China","authors":"Danyang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101561","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101561","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mining activities often have significant positive and negative effects on local communities. This study presents insights from China, focusing on rural communities’ perspectives on the overall benefits of mining. The initial investigation was conducted at three sites in April and May 2022. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 29 key stakeholders, including officials from county mining and land administration departments, mining rights holders, representatives from the mining association, township government officials, and a group of local farmers. The study identifies and utilises four indicators to assess the impact of mining: employment opportunities, environmental pollution, land expropriation, and land subsidence with associated resettlement. The analysis involves a diverse sample of 352 farmers who are demographically and economically spread across six provinces and reside near mining areas. The findings revealed that only a minority of farmers perceived mining as yielding net benefits, with direct employment being the primary influencing factor. While land expropriation has a minimal impact on perceived benefits, land subsidence significantly affects these perceptions. Although relocation helps farmers mitigate risks, it does not substantially alter the overall negative perceptions of mining among the population. This study underscores the need for the Chinese government to develop a sustainable framework to address the risks associated with mining, with a particular focus on displacement and resettlement issues.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"20 ","pages":"Article 101561"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142651045","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reinventing the global oil capital: The sociotechnical dynamics of industrial net-zero megaprojects in Texas","authors":"Kyle S. Herman , Benjamin K. Sovacool","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101518","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101518","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Texas, the “energy capital of the world,” is undergoing a widescale technological transition in response to recent climate policies in the United States. There is immense potential for industrial decarbonization in Texas—which already has extensive experience with carbon capture and enhanced oil recovery—and thousands of miles of hydrogen and CO2 transport pipelines. Successful reorientation of its industry towards net-zero could provide a blueprint to industrial regions elsewhere. This article investigates industrial decarbonization megaprojects using the Triple-Embeddedness Framework (TEF), which emphasizes the region as a sociotechnical and industrial regime. Through a longitudinal analysis of five temporal TEF phases, we uncover significant reorientation as new constellations of industrial actors coalesce and consolidate. Nevertheless, some technological dimensions of the industry regime are resistant to systematic, whole systems change, such as blue hydrogen and CO2 capture hubs—which are tethered to fossil fuel production.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"20 ","pages":"Article 101518"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142651047","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Conceptualizing collective action and informal women cooperatives in Africa's artisanal and small-scale mining sector: The case of Northern Ghana","authors":"Francis Arthur-Holmes , Jennifer Dokbila Mengba","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101558","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101558","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines the dynamics of informal women cooperatives in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector in Africa, focusing on a qualitative case study of the Talensi mining area in Northern Ghana. Our findings demonstrate that women, through collective agency and action, establish informal women cooperatives in ASM spaces to address the socio-economic and geopolitical challenges they encounter. Two main categories of informal cooperatives formed are <em>shanking</em> cooperatives (for women involved in sieving crushed extracted ore) and <em>sambalga</em> cooperatives (for women digging at the bank of rivers and streams, or uplands in search of gold). Women in licensed and unlicensed ASM zones form groups or associations to promote their welfare, challenge gender norms, advocate for representation and inclusion of voices in mining activities, resist male diggers involved in surface mining, and seek social recognition and economic security. Despite women miners' collective action and agency in pursuing these goals, they still encounter some challenges, particularly related to discrimination and favoritism, social class division among women, strict socio-cultural norms, and conflict with male diggers. In this paper, we highlight that formalization reforms should include gender-sensitive licensing support programs, and transformative gender and inclusive reforms to promote women empowerment in the sector.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"20 ","pages":"Article 101558"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142651044","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Displaced by the transition: The political ecology of climate change mitigation, displacements and Lithium extraction in Zimbabwe","authors":"Joshua Matanzima","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101572","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101572","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Decarbonization initiatives depend heavily on the sustainable supply of critical raw materials. Such a high dependency on critical minerals drives their urgent sourcing. However, this urgent extraction of critical minerals for the low-carbon energy transition induces severe social impacts including different types of displacements: i.e physical, cultural and economic. Demand for critical minerals is expected to surge in the coming decades, and so are these displacement trends. Communities located on or nearer to critical minerals deposits are increasingly becoming exposed to these displacements, but there is limited problematization of such forced relocation trends that negatively impact communities, socio-economically and culturally. Detailed case studies of displacements induced by the haste to extract critical minerals are scant. The displacement problem is categorized under the “S” of the ESG risks, and it has not been adequately conceptualized- within the energy transitions field- to understand its full-scale. The “speed” to extract these minerals drives us to rethink mining induced displacement and resettlement (MIDR) by considering how this urgency may protract displacement impacts. Using the political ecology of climate change mitigation framework, this article analyses multidimensional displacements resulting from the accelerated extraction of critical minerals with special reference to the lithium case in Zimbabwe. In Zimbabwe, lithium extraction is inducing multidimensional displacements in some regions where it has been discovered. Evidence indicates that these displacements are implemented with no due diligence and in the absence of adequate processes of consultation and consent leaving communities impoverished. The paper provides recommendations for improving the resettlement practices and achieving <em>resettlement with development</em> that improves the lives of affected communities within the energy transition agenda.