This study investigates the gendered consequences of mining-led development in the Caraga region of the Philippines. Drawing on a mixed-methods design across four barangays with varying mining exposure, we analyze how structural constraints—unpaid care labor, limited educational access, employment precarity, and geographic isolation—intersect to restrict women’s socioeconomic mobility. Using Gender Analysis, Intersectionality, and Social Reproduction Theory, we reveal how these layered exclusions sustain economic inequality despite women’s vital, yet invisible, contributions to household and community survival. Findings indicate a need for gender-sensitive governance and inclusive post-extractive planning. This paper advances feminist development and extractive industry scholarship by empirically demonstrating how care work, labor marginalization, and spatial peripherality entrench gendered vulnerability in resource-dependent regions.
{"title":"Invisible labor and unequal futures: Women’s structural constraints in Philippine mining communities","authors":"Rachel Arcede , Jewry Catle , Ordem Maglente , Jayrold Arcede","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101786","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101786","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the gendered consequences of mining-led development in the Caraga region of the Philippines. Drawing on a mixed-methods design across four barangays with varying mining exposure, we analyze how structural constraints—unpaid care labor, limited educational access, employment precarity, and geographic isolation—intersect to restrict women’s socioeconomic mobility. Using Gender Analysis, Intersectionality, and Social Reproduction Theory, we reveal how these layered exclusions sustain economic inequality despite women’s vital, yet invisible, contributions to household and community survival. Findings indicate a need for gender-sensitive governance and inclusive post-extractive planning. This paper advances feminist development and extractive industry scholarship by empirically demonstrating how care work, labor marginalization, and spatial peripherality entrench gendered vulnerability in resource-dependent regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"25 ","pages":"Article 101786"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158987","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}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-09-27DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2025.101780
Justin Missaghieh--Poncet, Xavier Arnauld de Sartre
The expansion of geothermal energy extraction from new geological contexts in France is prompting the development of ‘enhanced’ geothermal systems (EGS). However, the subsurface is a complex environment in which multiple uncertainties arise because of its confinement, both physical and in terms of access to knowledge and power, and which cannot easily be modified. We analyse how the seismicity induced by geothermal drilling in the Strasbourg region (France) has given rise to a public debate that has brought the subsurface out of its confinement and into political and civic arenas in particular. To attempt to understand how this occurred, we analysed interviews, press reports and grey literature, from which it transpired, firstly, that the cause of the earthquakes can be traced back to negligence and a culture of confidentiality on the part of the operating company, which underestimated certain models and failed to seek any outside opinion. Secondly, failures in the enforcement of subsurface regulations at the central government level were found to be due to a loss of expertise in the relevant government departments as a result of government reforms, which subsequently led to a reform of the mining code to re-establish a measure of control. Thirdly, we found that the earthquakes triggered the involvement of new interested parties, particularly from the civic and political spheres, which brought out issues relating to environmental and risk management through demands for more open access to knowledge about the subsurface. In effect, these earthquakes were the catalyst that enabled subsurface issues to break out of the expert sphere and into political and citizens’ arenas. However, what emerges is a process of politicization of subsurface environments that is still incomplete : the positions of the various players are open to question as regards governance, which, notwithstanding emerging demands, remains in the hands of central government and industrialists with little prospect of broader involvement.
