Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal最新文献

Providing sustainable energy solutions for critical mineral investments presents significant challenges, particularly in the context of resource-rich but energy-poor countries in sub-Saharan Africa. We developed an analytical framework to understand the role of the mineral-energy nexus in delivering developmental co-benefits (MEND). We identified four criteria of developmental co-benefits, namely (1) local electrification, (2) climate mitigation (via renewable energy technologies), (3) enhanced ‘last mile’ power infrastructures, and (4) re-distributive revenues for power sector reforms. By applying this framework to a case study of Chinese lithium mining investment in Zimbabwe, we illustrated the innovative potentials of the investors on the ground, the urgent need to nurture collaborative networks and risk-sharing mechanisms for local electrification, and the lack of regulatory and financial support for the investments on mineral-energy nexus.

Despite the applaudable reflexivity of transition scholars to include considerations of politics (among other things) in their frameworks, we argue that this is not enough, as the mainstream anglophone debates still suffer a fatal flaw: an inability to grasp the form taken by the actually existing hegemonic transition globally. This we contend, is shaped by two recent political economic developments: the concentration on capital in large pools (either under asset management or in Sovereign Wealth Funds) invested on financial markets on the one hand; and the “de-risking” Wall Street Consensus on the other. Because the mainstream anglophone transition debates still shy away from discussing the two (dialectically interwoven) main drivers of anthropogenic climate change – colonialism and capitalism – they remain unable to explain form assumed by the hegemonic green transition and what this means going forward. Scholars from the Latin America, particularly Argentina, in contrast, are confronted by the sharp end of financial markets and green extractivism. Their lived experience of the dark underpinnings of the green transition shaped by finance and extraction has sparked vibrant critical debates over alternatives to the dominant transition narratives that both act as a tonic to the de-politicised mainstream anglophone debates and offer provocations to more critical anglophone scholars.

We develop a political-economic regime framework and apply it to assess the adequacy of governing arrangements to realise overarching social values in three Australian regions transitioning from mining (Victoria's Latrobe Valley; South West Western Australia; and Northern Territory's Gove Peninsula − a majority Indigenous region). The framework situates values, policy arguments, and institutions in a co-evolving system context. Through this lens, mine closure planning and post-mining development emerge as regimes that share overarching values. However, for land rehabilitation, institutions of mine closure risk management prevail over regional development processes. People's values and knowledge illuminate to an encouraging degree the functioning of complex political–economic regimes. Our analysis contributes to theory and practice of regional transition by revealing systemic interactions that need to be addressed for mine closures to contribute to post-mining regional development.

Sand, gravel and crushed stones are the most mined solid materials on Earth and key ingredients in infrastructure development and modern societies. However, the pressure from the growing population for constructing new buildings and expanding living spaces has resulted in an increased demand for these resources, especially in the Global South. For instance, Africa's population is expected to grow from 1 to 2.4 billion in 2050 which would increase the pressure on these limited resources. Present knowledge of aggregate mining is largely limited to the negative effects of the extraction and lacks a nuanced understanding of the benefits to humans and society that the resources also provide. This article examines the variation in present-day aggregate extraction activities in the context of Rwanda, a country in East Africa that has experienced a significant infrastructure development in the last decades. Here we provide an overview of present-day aggregate mining activities across Rwanda to offer more nuances and details on the processes of mining operations to the present discussion. Going forward, the research community must, in a more holistic view, consider the intricate character of these practices and their impacts on economic development and how these resources offer a potential to alleviate poverty and develop countries.

Observers have celebrated the drive by multinational corporations to develop lithium-ion batteries as a positive step in mitigating climate change. Much of this hype, however, has resulted from corporate leaders propagating green growth narratives that trumpet the capacity of electric cars to initiate an energy transition. Against this backdrop, the paper describes and analyzes significant contradictions of green growth. The South Korean (hereafter, Korea) ‘chaebol’ (enormous, family-owned conglomerates) have deployed green growth myths to build global value chains that transform lithium into batteries that can electrify transportation. I will show how these growth strategies simultaneously produce domestic inequality in Korea and colonial inequities in Argentina, where a large proportion of the world's reserves of lithium lie. Since the 1990s, the chaebol have developed new strategies of accumulation based on a shift toward building global value chains and away from domestic economic growth and expanding employment. The growing electric vehicle industry represents a continuation of these corporate strategies, directing investments to flow abroad in ways that contract domestic employment. These technological innovations require lithium, prompting the chaebols to move decisively to establish control over a significant share of lithium production in Argentina. In seeking to create new pools of value within the much-hyped green transition, these activities have inflicted significant environmental degradation. Moreover, the coloniality of corporate relations with local labor dramatizes how the green transition promised by electric vehicles unevenly distributes the risks and benefits between those parts of the world producing green energy and the industrialized countries consuming it.

