Pub Date : 2026-01-17DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105823
Maxwell Brown, Mirali Seyedrezaei
In this work, we develop and apply a model of global lithium production that captures strategic behavior across mining and refining stages. We integrate multiple types of game formulations into a bi-level framework and calibrate the resulting system using a mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC); in doing so, the model aligns closely with observed data despite sparse information, while enforcing game-theoretic equilibrium conditions. First, we show that the strategic game setup (e.g., Cournot vs. Stackelberg) can impact the ability of the MPEC to match observed data, particularly for fringe and follower actors. Next, we estimate the deadweight loss from market power across upstream and downstream stages. Results show that market structure significantly influences production levels, pricing, and the allocation of surplus, with the most pronounced effects observed in the relatively more concentrated downstream refining markets. Finally, we simulate the effects of exogenous entry to highlight how new supply at mining and refining stages could affect incumbent producers’ profits and demonstrate differences in each actor’s market exposure.
在这项工作中，我们开发并应用了一个全球锂生产模型，该模型捕捉了采矿和精炼阶段的战略行为。我们将多种类型的游戏公式整合到一个双层框架中，并使用带有平衡约束（MPEC）的数学程序校准结果系统；在这样做的过程中，尽管信息稀疏，但该模型与观测数据密切一致，同时强制执行博弈论的平衡条件。首先，我们展示了战略博弈设置（例如，Cournot vs. Stackelberg）可以影响MPEC匹配观察数据的能力，特别是对于边缘和追随者参与者。接下来，我们估计了市场力量在上游和下游阶段的载重损失。结果表明，市场结构显著影响生产水平、定价和剩余配置，在相对集中度较高的下游炼油市场影响最为显著。最后，我们模拟了外生进入的影响，以突出采矿和炼油阶段的新供应如何影响现有生产商的利润，并展示了每个参与者的市场敞口的差异。
{"title":"Strategic competition in lithium mining and refining: A multi-stage game theoretic model","authors":"Maxwell Brown, Mirali Seyedrezaei","doi":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105823","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105823","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this work, we develop and apply a model of global lithium production that captures strategic behavior across mining and refining stages. We integrate multiple types of game formulations into a bi-level framework and calibrate the resulting system using a mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC); in doing so, the model aligns closely with observed data despite sparse information, while enforcing game-theoretic equilibrium conditions. First, we show that the strategic game setup (e.g., Cournot vs. Stackelberg) can impact the ability of the MPEC to match observed data, particularly for fringe and follower actors. Next, we estimate the deadweight loss from market power across upstream and downstream stages. Results show that market structure significantly influences production levels, pricing, and the allocation of surplus, with the most pronounced effects observed in the relatively more concentrated downstream refining markets. Finally, we simulate the effects of exogenous entry to highlight how new supply at mining and refining stages could affect incumbent producers’ profits and demonstrate differences in each actor’s market exposure.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20970,"journal":{"name":"Resources Policy","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 105823"},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145978592","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}
Pub Date : 2026-01-16DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105849
Roland Brandtjen
This article offers a systematic, descriptive mapping of how natural resource dependence, economic development, and democratic governance co-vary across 167 countries from 2006 to 2024, with focused analysis for 2012–2021 when resource-rent data are available. Using a deliberately non-causal correlation design, it examines associations among the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index, GDP per capita (PPP, constant 2021 USD), and total natural resource rents (percent of GDP). The article makes three contributions. First, it updates global democracy–resource–development patterns for the current wave of democratic backsliding. Second, it shows that the strength and even the sign of democracy–resource correlations vary markedly across regions, consistent with the view that institutional quality and economic diversification mediate rentier and resource-curse dynamics. Third, it revisits modernization claims by documenting that democracy is strongly associated with higher prosperity levels globally yet often correlates with slower growth in mature democracies while remaining positively associated with growth in several developing regions. The conclusion outlines an institutionally moderated typology of resource–democracy configurations and highlights implications for governing fossil fuels and emerging “green transition” minerals.