{"title":"Unlocking the subsurface through knowledge controversy : how earthquakes induced by deep geothermal drilling have politicized the subsurface environment","authors":"Justin Missaghieh--Poncet, Xavier Arnauld de Sartre","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101780","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101780","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The expansion of geothermal energy extraction from new geological contexts in France is prompting the development of ‘enhanced’ geothermal systems (EGS). However, the subsurface is a complex environment in which multiple uncertainties arise because of its confinement, both physical and in terms of access to knowledge and power, and which cannot easily be modified. We analyse how the seismicity induced by geothermal drilling in the Strasbourg region (France) has given rise to a public debate that has brought the subsurface out of its confinement and into political and civic arenas in particular. To attempt to understand how this occurred, we analysed interviews, press reports and grey literature, from which it transpired, firstly, that the cause of the earthquakes can be traced back to negligence and a culture of confidentiality on the part of the operating company, which underestimated certain models and failed to seek any outside opinion. Secondly, failures in the enforcement of subsurface regulations at the central government level were found to be due to a loss of expertise in the relevant government departments as a result of government reforms, which subsequently led to a reform of the mining code to re-establish a measure of control. Thirdly, we found that the earthquakes triggered the involvement of new interested parties, particularly from the civic and political spheres, which brought out issues relating to environmental and risk management through demands for more open access to knowledge about the subsurface. In effect, these earthquakes were the catalyst that enabled subsurface issues to break out of the expert sphere and into political and citizens’ arenas. However, what emerges is a process of politicization of subsurface environments that is still incomplete : the positions of the various players are open to question as regards governance, which, notwithstanding emerging demands, remains in the hands of central government and industrialists with little prospect of broader involvement.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"25 ","pages":"Article 101780"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158984","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}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-09-19DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2025.101773
Vlado Vivoda , Danilo Borja , Ghaleb Krame
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming economies and infrastructures, but its accelerating electricity demand poses new governance challenges across the energy trilemma of security, justice, and sustainability. This paper offers a conceptual and policy-oriented analysis of AI’s expanding energy footprint through the 4As framework—availability, accessibility, affordability, and acceptance—nested within the trilemma. It positions itself as a synthesis of empirical evidence and anticipatory projections to clarify current impacts while mapping uncertain futures. The analysis demonstrates that AI’s energy impacts are characterised by uncertainty, regional variation, and rebound effects, requiring careful qualification of projections. High-profile scenarios such as mega data-centre projects or market forecasts illustrate possible trajectories, but they must be situated within broader ranges and benchmarks to avoid unwarranted determinism. The paper identifies justice implications of uneven AI adoption, sustainability risks from concentrated infrastructure, and opportunities for anticipatory governance. It concludes with policy recommendations classified by governance level, emphasising transparency, international coordination, and a forward-looking research agenda on the political economy of AI and energy.
{"title":"AI’s energy paradox: Governing the trilemma of security, justice, and sustainability","authors":"Vlado Vivoda , Danilo Borja , Ghaleb Krame","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101773","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101773","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming economies and infrastructures, but its accelerating electricity demand poses new governance challenges across the energy trilemma of security, justice, and sustainability. This paper offers a conceptual and policy-oriented analysis of AI’s expanding energy footprint through the 4As framework—availability, accessibility, affordability, and acceptance—nested within the trilemma. It positions itself as a synthesis of empirical evidence and anticipatory projections to clarify current impacts while mapping uncertain futures. The analysis demonstrates that AI’s energy impacts are characterised by uncertainty, regional variation, and rebound effects, requiring careful qualification of projections. High-profile scenarios such as mega data-centre projects or market forecasts illustrate possible trajectories, but they must be situated within broader ranges and benchmarks to avoid unwarranted determinism. The paper identifies justice implications of uneven AI adoption, sustainability risks from concentrated infrastructure, and opportunities for anticipatory governance. It concludes with policy recommendations classified by governance level, emphasising transparency, international coordination, and a forward-looking research agenda on the political economy of AI and energy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"25 ","pages":"Article 101773"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145096578","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}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-09-30DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2025.101783
Alexia Sanz-Hernández , Manuel García Docampo , Xaquín S. Pérez Sindín , María Andrade-Suárez
This article compares environmental sensitivity, life expectations, and perceptions of the Just Transition between Spanish municipalities affected and unaffected by decarbonization. In the context of coal mine and thermal power plant closures, it analyzes public attitudes through a nationally representative survey (n=1,800) that includes an oversampling of post-industrial territories. Based on three synthetic indicators, the results systematically compare affected and non-affected populations. The findings reveal a sociological paradox: despite displaying a more pessimistic view of the present and future, and expressing greater disagreement with the institutional mechanisms of the Just Transition, decarbonized municipalities maintain equal or even higher levels of environmental concern than the national average. This suggests that adherence to ecological values can coexist with criticism of the specific territorial implementation of climate policies. The study engages with debates on energy justice, the ecology of discontent, and post-extractive adaptive capacity. It offers empirical evidence to rethink the legitimacy frameworks of green transitions and challenges the assumption that structural decline necessarily leads to ecological disengagement, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of post-industrial subjectivities within the framework of climate justice.