In the past two decades, lithium has gained critical global importance as a transition metal. Under President Evo Morales (2006–2019), the Bolivian government launched a national lithium extraction industry in the Uyuni salt flat. However, efforts to develop industrial-scale extraction of lithium there have been beset by considerable delays. Focusing on the period of Morales’ presidency, this article analyses the perceptions of lithium and its extraction amongst people living in the region around the Uyuni salt flat, specifically in the urban centres. In state media and official communication lithium extraction was presented as a ‘clean’ and ‘future-oriented’ activity, distinct from traditional mining practices. Public perceptions of lithium extraction as being ‘future-oriented’ and distinct from conventional mining practices were also rooted in collective memories of the colonial and neoliberal past and the exploitation of Bolivia's wealth by foreigners. Lithium extraction was therefore also associated with a shift towards a decolonial future that was expected to generate wealth. By the end of the Morales presidency, while people in the region still believed in the clean and future-oriented nature of lithium and its extraction, they no longer believed in Morales’ ability to generate national or local benefits from lithium production.

The global energy transition has significantly increased the demand for critical and strategic minerals, many of which are sourced from small-scale mining (SSM). This research investigates the role of SSM in fostering mineral sovereignty and security, focusing on its contributions to economic development, social justice, and environmental conservation. Through an analysis of academic literature, government documents, and reports of international organizations, this study provides a comprehensive overview of SSM's impact and challenges. The findings reveal that while SSM is vital for the economies of developing countries, it faces obstacles related to formalization, access to sustainable technologies, and integration into global value chains. Additionally, the research identifies resource-rich areas in Brazil with low mining rights concessions, indicating potential policy development opportunities centered on SSM. Ultimately, this study emphasizes the need for innovative public policies and international cooperation to ensure the responsible and equitable exploitation of critical mineral resources, thus reinforcing SSM's essential role in a sustainable future.

Workers in the Canadian construction and extractive industries (CEIs) are exposed to psychosocial risk factors (PRFs) and experience a greater prevalence of mental health issues than the public. Guided by risk management theory, the purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental, correlational study was to examine the relationship between five predictors (age, gender, residence type, employment arrangement, and rotation status); and 15 response variables (measures of Canadian CEI workers’ perspective of PRFs). Using a cross-sectional design, an 84-question survey was administered to workers (N = 174) over the age of 18 to obtain demographic and contextual data and scores for the PRFs using the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire – Canadian version. Analysis of variance was used to compare means across groups to determine if there was a difference in views of PRFs. The findings revealed significant relationships between the predictors and workers’ views on their influence at work, development opportunities, meaning of work, role conflict, work-life conflict, and social community. While workers’ experiences are largely unique, there are also clear influences on PRFs based on age, gender, and employment arrangement.

To address energy shortages, the South African government includes the development and extraction of local natural gas as part of its future energy plan. Insights into risk perception are crucial for determining realistic and likely risks relevant to future energy developments in the face of the country's future energy planning. Studies on the social construction of the risk perceptions of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) development are lacking since risk perceptions of UOG development in South Africa are not underpinned by tangible, lived experiences. This study, therefore, offers novel insights into the social construction of risk perceptions. We identified the risk objects, objects at risk, and factors influencing risk perceptions, and found that UOG development risk perceptions in South Africa are socially constructed through group membership and participation. The perceived rivalry between opposition and proposition groups prompts stakeholders to deliberately formulate ideas, opinions, and viewpoints to counter those of oppositional groups. We propose a risk communication strategy that considers the media's influence on stakeholders’ risk perceptions, aims to understand the different stakeholder groups’ views, intentions and expected behaviour, and tailors communication that acknowledges groups’ different goals and intentions. The proposed strategy considers the diverging opinions of the opposing groups in a collaborative effort to build trust in and between groups.

As societies attempt to transition to low-carbon energy and reduce fossil fuel dependencies, mineral extractivism is reaching new heights globally. This trend is accompanied by a surge of Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) standards used to justify a perceived just transition. Through an analysis of 13 widely used international instruments and the ways mining companies adopt them, this article develops a comparative examination of Western and Chinese ESG practices, with a focus on guidelines and standards aimed at mitigating the socio-environmental impacts of extractivism. Despite conventional portrayals of Western and Chinese governance standards as disparate or in competition, we find their standards evolve in tandem and conversation in the context of the rush for critical minerals, underscoring the need to move beyond a Western-Chinese binary. This research also challenges the notion of China attempting to set global standards. Chinese companies increasingly embrace ESG principles due to reputational risks, national standardization efforts, and international partnerships. They, however, focus more on downstream stakeholders, while Western counterparts lean towards upstream considerations. Notably, guidelines are employed similarly by Western and Chinese companies, albeit influenced by geographical, material, and political considerations. We conclude with future directions for critical and social science research on climate-related extraction.