{"title":"From rents to rights: How resource dependence shapes democratic trajectories","authors":"Roland Brandtjen","doi":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105849","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105849","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article offers a systematic, descriptive mapping of how natural resource dependence, economic development, and democratic governance co-vary across 167 countries from 2006 to 2024, with focused analysis for 2012–2021 when resource-rent data are available. Using a deliberately non-causal correlation design, it examines associations among the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index, GDP per capita (PPP, constant 2021 USD), and total natural resource rents (percent of GDP). The article makes three contributions. First, it updates global democracy–resource–development patterns for the current wave of democratic backsliding. Second, it shows that the strength and even the sign of democracy–resource correlations vary markedly across regions, consistent with the view that institutional quality and economic diversification mediate rentier and resource-curse dynamics. Third, it revisits modernization claims by documenting that democracy is strongly associated with higher prosperity levels globally yet often correlates with slower growth in mature democracies while remaining positively associated with growth in several developing regions. The conclusion outlines an institutionally moderated typology of resource–democracy configurations and highlights implications for governing fossil fuels and emerging “green transition” minerals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20970,"journal":{"name":"Resources Policy","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 105849"},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145978594","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}
This paper presents new evidence on how external shocks impact macroeconomic fluctuations in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. In addition to the traditional sources of external shocks, such as commodity and financial fluctuations, this study examines the impact of productivity shocks from key trade partners within the SSA region. The findings stem from a Global Vector Autoregressive (GVAR) model encompassing 21 SSA nations, categorised based on oil-rich, other resource, and non-resource characteristics using a quarterly data series from 1990 to 2022. The research controls for shocks originating from commodities, foreign direct investment (FDI), and productivity shocks from major trading partners, including the United States (U.S.), the United Kingdom (U.K.), China, and Europe. The results show that trade integration is a significant conduit for transmitting external shocks, affecting GDP performance across the SSA region and within distinct resource-endowment groups. Empirical results highlight diverse contributions and varying impacts from the examined external shock sources, with productivity and financial shocks emerging as the most influential factors. Notably, the study identifies productivity and financial shocks from China, the U.S., and the Eurozone as the most influential factors and primary drivers of growth performance in the region. Moreover, the analysis emphasises the presence of heterogeneity in the effects of external shocks on growth performance across different country-resource categories. Productivity and financial shocks are found to have the most significant impact on the growth of non-resource countries.
{"title":"Macroeconomic fluctuations in Sub-Saharan Africa: Role of external shocks","authors":"Shakirudeen Taiwo, Josine Uwillingiye, Kwame Osei-Assibey","doi":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105846","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105846","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper presents new evidence on how external shocks impact macroeconomic fluctuations in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. In addition to the traditional sources of external shocks, such as commodity and financial fluctuations, this study examines the impact of productivity shocks from key trade partners within the SSA region. The findings stem from a Global Vector Autoregressive (GVAR) model encompassing 21 SSA nations, categorised based on oil-rich, other resource, and non-resource characteristics using a quarterly data series from 1990 to 2022. The research controls for shocks originating from commodities, foreign direct investment (FDI), and productivity shocks from major trading partners, including the United States (U.S.), the United Kingdom (U.K.), China, and Europe. The results show that trade integration is a significant conduit for transmitting external shocks, affecting GDP performance across the SSA region and within distinct resource-endowment groups. Empirical results highlight diverse contributions and varying impacts from the examined external shock sources, with productivity and financial shocks emerging as the most influential factors. Notably, the study identifies productivity and financial shocks from China, the U.S., and the Eurozone as the most influential factors and primary drivers of growth performance in the region. Moreover, the analysis emphasises the presence of heterogeneity in the effects of external shocks on growth performance across different country-resource categories. Productivity and financial shocks are found to have the most significant impact on the growth of non-resource countries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20970,"journal":{"name":"Resources Policy","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 105846"},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145979060","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}
Pub Date : 2026-01-15DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105847
Seiba Issifu, Max D. Woodworth
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.