{"title":"Beyond closure: Just transition, environmental values and vital expectations in post- coal Spain","authors":"Alexia Sanz-Hernández , Manuel García Docampo , Xaquín S. Pérez Sindín , María Andrade-Suárez","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101783","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101783","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article compares environmental sensitivity, life expectations, and perceptions of the Just Transition between Spanish municipalities affected and unaffected by decarbonization. In the context of coal mine and thermal power plant closures, it analyzes public attitudes through a nationally representative survey (n=1,800) that includes an oversampling of post-industrial territories. Based on three synthetic indicators, the results systematically compare affected and non-affected populations. The findings reveal a sociological paradox: despite displaying a more pessimistic view of the present and future, and expressing greater disagreement with the institutional mechanisms of the Just Transition, decarbonized municipalities maintain equal or even higher levels of environmental concern than the national average. This suggests that adherence to ecological values can coexist with criticism of the specific territorial implementation of climate policies. The study engages with debates on energy justice, the ecology of discontent, and post-extractive adaptive capacity. It offers empirical evidence to rethink the legitimacy frameworks of green transitions and challenges the assumption that structural decline necessarily leads to ecological disengagement, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of post-industrial subjectivities within the framework of climate justice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"25 ","pages":"Article 101783"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145221445","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}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-11-25DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2025.101810
Ricardo Gabbay de Souza , Ana Mariele Domingues , Sandro Donnini Mancini
The demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) grows exponentially with the greener economy transition, causing increasing pressure on the supply of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs). LIB CRMs include alumina, cobalt, lithium, manganese, natural graphite, nickel, and phosphate. Brazil is a major supplier of most of these CRMs and undergoes increasing pressure to expand the exploration of its reserves, harming the environment and local communities. This paper aimed to investigate the social and environmental impacts of extracting LIB CRMs in Brazil, discussing knowledge gaps. There are few scientific studies analysing these impacts in Brazil, differently from other major world suppliers of LIB CRMs. Still, there is much evidence of continuous impacts of CRMs exploitation in Brazil, mainly reported by journalistic and independent sources. Environmental risks include land transformation, deforestation, ecosystem harm, and water quality and availability, threatening all Brazilian biomes, especially the Amazon and Atlantic Forests, Caatinga, and Cerrado. These mining projects have been affecting the livelihood of local communities, causing conflicts regarding land and water use, contamination through air and water, and depletion of natural resources, including food sources.
{"title":"Supply of critical raw materials for lithium-ion batteries: Social and environmental risks in Brazil","authors":"Ricardo Gabbay de Souza , Ana Mariele Domingues , Sandro Donnini Mancini","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101810","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101810","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) grows exponentially with the greener economy transition, causing increasing pressure on the supply of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs). LIB CRMs include alumina, cobalt, lithium, manganese, natural graphite, nickel, and phosphate. Brazil is a major supplier of most of these CRMs and undergoes increasing pressure to expand the exploration of its reserves, harming the environment and local communities. This paper aimed to investigate the social and environmental impacts of extracting LIB CRMs in Brazil, discussing knowledge gaps. There are few scientific studies analysing these impacts in Brazil, differently from other major world suppliers of LIB CRMs. Still, there is much evidence of continuous impacts of CRMs exploitation in Brazil, mainly reported by journalistic and independent sources. Environmental risks include land transformation, deforestation, ecosystem harm, and water quality and availability, threatening all Brazilian biomes, especially the Amazon and Atlantic Forests, Caatinga, and Cerrado. These mining projects have been affecting the livelihood of local communities, causing conflicts regarding land and water use, contamination through air and water, and depletion of natural resources, including food sources.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"25 ","pages":"Article 101810"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145614838","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}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-09-23DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2025.101774
Fabian Teichmann
The mining and metals sector faces a surge in cyber incidents, with reported attacks tripling from 10 in 2023 to 30 in 2024. These attacks increasingly target operational technology (OT) – the industrial control systems that underpin extraction and processing – resulting in costly production stoppages. This study investigates the economic and governance challenges posed by these cybersecurity risks. We compare the expected costs of OT-related operational disruptions against the investments required for compliance with the European Union’s new NIS2 Directive on network and information security. Using case studies of European mining companies (e.g., Aurubis and Norsk Hydro) that experienced cyberattacks and now fall under NIS2 obligations, we examine how strong governance (such as board-level cybersecurity oversight and training for directors) correlates with incident frequency and severity. We develop an event-based Monte Carlo simulation model to estimate annual loss distributions from cyberattacks under different preventive investment levels. The results yield cost-risk curves illustrating diminishing marginal benefits of high cybersecurity expenditures. Our findings highlight a clear trade-off: proactive resilience investments and NIS2 compliance incur significant upfront costs, but can substantially reduce the probability of catastrophic OT outages and regulatory penalties. The analysis underscores that effective governance – including board accountability and dedicated cybersecurity leadership – is vital for mitigating risks. This interdisciplinary work offers insights for industry practitioners, regulators, and academics on balancing the socio-economic costs of cybersecurity in mining with the imperative of operational resilience and regulatory compliance.