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"20 ","pages":"Article 101572"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142651038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Code of Ethics for the social performance profession","authors":"Ana Maria Esteves","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101573","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101573","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>I advocate for the establishment of a Code of Ethics for social performance professionals, particularly in the extractive and energy industries where faster and more production is essential for the energy transition. Demand for social performance practitioners is increasing. As the profession evolves, it faces significant challenges due to a lack of standardised qualifications and frameworks. In this opinion piece, I underscore the critical role social performance professionals play in advising corporate decision-making and the necessity for professionalisation of the field. A Code of Ethics recognises three unique aspects of social performance practice that demand specific ethical guidance: multi-stakeholder accountability, complex power dynamics, and consideration of long-term impacts. The concept of ethical maturity in practitioners’ decision-making processes is discussed, and a set of ethical principles proposed, illustrated with practical scenarios. I conclude by emphasising that a well-defined Code of Ethics is essential for building a profession that is valued for its accountability, integrity and culture of ethics. Dialogue among practitioners and stakeholders is crucial to ensure that the code reflects the complexities of social performance practice and contributes to responsible business practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"20 ","pages":"Article 101573"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142651037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Towards sustainable resource management: Graph modelling insights from Ghana's oil and gas local content ecosystem","authors":"Ebenezer Afrifa-Yamoah","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101570","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101570","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A critical aspect of the management of oil and gas resources in Ghana is the effective promotion and development of local content to maximise the participation of local businesses and workforce in the oil and gas industry. This study examined local content drive in Ghana's oil and gas sector, analyzing its functional relations with institutional characteristics, participation, technology transfer, and economic growth via graph modelling framework. A total of 250 key stakeholders were involved in this cross-sectional study. A network analysis revealed the centrality of institutional characteristics in driving local content development, while economic growth was the least integrated domain. Diverse strengths and directionality of connections between domains were observed, which highlight the complexity of areas of influence and potential challenges. Process modelling analysis showed a significant positive direct effect of institutional characteristics on local content drive, emphasizing the critical role of robust and supportive institutions in driving local content initiatives. Conversely, economic growth exhibited a smaller yet significant negative direct effect, indicating a trade-off between economic expansion and local content focus. The broader implications of these findings are discussed, and recommendations are proposed to enhance the effectiveness of local content drive in Ghana's oil and gas sector.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"20 ","pages":"Article 101570"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142572957","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Valuation and conflicts in the Peruvian extractive frontier: Towards a politics of value analytical framework","authors":"Peter Leys","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101563","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2024.101563","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article contributes to the on-going debate about how to understand extractive conflicts. What drives conflicts in areas of extraction? Do local people mobilize to reject extraction outright, or do they mobilize to secure rents and compensation from extractive projects? Political ecologists and ecological economists argue that different incommensurable languages of valuation challenge monetary value in a contest of values. Political economists disagree and argue that the majority of conflicts are about compensation, not alternative valuations. In this article, I suggest that value does indeed play a key role in extractive conflicts, but I also recognize the criticisms presented by political economy. To explore an alternative usage of value for understanding extractive conflicts, I draw on David Graebers anthropological notion of value, through which I elaborate an analytical framework of a politics of value, illustrated by three case studies of extractive conflicts in the Peruvian Andes. By analyzing conflicts in the extractive frontier as a ‘politics of value’, this article re-thinks how we understand the complicated dynamics of value and valuation in the extractive frontier and develops an analytical framework of a politics of value, to understand how conflict dynamics shape valuation, and how valuation, in turn, shapes conflict dynamics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"20 ","pages":"Article 101563"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142572958","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}