{"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, 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":"2026-01-15","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}
Pub Date : 2026-01-15DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105848
Mohamad Nasir , Muhamad Muhdar , Laurens Bakker
This study examines the regulatory frameworks governing public road usage for coal transportation in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, to identify the underlying causes of conflict between mining companies and local communities. It employs a doctrinal analysis of regulations, complemented by purposive interviews and case studies conducted between 2021 and 2024. The findings reveal that inconsistencies and ambiguities within the legislation create significant gaps in the law. At the same time, inadequate enforcement by various authorities and the vulnerable position of communities contribute to protests, violence, and even fatalities. Therefore, this study proposes three recommendations: first, harmonization of legislation regarding the transportation of coal on public roads; second, enactment of technical regulations that clearly define the responsibilities of each governmental agency; and third, establishment of integrated enforcement bodies to ensure accountability in legal enforcement.
{"title":"Coal hauling on public roads in East Kalimantan: Regulatory failures, overlapping authorities, and conflicts","authors":"Mohamad Nasir , Muhamad Muhdar , Laurens Bakker","doi":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105848","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105848","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the regulatory frameworks governing public road usage for coal transportation in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, to identify the underlying causes of conflict between mining companies and local communities. It employs a doctrinal analysis of regulations, complemented by purposive interviews and case studies conducted between 2021 and 2024. The findings reveal that inconsistencies and ambiguities within the legislation create significant gaps in the law. At the same time, inadequate enforcement by various authorities and the vulnerable position of communities contribute to protests, violence, and even fatalities. Therefore, this study proposes three recommendations: first, harmonization of legislation regarding the transportation of coal on public roads; second, enactment of technical regulations that clearly define the responsibilities of each governmental agency; and third, establishment of integrated enforcement bodies to ensure accountability in legal enforcement.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20970,"journal":{"name":"Resources Policy","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 105848"},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145978599","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}
Pub Date : 2026-01-12DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105829
Juan Ignacio Guzmán , Patricio Faúndez , Mariel Carrión
This paper presents a mixed-methods review of academic research on royalties in non-renewable resources. Drawing on 156 peer-reviewed articles published between 1978 and 2025, we combine bibliometric indicators (Bibliometrix), text mining (VOSviewer co-occurrence with binary counting), and directed qualitative content analysis to map the evolution, structure, and substantive focus of the field. The literature grows gradually over time (CAGR 1.52 % up to 2024) with a peak in 2023, and remains concentrated in a handful of journals. International collaboration is modest: 15.75 % of publications are multi-country. To gauge the sensitivity of scholarship to market conditions, we correlate annual publication counts with real commodity prices: the annual correlation with WTI oil is 0.38 (0.53 with a two-year lag), and with LME copper is 0.54 (0.67 with a three-year lag), indicating that publication surges tend to follow commodity booms with short lags, consistent with rent-seeking pressures and policy debates triggered by rising rents.
Term co-occurrence reveals three recurrent vocabularies that structure the field: (1) Royalties in fiscal regimes (comparisons of ad valorem, specific, and profit-based designs; revenue properties and cyclicality), (2) Royalty design and institutions (legal/contractual architectures, administrative mechanics, and project-level effects such as cut-off grades and resource sterilization), and (3) Economic and developmental outcomes (intergovernmental distribution, local development, governance). Bridging terms such as revenue and rate indicate partial overlap, yet the fiscal-design and developmental strands have advanced largely in parallel.
By integrating science-mapping with qualitative synthesis, the study systematizes a fragmented literature and highlights priorities for future work: stronger cross-country designs, closer linkage of fiscal design to developmental evaluation, and attention to royalty reform under the energy-transition and critical-minerals agenda.