{"title":"Cybersecurity risks in mining’s operational technology: Implications of OT vulnerabilities and EU NIS2 compliance","authors":"Fabian Teichmann","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101774","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101774","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The mining and metals sector faces a surge in cyber incidents, with reported attacks tripling from 10 in 2023 to 30 in 2024. These attacks increasingly target operational technology (OT) – the industrial control systems that underpin extraction and processing – resulting in costly production stoppages. This study investigates the economic and governance challenges posed by these cybersecurity risks. We compare the expected costs of OT-related operational disruptions against the investments required for compliance with the European Union’s new NIS2 Directive on network and information security. Using case studies of European mining companies (e.g., Aurubis and Norsk Hydro) that experienced cyberattacks and now fall under NIS2 obligations, we examine how strong governance (such as board-level cybersecurity oversight and training for directors) correlates with incident frequency and severity. We develop an event-based Monte Carlo simulation model to estimate annual loss distributions from cyberattacks under different preventive investment levels. The results yield cost-risk curves illustrating diminishing marginal benefits of high cybersecurity expenditures. Our findings highlight a clear trade-off: proactive resilience investments and NIS2 compliance incur significant upfront costs, but can substantially reduce the probability of catastrophic OT outages and regulatory penalties. The analysis underscores that effective governance – including board accountability and dedicated cybersecurity leadership – is vital for mitigating risks. This interdisciplinary work offers insights for industry practitioners, regulators, and academics on balancing the socio-economic costs of cybersecurity in mining with the imperative of operational resilience and regulatory compliance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"25 ","pages":"Article 101774"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145118852","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}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-11-08DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2025.101814
Liam O’Connor
Global material sourcing is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, particularly in the critical steel and battery sectors, which underpin infrastructure, mobility, and the global clean energy transition. Driven by a complex interplay of geopolitical tensions, climate imperatives, technological innovation, and market volatility, the sourcing of raw materials has become a focal point of industrial strategy and policy debate. This review explores the structural shifts and strategic responses shaping material supply chains in the 21st century. China’s industrial rise, the decline of traditional producers, and the systemic vulnerabilities of lean global supply chains are analyses through empirical and theoretical lenses. The paper evaluates the adoption of decarbonisation technologies such as Electric Arc Furnaces (EAF) and hydrogen-based steelmaking, as well as the evolving chemistry and circular economy potential in lithium-ion battery production. In doing so, it highlights the risks posed by Critical Raw Material (CRM) dependencies, ethical supply concerns, and the uneven global policy landscape. Digital innovations and life cycle assessment frameworks are presented as enabling tools for transparency and sustainability. Ultimately, this review argues for a reorientation of global sourcing strategies centred on resilience, circularity, and governance to achieve climate targets and equitable industrial growth.
{"title":"A comparative review of material supply chains and sustainability pathways in steel and battery technologies","authors":"Liam O’Connor","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101814","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101814","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Global material sourcing is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, particularly in the critical steel and battery sectors, which underpin infrastructure, mobility, and the global clean energy transition. Driven by a complex interplay of geopolitical tensions, climate imperatives, technological innovation, and market volatility, the sourcing of raw materials has become a focal point of industrial strategy and policy debate. This review explores the structural shifts and strategic responses shaping material supply chains in the 21st century. China’s industrial rise, the decline of traditional producers, and the systemic vulnerabilities of lean global supply chains are analyses through empirical and theoretical lenses. The paper evaluates the adoption of decarbonisation technologies such as Electric Arc Furnaces (EAF) and hydrogen-based steelmaking, as well as the evolving chemistry and circular economy potential in lithium-ion battery production. In doing so, it highlights the risks posed by Critical Raw Material (CRM) dependencies, ethical supply concerns, and the uneven global policy landscape. Digital innovations and life cycle assessment frameworks are presented as enabling tools for transparency and sustainability. Ultimately, this review argues for a reorientation of global sourcing strategies centred on resilience, circularity, and governance to achieve climate targets and equitable industrial growth.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"25 ","pages":"Article 101814"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145465610","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}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-10-10DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2025.101794
Esther Makhetha
This article aims to critically analyse the role of women in mining in southern Africa, looking at the case study of Lesotho. Basotho women from the rural highlands of Lesotho used diamonds to sustain their livelihoods in the peak of migrant labour in South Africa. They joined artisanal diamond mining to support their households in the absence of men, and as remittances sent from South Africa were not enough to sustain the household. In this gender dynamic women played and continue to play a central economic role in their households. This conceptual paper demonstrates how Basotho women have been central to ASM. This is contrary to the dominant narrative which positions diamond mining as men’s work and activity. The paper draws on ethnographic data1 on artisanal diamond mining in the highlands of Lesotho and extant literature to explore women’s experiences of violence, exploitation, and marginalisation in artisanal diamond mining.