{"title":"Bibliometric and systematic analysis of literature on royalties in non-renewable resources","authors":"Juan Ignacio Guzmán , Patricio Faúndez , Mariel Carrión","doi":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105829","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105829","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper presents a mixed-methods review of academic research on royalties in non-renewable resources. Drawing on 156 peer-reviewed articles published between 1978 and 2025, we combine bibliometric indicators (Bibliometrix), text mining (VOSviewer co-occurrence with binary counting), and directed qualitative content analysis to map the evolution, structure, and substantive focus of the field. The literature grows gradually over time (CAGR 1.52 % up to 2024) with a peak in 2023, and remains concentrated in a handful of journals. International collaboration is modest: 15.75 % of publications are multi-country. To gauge the sensitivity of scholarship to market conditions, we correlate annual publication counts with real commodity prices: the annual correlation with WTI oil is 0.38 (0.53 with a two-year lag), and with LME copper is 0.54 (0.67 with a three-year lag), indicating that publication surges tend to follow commodity booms with short lags, consistent with rent-seeking pressures and policy debates triggered by rising rents.</div><div>Term co-occurrence reveals three recurrent vocabularies that structure the field: (1) Royalties in fiscal regimes (comparisons of <em>ad valorem</em>, specific, and profit-based designs; revenue properties and cyclicality), (2) Royalty design and institutions (legal/contractual architectures, administrative mechanics, and project-level effects such as cut-off grades and resource sterilization), and (3) Economic and developmental outcomes (intergovernmental distribution, local development, governance). Bridging terms such as revenue and rate indicate partial overlap, yet the fiscal-design and developmental strands have advanced largely in parallel.</div><div>By integrating science-mapping with qualitative synthesis, the study systematizes a fragmented literature and highlights priorities for future work: stronger cross-country designs, closer linkage of fiscal design to developmental evaluation, and attention to royalty reform under the energy-transition and critical-minerals agenda.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20970,"journal":{"name":"Resources Policy","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 105829"},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145978596","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}
Pub Date : 2026-01-12DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105845
Felix Ampadu
Mining communities often develop strong emotional connections to their local environment due to social and economic interdependence. This ethnographic study explores how topophilia (love of place) and solastalgia (distress from environmental change) shape affective strategies of identity, belonging, and sustainability in two Legacy Mining Communities (LMCs) in Arizona – Clifton-Morenci and San Manuel. Drawing on 16 months of ethnographic fieldwork, this study examines how nostalgia and emotional attachment foster both continuity and resistance in post-mining contexts. Rather than focusing on the victimization of mining communities, this study emphasizes their agency and emotional ties that drive sustainability strategies. The analysis reveals that affective bonds are not passive sentiments but active forces that enable community revitalization and resilience. Understanding these emotional afterlives of extraction contributes to broader debates on sustainability transitions and post-industrial identity.
{"title":"Nostalgic bonds, affective strategies, and sustainable actions: Ethnographic insights from Legacy Mining Communities in Arizona","authors":"Felix Ampadu","doi":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105845","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105845","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mining communities often develop strong emotional connections to their local environment due to social and economic interdependence. This ethnographic study explores how topophilia (love of place) and solastalgia (distress from environmental change) shape affective strategies of identity, belonging, and sustainability in two Legacy Mining Communities (LMCs) in Arizona – Clifton-Morenci and San Manuel. Drawing on 16 months of ethnographic fieldwork, this study examines how nostalgia and emotional attachment foster both continuity and resistance in post-mining contexts. Rather than focusing on the victimization of mining communities, this study emphasizes their agency and emotional ties that drive sustainability strategies. The analysis reveals that affective bonds are not passive sentiments but active forces that enable community revitalization and resilience. Understanding these emotional afterlives of extraction contributes to broader debates on sustainability transitions and post-industrial identity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20970,"journal":{"name":"Resources Policy","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 105845"},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145978597","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}
Pub Date : 2026-01-10DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105842
Ulises Pavel Martínez Romero , John P. Hayes
This paper examines how mining legacies shape the capacity of resource communities to envision and organize alternative futures. Through a comparative analysis of two Mexican mining towns, Mineral de la Luz (Guanajuato) and Cerro de San Pedro (San Luis Potosí), the study reveals contrasting responses to new mining projects: while Mineral de la Luz's deep-rooted mining identity led to negotiated acceptance, Cerro de San Pedro developed strong opposition through external alliances. Our findings demonstrate that community-based mining legacies do not uniformly determine community responses to new extractive projects. Instead, the interplay between historical legacies, information availability, external actors' participation, and corporate strategies shapes conflict outcomes and governance possibilities. The research contributes to understanding how path dependencies in resource communities can be either reinforced or punctuated, offering insights for local development alternatives beyond extractivism. This analysis bridges the gap between resource governance studies and memory studies and advances the theoretical framework of Evolutionary Governance Theory for understanding the complex relationship between past legacies and future possibilities in resource-dependent communities.
{"title":"Mining legacy and uncertain futures: A comparative analysis of two Mexican resource communities","authors":"Ulises Pavel Martínez Romero , John P. Hayes","doi":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105842","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.105842","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines how mining legacies shape the capacity of resource communities to envision and organize alternative futures. Through a comparative analysis of two Mexican mining towns, Mineral de la Luz (Guanajuato) and Cerro de San Pedro (San Luis Potosí), the study reveals contrasting responses to new mining projects: while Mineral de la Luz's deep-rooted mining identity led to negotiated acceptance, Cerro de San Pedro developed strong opposition through external alliances. Our findings demonstrate that community-based mining legacies do not uniformly determine community responses to new extractive projects. Instead, the interplay between historical legacies, information availability, external actors' participation, and corporate strategies shapes conflict outcomes and governance possibilities. The research contributes to understanding how path dependencies in resource communities can be either reinforced or punctuated, offering insights for local development alternatives beyond extractivism. This analysis bridges the gap between resource governance studies and memory studies and advances the theoretical framework of Evolutionary Governance Theory for understanding the complex relationship between past legacies and future possibilities in resource-dependent communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20970,"journal":{"name":"Resources Policy","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 105842"},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145978595","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}
Pub Date : 2026-01-09DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105828
Francisco Carballo-Cruz, Luís Filipe Silva
Mine reactivation is increasingly pursued to meet critical mineral demand and revitalise post-industrial regions. Although social license to operate and mining impacts have received substantial attention in the literature, the socio-cultural factors shaping community acceptance of reactivation projects remain underexplored, especially in communities with strong mining legacies. In these contexts, collective memory and identity may play a crucial role in shaping local perceptions and community support. This study investigates how collective memory and identity influence community perceptions of mining impacts and support for mine reactivation. We focused on Borralha, a village in northern Portugal founded in the early twentieth century around tungsten mining, whose economy, social fabric, and identity have been deeply shaped by decades of extractive activity. Using a mixed-methods design, quantitative data from a resident survey were used to develop a PLS-SEM model to test hypothesized relationships. Qualitative data from focus groups were analysed through content analysis to contextualise and deepen the quantitative findings. Results show that collective memory and identity have a direct positive effect on perceptions of mining impacts, which significantly influence their support for mine reactivation. The findings indicate a significant indirect effect of memory and identity on support, mediated by impact perceptions. Qualitative findings further substantiate the quantitative findings. This study advances empirical understanding of how memory and identity shape perceptions of mining impacts and acceptance of reactivation, offering a rare model linking these factors in a European post-extractive context, with clear implications for policy design.
{"title":"Supporting the return of mining? The role of collective memory and perceived impacts in post-extractive communities","authors":"Francisco Carballo-Cruz, Luís Filipe Silva","doi":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105828","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105828","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mine reactivation is increasingly pursued to meet critical mineral demand and revitalise post-industrial regions. Although social license to operate and mining impacts have received substantial attention in the literature, the socio-cultural factors shaping community acceptance of reactivation projects remain underexplored, especially in communities with strong mining legacies. In these contexts, collective memory and identity may play a crucial role in shaping local perceptions and community support. This study investigates how collective memory and identity influence community perceptions of mining impacts and support for mine reactivation. We focused on Borralha, a village in northern Portugal founded in the early twentieth century around tungsten mining, whose economy, social fabric, and identity have been deeply shaped by decades of extractive activity. Using a mixed-methods design, quantitative data from a resident survey were used to develop a PLS-SEM model to test hypothesized relationships. Qualitative data from focus groups were analysed through content analysis to contextualise and deepen the quantitative findings. Results show that collective memory and identity have a direct positive effect on perceptions of mining impacts, which significantly influence their support for mine reactivation. The findings indicate a significant indirect effect of memory and identity on support, mediated by impact perceptions. Qualitative findings further substantiate the quantitative findings. This study advances empirical understanding of how memory and identity shape perceptions of mining impacts and acceptance of reactivation, offering a rare model linking these factors in a European post-extractive context, with clear implications for policy design.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20970,"journal":{"name":"Resources Policy","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 105828"},"PeriodicalIF":10.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145927530","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}
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