{"title":"Artisanal diamond mining: An untold story of Basotho women","authors":"Esther Makhetha","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101794","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101794","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article aims to critically analyse the role of women in mining in southern Africa, looking at the case study of Lesotho. Basotho women from the rural highlands of Lesotho used diamonds to sustain their livelihoods in the peak of migrant labour in South Africa. They joined artisanal diamond mining to support their households in the absence of men, and as remittances sent from South Africa were not enough to sustain the household. In this gender dynamic women played and continue to play a central economic role in their households. This conceptual paper demonstrates how Basotho women have been central to ASM. This is contrary to the dominant narrative which positions diamond mining as men’s work and activity. The paper draws on ethnographic data<span><span><sup>1</sup></span></span> on artisanal diamond mining in the highlands of Lesotho and extant literature to explore women’s experiences of violence, exploitation, and marginalisation in artisanal diamond mining.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"25 ","pages":"Article 101794"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145267383","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}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-10-02DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2025.101791
Abigail A. Tetteh Yankey , Fritz Brugger , Fred M. Dzanku
Most existing studies on illicit financial flows (IFFs) tend to conceptualise it as a global issue, often overlooking the nuanced local complexities that facilitate IFF activities. This qualitative study focuses on Ghana's Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Sector (ASGM), utilising conceptual analysis and fieldwork data to examine the dynamics of IFFs and their implications within local mining fields, the gold trading hubs, and the regulatory sector from the Western, Ashanti, and Greater Accra Regions. The findings reveal operations involving both legal and illegal miners, traders and highlight local discrepancies that incentivise illicit mining and gold trading activities. Key issues identified include challenges in land acquisition, registration, mining license acquisition processes, and illegal trading and use of mercury. The study also uncovers the complex interplay between local and foreign actors in the gold trading network, who often interact with both licit and illicit miners and traders. Furthermore, the study identifies structural and capacity weaknesses within regulatory institutions which create opportunities for illicit activities and concludes with policy and practical recommendations to curb IFFs and ASGM in Ghana to curb IFFs in the ASGM sector.
{"title":"Global syndrome at the local level: The politics of illicit financial flows in Ghana’s artisanal small-scale gold mining sector","authors":"Abigail A. Tetteh Yankey , Fritz Brugger , Fred M. Dzanku","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101791","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101791","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Most existing studies on illicit financial flows (IFFs) tend to conceptualise it as a global issue, often overlooking the nuanced local complexities that facilitate IFF activities. This qualitative study focuses on Ghana's Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Sector (ASGM), utilising conceptual analysis and fieldwork data to examine the dynamics of IFFs and their implications within local mining fields, the gold trading hubs, and the regulatory sector from the Western, Ashanti, and Greater Accra Regions. The findings reveal operations involving both legal and illegal miners, traders and highlight local discrepancies that incentivise illicit mining and gold trading activities. Key issues identified include challenges in land acquisition, registration, mining license acquisition processes, and illegal trading and use of mercury. The study also uncovers the complex interplay between local and foreign actors in the gold trading network, who often interact with both licit and illicit miners and traders. Furthermore, the study identifies structural and capacity weaknesses within regulatory institutions which create opportunities for illicit activities and concludes with policy and practical recommendations to curb IFFs and ASGM in Ghana to curb IFFs in the ASGM sector.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"25 ","pages":"Article 101791"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145221444","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}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-09-24DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2025.101782
Tyler McCreary , James Wilt , Warren Bernauer
As a crisis response to the economic uncertainty associated with American tariffs, Canadian politicians have committed to accelerate development of extractive projects and infrastructure to expand trade with diversified global markets. Across the political spectrum, Canadian legislators are rushing to rewrite laws to fast-track project approvals and codify a newly emergent political consensus around the need for speed in export-oriented extraction. In this short intervention, we point to the need for new community-based research with Indigenous communities to evaluate the impacts of the acceleration of extractive politics in Canada.
{"title":"Accelerated extractivism in the age of tariffs: Impacts on Indigenous peoples","authors":"Tyler McCreary , James Wilt , Warren Bernauer","doi":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101782","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exis.2025.101782","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As a crisis response to the economic uncertainty associated with American tariffs, Canadian politicians have committed to accelerate development of extractive projects and infrastructure to expand trade with diversified global markets. Across the political spectrum, Canadian legislators are rushing to rewrite laws to fast-track project approvals and codify a newly emergent political consensus around the need for speed in export-oriented extraction. In this short intervention, we point to the need for new community-based research with Indigenous communities to evaluate the impacts of the acceleration of extractive politics in Canada.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47848,"journal":{"name":"Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal","volume":"25 ","pages":"Article 101782"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145118977","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}
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